real nice

*super baby got to meet santa for the first time this year...i think he liked him!*

i thought pictures with santa were a no go this year, but santa called me and said he would be in the neighborhood on CHRISTMAS DAY!!! instead of telling santa what they wanted this year the kids got to thank him for what he brought them...i think i liked this way better!

{it's fun to tell the kids that santa called me and that i have his phone number...it's great leverage!}

"means a little bit more"

one of our favorite christmas books {and movies} is HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. as we were reading it this year a certain passage stood out to me:

Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mt. Crumpit,
He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it!
“Pooh-Pooh to the Whos!” he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
“They’re finding out now that no Christmas is coming!
“They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do!
“Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
“Then the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry Boo-Hoo!

“That’s a noise, “grinned the Grinch,
“That I simply MUST hear!”So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow …

But the sound wasn’t sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn’t be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

He stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN‘T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?”
“It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
“It came without packages, boxes or bags!”

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
“Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store.
Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more!”

this year has been fun because my parents gave us 12 presents for us to open each one counting down the 12 days of christmas. yesterday we opened our gift and in it was a golden box with a picture of the Savior on it. with that box came several cards with the words: MY GIFT TO THE SAVIOR on top. my parents then asked that we each write something that we can give Christ this year. matt and i decided to do this activity for FAMILY NIGHT last night. {family night is something that we do every monday night with our children with our focus being on teaching them how to be better people, about Jesus and other characters in the scriptures, and to sit down together as a family and have fun}. i enjoyed watching the children draw and write their "gifts" to Jesus...G put that she would obey more and J put that he would give some of his toys and "KLOS" {clothes} to people who needed them more than him. i was touched and hope that we can remember our Savior this time of year and recognize that maybe christmas doesn't come from a store...and means "a little bit more".

on my mantel this year i have 3 different nativities...this one shown is from jerusalem. i was fortunate enough to go there with my dad the summer after my senior year of high school. i love this saying:

WISE MEN STILL SEEK HIM

i'm trying hard this year not to get all caught up in the gifts and shopping, to focus more on others, and to focus on our Savior.

dinner time

reason #57 of why i love my ergo carrier:

i can get dinner done and not have to listen to super baby yelling at me!

{thanks again girls who bought this for me
& for rachael for introducing this fine product to me!
i really do use it like crazy!}

i totally look nappy...but i'm human too...we all have our days.
{yeah, it was one of those days...hence the pj's}
hugs.

oh christmas tree

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
We decorate your branches!
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
We decorate your branches!
We clump together ornaments,
so now the branches all are bent!
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
We decorate your branches!

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
We love your piney essence!
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
We love your piney essence!
It's so nice that you are real.
Sam really likes the way you feel! {taste}
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
We love your piney essence!

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
The twinkling lights are pretty!
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
The twinkling lights are pretty!
J plugs them in, then takes them out,
And when the're off, G really pouts!
Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!
The twinkling lights are pretty!

we love decorating the tree. i love watching the kids hang all the ornaments in "the most perfect spot EVER!" i'm sure this will never be admired by professional decorators and maybe by society's standards my tree isn't the prettiest...but every time i look at it it makes me smile. i was just talking to one of my sister-in-laws the other day and we were both laughing about our "clumps" of ornaments and thinking of how much we will miss this when it's over. so my perfectly decorated tree can wait {for a long time!} this tree is perfect to me.

some duds for miss G

****updated with new pattern link****

i fell in love with this skirt {pattern}
so G and i went to the store to pick out the perfect fabric. we also got her a plain brown shirt at old navy and appliqued that tree on. you just use wonder under and then top stitch around the edge. it was super fun and G loved it. she wore it to school today.

this little diddy is a copy cat. my friend and i saw one just like it in a catalog for over $50...ha! i made it for $12. i bought a shirt from old navy again, bought a yard of fabric, had 1 hour to myself and voila! {i'll post directions on how to make this later...super fun and if you know a thing or 2 about sewing it's not hard at all.}

hands of a good life

these hands

have been touching lives for 87 years
have been a loving father to 6 children, 25 grandchildren,
57 great-grandchildren, & 3 great-great grandchildren
served this country in WWII
worked several jobs at a time to provide for his family
became the tickle monster at sleepovers
served me and my cousins "tea" at our tea parties
brushed back my hair as he told me, "you get prettier every time i see you"
fixed many things in everyone's houses
built me a wooden rocking horse for my very first christmas
and so much more...

we buried my grandpa only 2 weeks after i took this picture with him and my baby boy. i'm so happy that i was able to see him before he left this life.

i was blessed to be able to attend my grandpa's funeral and celebrate the life of a good man. we laughed and cried as we reflected on his life. i knew my grandfather was a good man when he was alive, but i learned more things about him at his funeral to help me understand just how wonderful of a man he was. there were so many stories of my grandpa, but i will share with you the one that stood out in my mind and the story that i think epitomizes my grandpa's life.

my dad's brother, bob, contracted polio when he was a only 4-years-old. he had to stay in the hospital for 3 weeks and at that time parents were not allowed to stay overnight in the hospital. bob told his dad {my grandpa} that he was very scared to stay all by himself and he wanted his daddy to stay. my grandpa told bob that he would never leave him and to just look out his hospital window and he would be right there. my uncle bob said that before he would go to sleep at night, he would look out his window and his daddy was there...if he got up through the night or no matter what time he woke in the morning, my grandpa was sleeping there on the lawn outside the hospital. he did this every night for 3 weeks.


matthew 6:21 states, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. my grandpa's treasure was his family. i not only witnessed this indirectly, but also first hand. i love my grandpa with all my heart and hearing of his life and knowing that perhaps he's watching over me makes we want to live a little better and walk a little taller. i love you grandpa.

halloween...take three {the real thing}

a full moon to end the perfect halloween night. G says, after she saw the moon, "i'm sure glad werewolves are just pretend." me too, G, me too.

here's matt's pride and joy...our ginormous pumpkin is eating G's little pumpkin from her pumpkin hunt at preschool.

i love this picture because it perfectly depicts trick-or-treating.
as you can see, G changed her costume, yet again. {she wanted something a bit warmer} it's okay, that cupcake got 3 parties use out of it...and a few chili stains later. so tonight it was mickey mouse...her favorite character in the whole-wide-world.
J was still J the Great, and he booked it to all the different houses.

and just to let my guard down and show you all that i have little pride...i wore the mickey mouse ears for a good part of the evening!