recent pics

Pay it forward

Here is a fun thing that I saw on a friend's blog. If you would like to do it with me, please leave a comment!
Here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me.What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. (Or you can cut and paste from this one like I did)
Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and wait to receive your fun gift!! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so hurry, hurry, hurry!

Old Testament laughs

So, the other night we were reading the Old Testament reader with the kids. Now, my kids do their best but it takes a lot to retain their attention. So we do things like have them say the peoples' names or places to keep them tuned in. Well, we were reading the story of Esther and when I went to have the kids repeat her name, Jessica got it, but Joshua said, "Es-dirt." We chuckled and said, "No. It's Esther." He said, "Es-turd." We laughed and laughed! Eventually he got it, but I just thought it was too funny...Es-turd!

sleeping habits

Noah has hit the stage where he doesn't want to sleep by himself anymore, can ya tell? I think it is just adorable!

What's up Scooby Doo?

For Christmas, Grandma bought Joshua some Scooby Doo DVDs. Needless to say, the kids fell in love with them and watched them over and over again. The other day at breakfast, Joshua was singing something that was a little difficult to recognize at first and then the light bulb came on in my brain and I understood. It goes a little something like this..."Na-na-na-na-na, what's up scooby doo. What's up Scooby Doo they're coming after you, na-na-na solve the mystery...what's up Scooby Doo. The "na-na's" are some of the words he uses and maybe a little the ones mom can't understand. It is such a crack up! If you have ever heard Joshua talk or sing the words often melt together and he does it with this adorable smile on his face. Anyway, it's just one of those things a mom loves and makes her smile when she thinks about it! It is now a song that is sung on and off throughout the whole day. :)

pictures

Look out! Here come a lot of pictures...it's about time, I know!

This is Joshua showing off his backyard treasure and the next one shows Jessica showing off her backyard treasure. Don't you love the difference between boys and girls??

I think it is just too cute when kids fall asleep while eating!

The new p.j.'s my hubby could not resist buying.

holiday tag

Holiday Tag

I have never done a tag, but I saw this on a family site and thought it would be fun to do.


1.Eggnog or Hot Chocolate: Eggnog definitely. I love hot chocolate too, but the heartburn it brings me leaves me saying "no thanks."

2.Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Who is Santa? We try to stay away from that sort of stuff. We have fun looking at the Santa decorations in the store, but our kids don't send letters and we don't label any presents from him either. I guess we are party poopers! :)

3.Colored or white lights on tree and house? White lights on the tree.

4.Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.

5.When do you put your decorations up? Usually right after Thanksgiving or around December 1st.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Who can pick just one favorite? I love them all. I think I look forward to buttermilk pie and all the fruity jello type salads. I am also on a huge cranberry kick!

7.Favorite holiday memory as a child: I don't know.

8.When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I kept finding my letters to Santa around the house from years past and realized they never got sent.

9.Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Always. I love getting a little preview of the fun to come.

10.How do you decorate your Christmas tree? We use small white lights, red and green glass bulbs, and ribbon bows. We also buy each child an ornament for every Christmas and so far we are still hanging them on the tree (eventually we will save them for when they have their own tree.

11.Snow. Love it? or Dread it? Love it as long as I don't have to drive in it!

12.Can you ice skate? Yes. Although I am pretty pitiful at it.

13.Do you remember your favorite gift? My favorite gift is just a funny one. Hopefully Joe won't be mad at me for sharing this. Before we got married we had been dating for a while and so we exchanged Christmas gifts. One of the gifts he got me was a set of bath towels. Bless his heart, I thought it was so odd and funny. He just explained that he had noticed when using the bathroom at my apartment one time, that I did not have a lot of towels and thought it was a practical gift. Growing up as an only child, you don't need a lot of towels. But in a family of twelve kids he was used to there being a lot of them! hahaha. I still think it is funny. Even though I didn't mean to, I know I must've made a funny face.

14.What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Probably being with family.

15.What is your favorite holiday dessert? I love all desserts...can't pick just one.

16.What is your favorite holiday tradition? It is hard to pick just one but I love having sour cream coffee cake on Christmas morning. My family always made us eat breakfast first and then open presents. Breakfast couldn't go fast enough when I was a child, but I love it now. We also go slow and take turns opening presents one at a time.

17.What tops your tree? A simple gold star.

18.Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving. I really like giving someone something and seeing them enjoy it.

19.What is your favorite Christmas song? That is a tough one. Anything from O Holy Night, Away in a Manger, Jingle Bell Rock...

20.Candy Canes? Yuck or Yum? Yum.