Thursday, December 20, 2012

... enjoying LIFE!

The past couple of days I have been running around! Delivering gifts, picking up last minute gifts, buying groceries for baking, baking goodies, trying to keep up on things at home... oh man, it has been busy. And I just saw a stack of Christmas cards that I forgot to get in the mail today.
Today we attended a funeral for a family friend and remarkable man. My heart is close to the Allred family at this time as they mourn the loss of a dear man.
Tomorrow I get to be in both of the boys' classrooms to help with their Christmas parties. I am excited. Then... Christmas break! My kids are in  need of more sleep and some lazy days. I think I probably need more sleep. It is time to take a deep breath and prioritize. I am not going to get it all done. And that is okay. I feel like I really put off Christmas shopping this year and now that is kicking me in the butt. I lost or misplaced my cell phone, ugh! I am wanting to recognize many of the boys' teachers and the support staff at their school. I want to share our  thanks and I want to be there to encourage. So, today and tomorrow I will have an opportunity to do some of that. For this I am grateful! Life is so busy, but it is a good kind of busy!
Now, I am feeling this sweet new gift of life move every day!!! I LOVE feeling the little kicks and punches!! Being pregnant is such a miracle. I am so grateful I get to do this again! In two weeks we could find out what we are having - the 20 week mark. This pregnancy is flying by. We can't decide whether or not we are going to find out. The surprise would be so fun! But knowing is so great too.
Our snow last weekend was such a hit. It is all gone now, but I do have a few more pictures to post...

Willem has a VERY kind heart and he adores his little sister!



This is a really wonderful time of year.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Snowy, wintry fun!




 Willem, our six year old with a brand new smile, had some very fun ideas for this photo shoot! (His smile has changed quite a bit even since I took the pictures for our Christmas cards) Yesterday, he was re-arranging mini Christmas trees and crates, getting his sister to cooperate far better than I could... It was so much fun! Meanwhile, Merit was glued to a football game with his dad. :) So, no photos of our oldest during this fun shoot!




We SO enjoyed the snow yesterday!! Sledding, hanging out, going for jeep rides, photo shoots! It was really fun!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Hubby's B Day!

It is Vance's Birthday! Hazel and I enjoyed a nice lunch out with him today at Michael's Bistro. That was a treat! Tonight we had a yummy dinner at home and we just enjoyed a Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Icecream Pie! It hit the spot.
Willem gets SO excited about birthdays! He could not wait to give Vance his gift!
No time to upload any pictures today. And now I can't wait to sit on the couch for a while.
The boys' Christmas program is tomorrow. It is always fun to watch. They have been singing their songs for a couple of weeks now. I love hearing them sing when they are doing homework or getting ready for school.
I am hoping to watch a Christmas movie this weekend... if you have a favorite Christmas movie, I would love to hear what it is.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A Christmas Train


Willem has a lot of Christmas spirit!
I love it! Both boys are excited for their Christmas program too.
Willem had so much fun putting together and decorating this train.



Merit and Hazel have both decided to build and decorate Gingerbread Houses! They haven't started yet, but those will be fun projects too. I have a feeling Hazel will be tempted to eat a lot of her treats!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tuesday Catch Up

Last night we decorated our tree.
The kids loved it! It was truly a group effort...
now we have one downstairs to trim.

Hazel enjoyed finger painting today! It turned into hand, arm and elbow painting! I do enjoy her love for painting, coloring and writing though!

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Christmas Tree Hunting and more

Today was a great day.
Will and I REALLY wanted to go cut our own tree.
The rest of the family agreed it would be fun, and we headed to a tree farm just a few miles from here.

All of these pics are via my iphone. Fun pictures, fun memories.
We ended up getting two trees!




After this, I met my dear friend Katie Allred for lunch.
She makes life a bit sweeter. She is such a good friend. I feel very thankful to have her in my life. A long lunch and good conversation with this friend was just what I needed.

Vance, the boys and I went to our Christmas play at church. It was so well done. It was such a joy to watch the story of Jesus birth and the events leading up to His birth. The music was beautiful. We had a good time. Hazel stayed home with Julia -- she loves Julia, so this was a good evening for all!

This day was great! Now I am headed upstairs to eat a bowl of Vance's delicious split pea with ham soup.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Saturday


ohhhh! I mentioned something about seven days of blogging... I better stick with it. Last night we had Vance's work Christmas dinner. It was fun! The group was really lively, fun energy. The food was great.
Today has been a good day, mostly relaxing. We got to sleep in... the first time in a LONG time! It felt good. Then the boys had haircuts, Vance and Willem worked on lots of outdoor projects, some friends came out for a photo shoot...it was a good day.

I am so thankful for our warm, cozy house. Today I baked black bottom cupcakes... yum! Tonight I will work on addressing Christmas cards.
I'll be back tomorrow... hopefully with some fun Christmas pictures.

Our little friend Maddie has a heart cath on Tuesday. Please pray for this sweet girl. Pray that they get a good report and that the traveling over to Seattle all goes smoothly. :)

Friday, December 7, 2012

Friday night


The Graphics Fairy has such a cute blog!!
Printable, cute, free graphics. I got both of these from her blog.

Tonight is Vance's work Christmas dinner. I am looking forward to delicious food and good company.

If you live in the Moses Lake area and are interested in a wonderful Christmas production, our church is sharing a really great one. Countless hours have been put into this play. The good news of grace will be shared through Not that Far. It is being performed tonight at 7, tomorrow at 3 and 7 and Sunday at 6. Free admission.

