Merry Christmas!

Just thought I'd post some holiday cheer. We finally got our gingerbread house done. I was wanting to do it from scratch, since I'd never done that before. Jake has since eaten much of the candy off. :)

Octoversary

(Our first Date)


8 years ago today, I married this handsome guy. It's been a crazy ride, but there isn't ANYONE I would trust more to ride through it with! I love you hun!

Claire's Ballet

Claire started ballet in the Fall and she is really enjoying it. She had her first recital on Saturday. Her class is the youngest and they were little Snowflakes. IT WAS SO ADORABLE! Their recital was at the Civic which is a big stage, and I was worried that it might be a bit intimidating for her, but she did great! She is the youngest one in her class, but Claire remembered most of it, which is amazing for a 4 year old. She even had time during the performance to point and tell everyone where they should be looking :) We are so proud of Claire and all that she is. It is such an amazing experience to see your child accomplish something like a ballet recital. I was totally in the joyful tears the entire time. Way to go Claire!!!

The Nativity

Our neighbors invited us over to do the Nativity for FHE. They had cute costumes for everyone, we sang songs and read about the birth of Christ and I think the kids really enjoyed it. I remember doing the Nativity when I was a kid and I have fond memories of it.





I thought I'd post about what I've been working on. I finally put together a book of Jake's first year. I got a code for a free photo book which really got me motivated to get it done. I did one for Claire and really liked that I could read it to her. I've put in all of my journaling about them and picture highlights. It's sad to see how much less I've done with Jake in journaling and picture taking. I'm hoping to put together a wedding one soon. I've been working on it for a while. It's been a challenge though because my wedding pictures were done in FILM. Have I really been married that long?!? I really like how compact the photo books are and you don't have to worry about pictures falling out or badly done scrapbooking. I'd like to keep up with the kids and do them for every couple of years, like I'll probably do one for Claire from 1 year up to her 5th birthday, which is coming soon!

Had to post this funny pictures :) Jake wearing (and trying to walk in) my knee high boots.

New Pics

I wanted to update about the children.

Claire: Is almost 5! I can't believe it. She's definitely acting five :) She's sounding out words and can read and write most three-letter words and many four and five letter words. She has been keeping busy with Ballet. I think she really likes it and I imagine she'll be doing it for awhile. I've been waiting to post dance pictures because she has her first recital next weekend. She still has a VERY dramatic personality. We have realized that we have to be very careful how we word things and explain things. She still is an AVID colorer/drawer. She was drawing a picture and a lady told her how well she colored and asked her what grade she was in, she said "no grade" and the lady was surprised. It was pretty cute, and I was pretty proud. She makes her daddy proud by singing all the Weezer songs. She also loves to sing Taylor Swift. One night while we were driving home from Chris' parents house, Claire started talking about poison and knives and people being killed, and we were starting to get weirded out. We asked Claire what she was talking about, and she said you know, that song. We were still pretty concerned. Finally she started sing the words to Taylor Swift's song Romeo and Juliet. I guess she had asked Grandma what that song was about and Grandma told her the story of Romeo and Juliet. Chris and I were very relieved that she wasn't pulling it out of her imagination!
Another cute thing Claire says instead of mop the floor, it's "swop". Like swop the deck.





Jake: Jake seems so big! He is talking like crazy in complete sentences. I have to admit that he has me wrapped around his little finger. He is such a good boy and is really happy most of the time. He loves horses and trains and rockets. He is very protective of mommy and sister, which I really appreciate. He just loves to laugh and play! Some cute things he's been saying: he calls his elbow his "alvo". One day I asked him what he was doing and he said, "Just licking chocolate". One day Chris said to the kids, "mom's my best friend" and Jake said "No, she's a girl, and she's mine!" He is still having difficulty with allergies. We had him tested and he is now on meds that help. He's only going 3 or fewer times per day and he's not asking for food constantly! There was one day he made it until 7pm before he pooped. HUGE accomplishment! Most days it's 6:30 a.m. Needless to say, I'm a little afraid to potty train.



There's an update on our cutie pies!

Going private

Yep, I'm privatizing the blog. Leave your email if you want to keep up with us. And Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving and a little bit of Christmas too

The kids helping with the star



Two adorable rascals "helping" put together the tree, but really playing in the tree box. About five seconds after that photo the box tipped over and they both fell out!


Our first Christmas lights on the house! (accompanied by a small snowball fight :)


Ashley and AJ - what a cute musical couple


Danielle and Malone checking out the ads for Black Friday!

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving this year. Thankfully we didn't have to travel in the awful snow storm. I'm realizing I haven't spent Thanksgiving with my family in 8 years. Well technically, my sister was here last year, but we haven't ALL been together for Thanksgiving probably since before Benjamin's mission about 10 plus years. Anyways, the point of that. I miss them. I was reminiscing about mom's ginormous cranberry salad how all that got eaten every year is still amazing. I wonder if that's what happens when someone dies, you start to count how long it's been since you were ALL together. We are all spread apart-far apart, and I wonder if we will ever ALL live close, close enough to get together for Thanksgiving. I am a very nostalgic person, so it's hard. But I am grateful that we do live close to family and if I really needed or wanted to I could hop on a plane to see the rest of them. I am also grateful for the little family that lives in our home, they are what makes my life worth living. I am thankful for a heat for that home, and food on the table in that home. What great blessings I have!

'Tis the season..

For Christmas cards!! Has anyone noticed how cute the photo cards are at Shutterfly this year? I really think they have stepped up their game, compared to the other online sites as far as layouts go. I've been using shutterfly for a while. I made Claire a book of her first year, and last year for Christmas I got a few of my favorite people some personalized stationary. I've been thinking about a personalized calendar this year. I really like this design too, so I'm afraid I'll have to take a few more pictures of the family, darn! I can't wait to get my Christmas cards this year from Shutterfly. They are having an awesome deal for people who blog about their Shutterfly experiences. If you want to go blog about it and get 50 free Holiday cards, go here.
I hope you enjoy, I know I will!!
And if you want a card, send me your address! I want to keep people updated on what we're doing.

Nashville part 2

On Sunday, we went to old town Franklin, they have a ton of old churches there, including one of only two ever to have Tiffany windows - and they were beautiful!



Saturday night we went to the Bluebird Cafe. It's an old place that has live music, where some of music's great have gotten their start. It was fun to go and feel the history of the place.


My sisters were nice enough to let me drag them with..





They had a live violinist, she was amazing! I couldn't believe the kind of solos she was pulling out!


Can you see me?



I really wanted to see the Parthenon they have there. It's a full sized replica of the original. Notice the pediment sculptures of the greek Gods. I thought it was pretty cool, but I think I'm kind of a geek, that's the kind of stuff I studied for my humanities minor.