Thursday, December 16, 2010

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas, Finally!

I'm not sure what the deal is, but it has taken me and unusually long time to get my decorations up this year.  I just couldn't get in the mood or find the time.  So, over the weekend, I finally just buckled down and did here.  Here are a few pictures of my decorations.  We don't normally go all out or anything.  With small kids in the house, I just would rather not spend all of December telling them not to touch things.

My Precious Moments Nativity.  I collected the pieces over a few years, but since we got the piano this year, I decided that this would be a safe place for me to put it.

This beautiful ornament was part of our Christmas portrait package from Kelly Williams of The Bond Between Us.  I think is it awesome!  She ordered them from a seller on Etsy.

With kids in the house, and advent calendar is a must.  I got this one from Hallmark when Emma was little, and I just love it.  All the little ornaments have magnets and stick onto the tree.  The star even plays a song when you press it.  The best part if the hidden pocket between the bottom two tiers of the tree where you keep all the ornaments.

This shelf in my dining room is filled with random items that really don't have another home. Madeline has already enjoyed rearranging them, and even breaking one of my snowmen.

Our Christmas tree, all decorated and ready for presents. After I took this picture I realized how sad it looked with no presents, so I wrapped some, but didn't take any photos. :-(

Here she is again, all lit up.  I turned the lights off for this shot, and I really like how all the colored lights are showing on the wall. 


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Monday, December 13, 2010

Thanksgiving recap - just in time for Christmas!

I started off Thanksgiving with a week long visit from my sister Erin, her husband and her little boy, who is 6 months younger than Madeline. We had a great time. Since she lives far away, we rarely get to spend that much time together at once, and we made the most of it. We baked for a whole day, we crafted, we shopped, and we even ventured out on Black Friday. We were in line at Old Navy at 10pm for a midnight opening, then headed to Walmart after that. Although the trip was a little stressful, considering the crazed redneck lady that tried to break in line at Old Navy once the door opened, it was a successful trip. I was able to get some Old Navy jeans for $15 for me and Ike, and I got our whole family fleece jackets at Walmart for $7 each! I love a good deal!

The actual Thanksgiving meal was at my mom's house this year, and it was full of activity. We ate, played, and just enjoyed each others company. The house was so full. We had two little ones under 2, two 7 year olds, and one in between those. So to say the house was nuts is a little bit of an understatement. The kids had a great time together though. My sister Erin and I made the kids cute shirts with turkey's on them, and I think they turned out well. I did not come up with the turkey shirt idea by myself though, I got it from an Etsy shop, then just drew it out.  I'm not very creative on my own, so I have to "borrow" ideas from other bloggers and crafters.

Here are some pics of the kids in their cute shirts.







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Wednesday, December 1, 2010