Let the weekend begin!! I can't wait to soak up my family!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

7 days of blogging



I am enjoying a little Christmas decorating.
My goal is to blog everyday for a week!

Crafty Girl

What shall I make...
ohhhhh maybe another primitive garland...

Candy Girl

This time of year is magical. Soak up the magic today.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Sunday Night

This has been a great weekend.
Hazel has been loads of fun! She makes us laugh.
Her pretending entertains me to no end. She can also be a very independent little girl and I appreciate this too.
Merit had two basketball games yesterday and a team pizza party. I love watching his team play and they have improved a lot. The games were fun. They won one lost one. Then yesterday afternoon I had a photo shoot. The weather was really nice, the lighting was great. I plan to post several of those pictures on my photography blog soon.
Last night Vance got to some projects in the shop, and he and Merit had a couple of games of darts while Hazel, Willem and I watched a Christmas movie. Quiet nights, snuggled up, drinking hot tea... oh these are some of my favorite times.
Church was wonderful this morning. I have so enjoyed studying some of the "moms of the Bible" with a group of sincere, kind women. Caryn, a good friend and our pastor's wife, leads the study. It has just been really neat to learn about these women on a deeper level. Now, Pastor Jody's  December messages will include sharing the lives of some of these women. So, I feel like I am able to make lots of connections and understand and appreciate the history even more, along with seeing God's love in a deeper way. 
This afternoon I took Marianne and Alan's family pictures. I love where they live, so we had some fun backdrops in their yard. Then the boys and I enjoyed expressing our creative side at Art Garden Pottery! The time with just the boys was good and I know Vance and Hazel enjoyed their daddy/daughter time. Hazel is crazy about her dad.
I have been re-examining my old treasures... crates, old chairs, blankets, empty frames... two of my friends have headed up decorating the church for Christmas with some of these old, rustic, vintage pieces. (thank you Shannon and Marianne!) Vance saw me load some old pieces into the car today. He is great with the church just keeping them! My "collecting" has gotten a bit out of control I will admit.
I love the thrift stores... but it is time to sort of cut back and also share what I already have. Simplifying is good.



Tomorrow's to do list: find some good dinner recipes for the week, gather more old treasures for the church, read some good Christmas books with Hazel, listen to my FFH (Far From Home) Christmas CD, it is a favorite. oh and I want to buy ink for my printer.  The Graphics Fairy has some of the cutest vintage, printable graphics... GREAT for Christmas tags. But, if I plan to take on a project like that, I need to get going on it soon.

I am so thankful to be expecting!
I have a little more of an appetite now and I sleep good most nights which is a switch from a month or two ago when rest was not coming easy! The miracle of being pregnant is something I want to treasure each day!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Feeling festive

Tomorrow is December 1st! Wow! This has been a fun
week of decorating and trying to get organized. (an ongoing struggle in my world,
the organizational part that is)


These little beauties were pinterest inspired.
Oh and I repositioned some of my little branches... safety first.

John 14:27

I love this verse. Such a good reminder to give troubles and fears to God and
to soak up the peace He so freely gives.

We are having fun decorating for Christmas.
Willem is a huge help in this department. I love
decorating with him!

My kids have had doctor appts again this week. Merit's excema is really flaring up.
I sometimes get carried away... I was going a little crazy with all the antibacterial soaps after Hazel had a skin infection, only to find I am drying everybody out. I got good info from a dermatologist this week and from our family doctor. Advice and recommendations very different from eachother, so now it is time for me to sort of determine what is best. Just hoping and praying everyone stays strong and is feeling great soon.

Vance has enjoyed working in his shop A LOT. In fact, I never see him anymore. No, I'm kidding. What is great is that we have a really fun loft in the shop with a table and chairs, a dart board, room for me to work on a craft project. So it seems our whole family is enjoying time in the new shop. The kids have even talked about bringing airbeds up there and having a camp out.

Today Hazel and I will volunteer at the boys' school. These days are busy, but great too.

More soon! I am excited to get to friends' blogs this weekend. I have determined I like blogging so much better than facebook. My husband is not a fan at all of facebook... so, it might just be better to stay connected through the world of blogging.
And I can't forget how sweet a hand written letter is! A lost art. Might be nice to write a few friends and family members too. :)
Have a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

A little Tuesday catch up


Miss Hazel - I think we have another lefty in the family.
Hazel and Merit are our left handed kiddos.
Art Garden Pottery is a very fun place in Moses Lake.
Vance took a weekend trip to Alaska before Thanksgiving and the kids
and I decided to spend an afternoon at Art Garden!




Our Thanksgiving was nice and very relaxing.
I am so thankful for my family!
Here are the boys doing a little motorcycle riding on Thanksgiving day.

Matt and Phil came the day after Thanksgiving. They
helped Vance with some projects in the shop. We visited and laughed... always a good time!

The boys LOVED hanging out with their uncles.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Disney Trip and more!


DISNEY TRIP!!


 Disneyland is so magical! I loved this trip!


 Minnie's House... so cute!!

 Natasha, Estelle, Michele and Hazel


Character Breakfast!




CARS Land was so fun!
It is a new addition to California Adventures.
Reese, Merit, Willem, Lane and Vance


Natasha and Estelle


Pool Fun!!
____________________________________________
Going from 80 and 90 degrees to 40 degrees has been a bit tough!



We have had some gray days. 
I am so glad for these three who add sunshine to my days!!  




HAPPY BIRTHDAY OPJ!!!

THIS KID IS THE BEST!!! PRAYIING BLESSINGS OVER YOU OREN! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!