Christmas in Photographs!

Christmas has come and gone. We had a great time, and I have lots of pictures to share, so I'll keep my rambling to a minimum. So, without further ado, our Christmas in photographs!

First item of business: I finished the quilt I started over a year ago. Ain't she purdy?

And, I made some pillows for my sisters:

We were blessed with mountains upon mountains of gifts:

We watched A Christmas Story. ALOT:

My sister bought me the perfect gift. CLUE: The Office. We had lots of fun trying to figure out who killed Toby:

Of course, I had to be Pam:

And Santa knew just what to bring the artist/musician:

And the future motorhead:

It looks like two little boys were very good this year! We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did too! Here's to hoping for a great new year!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

It irritates me to no end that this song is considered a Christmas song. Also, it irritates me that Barbara Streisand sings the "Christmas" version. Hello?! No one does it better than Julie Andrews. Seriously, though. The Sound of Music has nothing to do with Christmas. However, Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I'll share a few of my favorite things:


Decorating: Who doesn't love putting up the Christmas tree? It just makes your house so cheerful!

Taking the kiddos to visit Santa: Their faces just light up when they see Santa and think about all of the presents they're going to get. Little kids are so fun at Christmas time!

Making presents (And getting them, too!): I love making presents for my family. It's so much more heartfelt than just going to the store and buying stuff (Although, admittedly, I do that also).

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow: I love snow! It's so beautiful. And my kids are really enjoying this snow. I think it's the first time they've been old enough to enjoy it.

And lastly, the reason for the season: Jesus Christ. I am thankful for his sacrfice. And thankful that he is a part of my life. Right now, I'm sad that I am not at our Christmas program, but unfortunately I have been sufffering from some horrible insomnia. I was actually asleep last night, but woke up at 3:00 a.m. to the sound of a car spinning its wheels on our icy street for 15 minutes after he crashed his car into the concrete wall. The lack of sleep has left me with a splitting headache. But, even though I am not able to be at the Christmas program, I know that Jesus Christ is the reason for this season!

Merry Christmas everybody!

New Jeans

Today I bought a new pair of jeans from Old Navy. The name of the style is "The Dreamer." Now, some of the other names they have for their jeans are "The Flirt," "The Sweetheart," and "The Diva." The latter three are all jeans tailored to very petite little things who have never had a baby. Anytime I ever buy jeans, my baby gut hangs over the top. So, I see these jeans, and the description says special front panel to slim your tummy and lift your butt. So, is the name "The Dreamer" supposed to mean "you're dreaming if you think you'll ever wear normal jeans ever again?"

Senior Portraits

I did senior portraits for my beautiful niece. Tell me what you think!

And a graduation announcement:

Oh, Andrew

Obstinate:
1. Firmly or stubbornly adhering to one's purpose, opinion, etc.; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty.
2. Andrew.

Oh, Andrew. You are driving me insane! You always insist on the opposite of anything and everything I (or anyone else) asks of or offers you. When did my sweet little baby turn into such a monster?

Halloween Festivities

This has been quite an eventful week! First off, Joseph contracted the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus. Joseph was in the ER last friday and he wasn't allowed to go back to school until this friday. I was thankful that he was able to return on Friday for his school Halloween party. I was signed up to be a volunteer. I love participating in his classroom activites. Five-year-olds are fun! Joseph came home with bags and bags full of goodies. One of the boys in the class exclaimed, "This is the best day of my life!"

This was the favorite goodie in our house:

Lime green vampire teeth!

Friday was gorgeous! We wanted to get out and enjoy the last of the nice weather, so we made a trip to Sweetapple Farm to participate in a costume parade and go on a haunted hay ride.

My handsome firefighters.

Let me just say, I was so thankful that they saw these costumes in TJ Maxx. I have made their costumes every year, and every year I scramble to get them finished minutes before trick-or-treat. They originally wanted me to make them The Wiggles, but they fell in love with these costumes and changed their minds. Thanks TJ Maxx!

My old lady costume.

Quite possibly the scariest thing out there. Before you know it, I'll be shopping the Quacker Factory on QVC. Oh yeah, I'm not pregnant. I just have a fat stomach. I seriously look like I am 6 months pregnant in this picture.

Sweetapple Farm. Beautiful!

As you can see, Joseph and Andrew were very excited for Halloween festivities!

Candy was given out for the best costumes. The judges said they were all the best. No child left behind.

So cute! There were bonfires all around the farm and they even sold little s'mores packets and hot dogs. We didn't have any, but it was fun to sit around the fire nontheless!

Andrew in the pumpkin patch.


Andrew and Joseph trying to kill the scarecrow.



Last but not least, the hayride. Tons of fun!

And that concludes Friday's festivities. Saturday morning was my last day of work. Yay! But I came home to a sick Andrew. He was running a fever. And the weather was nasty. Our town had trick-or-treat at the mall, so I gave Andrew some Tylenol and we avoided the nasty weather. It was packed, but there was plenty of candy and Joseph had a good time. Andrew wasn't so thrilled. He ended up riding around in one of those car strollers and I collected his candy for him. Poor guy.

Excited for candy.

Not excited about anything.

My handsome little guys.

Unfortunately, Andrew woke up with a fever of 105 degrees this morning. Ugh. So, I spent all morning in the ER and came home with a prescription for Tamiflu. More swine flu. May I just mention that I haven't been to church in 5 weeks, because someone has been sick every week. This flu season has been terrible.

Here's to hope that our family will be healthy soon. Keep us in your prayers.

More Photo Fun

I made another sample for your enjoyment. I need to credit the following for use of their freebies. If you would like to use any of their products, please visit these sites:

http://www.storeide.se/gunhild/index.htm

http://totallyddesigns.blogspot.com/

http://censloft.blogspot.com/