The Tree is Finally Up!!

It took us a while...much longer than I would have liked, but our tree is finally here and decorated! Every year we debate about purchasing a pre-lit artificial tree...and every year we back out and spend too much for an almost dead tree. This year it paid off...we ended up with a buy one get one free type deal. Which means all of those cute hand made kids ornaments could go on their own tree this year! What fun!!



Seth...being our artsy kid loved placing each one of these ornaments on the tree. They were all up in the span of about 5 minutes!



Zach on the other hand had no problem just sitting back and watching the festivities while slowly sucking on his candy cane!



I didn't get a great picture of their tree, but his gives you a fairly good idea...lots of fun, sentimental, and fragile ornaments. It was especially fun to see their eyes light up when they pulled out an ornament with their name or their picture on it!



There's not much better on a cold night that to sip cider and sit by the Christmas tree. I hope you all can take some time to relax...and enjoy the season and all of the beauty it has to offer!

Our Up and Coming Artist...

Today was our second snow day in a row...thanks to the frigid temperatures, snow, and gusty winds, we were housebound (except for a quick run to Target for a few essential groceries). It's in these LONG days that I am thankful for the little $1 crafts that will occupy at least on of my children for an extended period of time.

Seth is a little artist. He LOVES to color. Case in point: our fridge is plastered with about 12 coloring pages that he has done in the last 2 days. Zach on the other hand would prefer to let Seth do the coloring. Case in point: This morning Zach didn't want to finish his picture for Seth, so he asked Seth to finish it! I'm not sure if he is lazy, or if he can just delegate?

All that to say, Seth has been begging to work on this boat for quite some time; and he was in heaven the entire time it was in front of him!!



He glued all the pieces together, but could hardly wait to break out the paints!



The finished product...the joy this gave him was certainly worth the $1 I paid for it!!

Boys Boys Boys...and one girl!

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in a small town outside of Las Vegas with Justin's family (minus one brother - we missed you Trevor!).



As always the food, fun, and family is wonderful...but this year it was especially nice to see the cousins spend time together and get to know each other. Total there are 4 boys and one lonely girl (who is just a bit younger than Eli).




These older big boys' age span over a year...and they played more like best friends than cousins! It was so fun!!



This was probably the cleanest activity they enjoyed. After hours and hours of playing in the dry dirt...a few bubbles might have actually made them a touch cleaner!



I'm pretty sure along with some trash talk about whose Dad would whoop whose in horseshoes, there was also some conversation about how someday they would be old enough to play!!

Being away from family is part of the deal...part of the Military life, and part of the life God has called us, but after weeks like this one, it makes that life a little bit harder!!

Life in the Fast Lane!

We've been living life in the fast lane...or maybe the slow lane, I'm not sure which. What I do know for certain is that I have only had three posts in the last month and even my husband is harassing me about that! So that must mean things have been crazy busy, right?



This picture reminds me of how my life has been feeling lately. We were standing on an bridge overlooking the Vegas Strip. When I look at this picture I see business, chaos, and minimal organization (translation...my life!)

All that to say my December resolution is to put myself back together, get myself a tad bit organized...and BLOG!!!

Thanks for your patience!

Just For Fun!

Stop by and check out my new photography blog...Just For Fun Photography! I haven't developed the site very much; and I'm not sure what is in store. At this point, it is just what it's called...Just For Fun! A few friends, a few family members, and a few willing and not so willing participants have made the site possible! So if you have a minute...stop by!