Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Christmas 2015

Hello ! How was your Christmas? Hope it was good and your enjoying the downtime now that the rush is over. We had a good Christmas, so nice having Kristin home with us this year! The weather was warm again and now it's cold and rainy and we did get snow for a day and a beautiful sky to go with it in the picture above. Sharing some Christmas fun with you today.
We baked cookies at my sister's house, busy and fun and yummy!
Loved that we all did them together this year.
The kids did a few with frosting
Sienna and Colt did what they do best, a fort and played so good! They will be back here today, can't wait to hear about their Christmas and see what new toys they bring to play with. Bless Colt who loves to smile when I take pictures, Sam was like that too, so dang cute!!
Our Christmas eve morning tradition breakfast with my dad's side. Started years ago by grandma and grandpa, love this tradition and hope our kids keep it up. It was our first year without them both and they would be so happy to see that we were there together.
After breakfast, Rich and I came home and cleaned and got ready to host his family that night. The house looked so pretty and it was warm so windows were open, very odd to do on Christmas eve. The girls had to work all day and got off just after the party started.
We all crowded in the living room talking for two hours, usually the men stay in the kitchen talking and us women/kids stay in here. A nice change to be all together, had some good talks and catching up on what everyone's doing.
Christmas morning, kids slept in longer, they loved everything they got, even though I worried. It's harder buying for older kids but it turned out fine just like always. Girls room is being redone and Renee is getting a new bed, YAY and Kristin got a new bed YAY! We all need them, so one by one we will be getting new ones. Lucky laid with Sam the whole time, so cute and happy.
 
Later that day we went to my mom's and I didn't get any pictures, the kids were all making weird faces and being too goofy so I put the camera away. It was a nice Christmas there too.
Here are my gifts from Rich, way to much this year, he overdid it. Love my new coloring book and pencils, have already colored a few pages and love it.
Kristin got me these books I wanted and a little prayer box. I've started reading the books, will read them slowly so I take it all in. Hoping to read a lot more in 2016 then this year.
 
Just like that the day was over and now we can breathe and get ready for a new year. I'm working on my December Daily, loved this album so much. Making changes in my PL for next year so will share that soon too. Have a good week friends and Happy New Year!!!
Hello Nancy, stay warm my friend xo

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Holiday fun in pictures

Hello and happy one week till Christmas, YAY!! The month has been fast but I'm ready to celebrate and enjoy being on break with the kids. We even woke up to snow today which is the best way to start break for them. Happy we had warm temps all month so far, will make winter not feel quite as long now. Unless we still have snow in April/May then it won't be fun.
 
Thought I'd share some pictures of what's been going on around here this month, holiday pictures are always fun to share and see aren't they. We are having more of that this week with the kids home too, it can be a long week of celebrating and cookie making and finish up shopping and wrapping fun.
Our church decked out for Christmas, love this so much each year. Beautiful!! Two ladies do this by their selves, amazing job ladies. Tonight they set it up for our Secret Sisters dinner, so excited for this, we find out who our secret sisters were all year and pull names for the next year. My sister Annie has been coming to church with me for a few months now and she came and joined in for next year. She will also be getting baptized this Sunday, so happy for her coming to Christ!!
Here is a close up of the tables, filled with homemade goodies both to eat and as decorations. Elizabeth you would like that they used CD's and their own scrap stash do decorate them with. They stand up with office clips, not sure what else you call them. They each look so pretty, I took two home. We had potluck dinner then opened presents that took two hours long but some heart felt gifts and journals were made for others and made us cry. So blessed by these women.
There is basketball this month for Ryan too, it was first game this day and they lost by one basket. YAY!! We watched her second game and they won by one basket, YAY!!
We had our Christmas party on my dad's side, the first one without Grandma Ruth, we did ok and I'm sure she'd be SO PLEASED with this picture of almost everyone. I am so thankful for self timer cameras that make it possible for everyone to be in the picture. I also have a self timer button for my phone I need to practice using more too. Wish we had started taken pictures like this years ago.
I made sure to have two men read from Luke 2 since it's usually one or two of my kids, already have two men picked out for next year too. LOVE these pictures so much, again grandma would be happy. I'm pretty sure we all felt her presence and grandpa's too.
I put a little twist on the gift exchange this year and it turned out so good for everyone. When I pulled names out to match up I decided to have them have each other, like here Kristin had Colt's name and he had her name instead of another person. LOVE IT! He talked all day to me about this the day after the party, Kristin got him the best gifts he kept telling me. She had fun having him too, a boy to shop for after having to shop for mostly girls. I had everyone sit with their person to and open gifts together, so much fun this was too, usually they open them and then go thank the person. LOVE!
We had a dinner at my small group's home, so nice to have this break to just sit and talk and enjoy each other's company. We finished our last study book and will start again next month with the study from the movie War Room, so excited for this one. I saw the movie twice and read the book twice. Again, thankful for a self timer camera to get this picture also.
On Monday we will be making cookies at my sister Heather's house. All of us will be there, all the kids, my mom and other sister, YAY!! Will be a  crazy fun time, not doing any sugar cookies and frosting/sprinkled ones this year. The kids want other kinds, mostly peanut butter ones so I bought a nice mix of new ones to try.
Last but not least is a drawing done by Sam in art class. He did a great job I think and Rich took it right to work for the art wall of the kids pictures he has. Susan, I thought you would like seeing this, wish he would draw as much as your son does. Art class is over for him now, this was my favorite of all he did. Happy just to have this one piece though.
 
That's it for me today, hope you enjoyed this post. Enjoy this last week, take time to slow down and really enjoy each moment and the reason for the season, it will warm your heart more then any present or decorations. Merry Christmas or Happy whatever holiday you celebrate! Thank you for being here. Stay safe and see you after Christmas. Love and Hugs!!

Saturday, December 12, 2015

AROUND HERE

                                                       Hello, sorry it's been so long since my last post. I've been busy with my December projects and trying to stay caught up on them.  I still need to upload pictures to even make a post, so weird not to post a picture with this today. Can you believe we're into mid December already, crazy isn't it. Wish the holiday time lasted longer, even without all the hustle it still goes too fast. Thank you for your visit on my last post, