Merry Christmas

Christmas Card Chandelier

Every year we get Christmas cards and I love, love, love it

Every year I consider not sending Christmas cards and then I think of all the Christmas cards that I receive and how sad I would be to not get them every year and I go ahead and send them. I love this time of year all the glitter and magic and awe. All to celebrate our Lord.

Along with getting cards every Christmas there is the need to figure out where and how to display them. I have hung ribbon on the wall and taped them to the ribbon, I have hung ribbon on the windows and done the same. last year I taped them all to the kitchen cabinets. this year I wanted to do something different. I have been loving all the hoop art the I see, my daughter has a few hanging in her room. I decided to make a hoop chandelier for our Christmas cards. I searched pinterest for something similar and found this and thiswhich i thought was really cute as well. but this would be the one that i wanted.

I found the hoop at a thrift store. I was not ever searching for it but there it was screaming for me to take it home. there were four in the pack. i had the red polka dot fabric (really the only fabric that was very Christmasy) and the fabric scissors, a hot glue gun was used as well.

I found this tutorial, by one of my favorite bloggers, Under the Sycamore, about cutting and wrapping the fabric around the hoop.

 

Supplies:

Hoop

Fabric

Hot Glue Gun (with hot glue)

scissors

bakers twine

hole punch for the cards when you get them

 

 

my cute little hoop once i was done all the wrapping and hot gluing

 

then i grabbed my green bakers twine and used it to hang the hoop up

 

we got our very first Christmas card in the mail today and I went ahead and hung up the picture on the chandelier. our elf, Alex, he was pretty excited about it too.

i just punched a hole in the corner of the card and used my red bakers twine to hang the card.

Sighting

cool house in our area that we went to check out. they have their lights tunes to a local radio station and it's pretty amazing. not sure the picture does the house justice on how grand it all is. there is even lights and stuff on the side that we saw once we drove that way.

to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge for Sighting go here.

Buy

this is one of the things that we have bought for little guy for Christmas and it is probably one of my favorite things too. I just love it and can't wait to give it to him and start to read the stories.

if you want to participate in the CrazyJoy challenge go here.

Tigger Ears Day 1

today little guy got his tigger ears a.k.a. hearing aids. it went pretty well too. a lot of it was going over the process of using them with us and how to put them in and change batteries and store them but then we were able to put them in his ears.

little guy has been somewhat traumatized over the past couple of months. he got stitches in august and then had them removed and just last week he got his flu shot along with a finger prick for a diabetes test, which came back borderline so they had to draw blood. to sum that up he isn't diabetic, good news.

so when it was time to get the hearing aids in he was not to thrilled with it. even when we held them up to baby girl he was still apprehensive. he kept saying no owie, no owie. reassurance wasn't enough that he wasn't getting an owie. once we got them in all was fine and he let us put them in and take them out a couple of times.

we got some of it on video and i will try and post it later. the audiologist told us that since he has some hearing function that the wow factor when we put them in wouldn't be as great as if it was a child with little to no hearing function. he was very quiet though. he just sat there and listened. the audiologist had some noise makers and was using them to test to see if there were any noises that were to loud that hurt his ears. all noises were fine. in fact the most annoying ones were his favorite (go figure).

he is doing pretty well with them in though. there are times when he reaches for them and wants to pull them out and says all done but we just let him know that it is okay and he forgets about them again.

while it is something that i would have never wished for my child i am super glad that for now there is something that we can do to help him to hear better. they are very cute on him. Christmas came early for us. we are thrilled.

i'll keep posting as new things happen in our every growing adventures with this little person that God has entrusted us with. but for now that is all i have. hopefully pictures to come soon.

Christmas Cards

Christmas is almost here and with it comes the fun treks to the mail box to see if any Christmas cards came that day. I love going to the mail box and finding the cards with the faces of my friends on them. I have found a few that i like at Shutterfly this year. Take a look:

Card #1

i like that your family initial can be in the center of the card...i love the color red in it.....and i love how it looks with the black and white pictures....also that you can put multiple pictures here....i always have a hard time choosing just one picture

Card #2

i like this card becaue you can write a little more on it so that friends and family know what has been going on with you in year 2010. it's a clever way to do a Christmas card.

Card #3

i like the colors in this card and the idea of adding your top 10 (whatever) of 2010. Cool!

there are alot more fun cards to choose from. these are just some of my favorites. they are having a great promotion, bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from shutterfly. follow the link below

http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

and visit

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Christmas Picture

so yeah this is a little late in posting but i just wanted to get it up.

it's our 2008 Christmas card.

have a happy new year!

Santa

this is little guys 2nd Christmas but his first santa visit.

needless to say, he was not very happy with is for putting him on this strange, bearded mans lap.

by the time that we picked him put off of santa's lap he was as red as santa's coat.

i hate that he was unhappy but i love the screaming baby, santa pics.

that's really mean i know but it's true.

maybe next year will be better.

Advent Conspiracy

saw this on a couple of friends blogs and thought that it was really great

Christmas in NOLA

stockings

little guys stocking


sawyer's fist Christmas present from mom and dad. i know that he won't remember but i had to get him something so this was it. it's a toy camera and when you push that snap button it makes a sound like the camera clicking.

tickles and giggles

reading

the bell again

aunt kate

a boy and his daddy

us

the fam

merry christmas early. won't have computer access tomorrow.

Christmas Pic

Elf'd

so my mom just send me an email of me and my hubby and my little boy as elfs and they dance and they are so hilarious. you need to check out this site and make yourself an elf.

Happy Baby

this was taken about 2 weekends ago when we went through the galaxy of lights. basically a walk through of lots of Christmas lights. sawyer started off sleeping and then he woke up. don't let this picture deceive you though. after about 5 min of the happy baby he got really mad because he had gas.

Random Tuesday

Ten things I did this weekend:
1.went to see my parents
2. went to see my grandparents
3. rode in the car for way to long
4. did laundry
5. saw my best friend
6. ate at shoney's (yuck)
7. took pictures of my boy
8. talked to my sister on the phone
9. did some shopping
10. ate lots of food

9 things on my agenda this week:
1. take the baby to the doc for his 4 month shots (yuck)
2. got to work
3. relax
4. work on some Christmas projects
5. buy some more Christmas presents
6. decorate the house
7. work on the baby's scrapbook
8. laundry
9. get groceries

8 shows I watched last week:
1. greys anatomy
2. some of the auburn vs alabama game (war eagle)
3. news
4. general hospital (yeah it's silly, i guess it's a guilty pleasure)
5. house
6. everybody loves raymond
7. i can't believe that there is nothing else that i've seen. sometimes i'm a tv junkie
8. and last i haven't watched it but an super excited about watching lost, cheryl i'll have to go and watch the episodes on abc.com

7 things I cooked last week
1. i
2. cooked
3. nothing
4. but am
5. excited about
6. cooking a
7. baby food cake

6 things I read this past week
1. sunrise by karen kingsbury
2. some of the last promise by richard paul evans
3. friends blogs
4. green eggs and ham
5. the itsy bitsy spider
6. and i'm sure another kids book to my baby

5 Reasons to be happy today
1. my baby smiled at me this morning
2. he ate at 845 last night and woke up at 330am to eat again. he's going longer and longer which means he will be sleeping through the night soon.
3. work has been busy today so it's not boring
4. i'll get to see my baby in a couple of hours
5. and my sweet hubby too

4 things I need to buy
1. gifts
2. pads
3. scrapbook paper
4. food

3 people I saw this weekend
1. my parents
2. my grandparents
3. 2 of my best friends

2 things I am thankful for right now
1. my family
2. my hubby and baby

Christmas letter and picture

Bula! I think it has been three years since we’ve written a Christmas letter. It was the Christmas after our cross country trip to move to Washington State. It only seems appropriate to compose another letter this Christmas since we’ve moved back.

I think our Christmas letter then started with a description of the word, adventure, because that is what our year was to us. It would be fitting to say that this year has been an adventure as well, but it is more accurate to say that this year has been a blessing. So in keeping with the theme of our last Christmas letter…

The word, bless, is described as, “to bestow favor or praise”’, “favored”, “happy”, “God’s Favor”. We have been greatly blessed this year. Let’s start at the beginning. The New Year started back in Washington. We spent the evening with some wonderful friends. We played games and brought in the New Year together. It was a great time of laughter and fellowship and a great way to start the year. Also in January Jenn’s parents came to visit for a couple of days. That was a fun time too since it was the last time that they would be with us in Washington. Blessings! Great time spent with family and friends.

February held wonderful surprises. The young married class (New Roots) that we were a part of decided to spend some time at a shelter for women and their children. We baked lasagna and made heart shaped sugar cookies that we decorated with the kids. There was pink frosting and sprinkles everywhere. It was a great time and lots of fun. The children and mom’s loved it. Blessings! Serving others and being blessed all the same. Also this month we were able to get a way for a weekend. We stayed at a beautiful hot springs resort on the Columbia River gorge. Blessings! Time together.

Along with being involved in New Roots, we helped out with the college group called Elevate. It was so much fun hanging out and getting to know the college students that were a part of our church. Blessings! Just knowing them. In March we went to a small lodge/camp on Mt. Hood where there were a number of different activities that took place. There was skiing, wonderful people, amazing worship, good teaching, a ton of snow, tubes, dance dance revolution, smores, and snowmobiles. Yes that’s right snowmobiles. It was the first time for both of us to ride a snowmobile. Blessings! Having a fun time with friends. Not only did we have the Elevate retreat this month but we also had one for New Roots. This retreat took place at the coast. Again there was dance dance revolution, family feud, the ultimate couples Easter egg hunt, a 70’s disco party, great worship, and a wonderful time to connect with each other as a couple. Blessings! Again a fun time with friends and with each other.

April was a big month for us. Let us explain. The past couple of summers we have gone tubing down the Louisville River with some friends. This normally happens in early July. And even then it’s freezing. Well this year Michael and some friends decided that they wanted to go down the river in April because the water would be higher and the river faster and much colder, requiring wet suits. One of the best things about the trip down the river was that Michael and his dad got to brave it together. Blessings! Memories made. Michael’s parents came to visit because he graduated from seminary. Blessings! Time with family and a great accomplishment. He graduated with two masters degrees. First a Masters in Counseling and second a Masters of Divinity. This was an exciting time for us after all of Michael’s hard work. This month was also a big month because the doctor that Jenn worked for invited her and the rest of his dental team to go on a mission’s trip to the island of Fiji. This began our rush to get passports, shots, and the load of paperwork involved. Blessings! The opportunity to go to Fiji and minister to the people there.

It was the beginning of May when we found out that there was enough room for Michael to go to Fiji too, but he would have to pay his own way. Fiji had been Michael’s dream vacation so of course he was going to go. Blessings! I’d get
to share this experience with my husband. It was also in May that we decided to stay another couple of days on one of the islands after the mission’s trip. We were celebrating almost three years of school and a job well done. Blessings! We’d have time to explore more of Fiji and relax.

June couldn’t get here fast enough because this was the month of the big trip. The excitement built every day as the trip got closer. The day finally arrived! After leaving the Portland international airport and flying to LA we boarded a double decker airplane in route to the Fijian islands. After 10 long hours on the plane we arrived in Fiji. From there we had to take another plane (significantly smaller) to the island of Vanua Levu. Once everyone got to the island, we all boarded a bus and took a two hour bus ride to Buca Bay. This is where we stayed for the next week and a half, doing dentistry, playing with the children, and seeing some of real Fiji. It was a humbling experience to
meet the Fijians and discover how loving, caring, giving and thankful they are. It was fun to get to know the adults and the children were lively and energetic. It’s an experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. We were truly blessed to be there. Blessed that God allowed us the opportunity to go, to be with the people that we met in Fiji, to minister out of our comfort zone, to have the time we had together and be forever changed because of it.

July was the month that we would say goodbye to all the wonderful friends that we made during our three years in Washington. The friendships were so special and the attachments ran so deep that the separation would be hard. Blessed! With wonderful friends. After the gut wrenching goodbyes we left for our trip back across the country. We took a different route than before. This trip included a visit to our friends, Fran and Jenise in Spokane WA, Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, Mt. Rushmore and The Badlands. Blessed! For the safe journey and to be near family again. It was at the end of July that Jenn found a job that she is really excited about.

August was spent getting to know our nephew. The last time we saw him he was 10 months old. Now he’s almost 2, fun, and a joy to be around. Blessed! To be an Aunt and Uncle. This month was also spent praying for Michael to find a job.

In early September Michael started his first job out of school. Yippie! He’d been looking so hard and we were so excited. Blessings! God answered our prayers.

In October we found our very first house. This was so great. We were so blessed with finding it and the deal that we got. It seemed like a forever wait with the papers but in…

…November we took the plunge and are now home owners. The house needs a lot of work but we are excited about being able to do it ourselves. (Well, with the help of our family of course)

We’re sure that December will be wonderful because it will be filled with family, friends and lots of love.

Our prayer is that you too had such a blessed year and for a blessed year to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Christmas Cards

the inside says,

"The gift of God

The birth of Christ.

This Christmas...

This is love.

Blessings to You."

my aunt and her family sent me this card and i just love it. she always sends the best letters and cards at Christmas. last year this is what their Christmas card said.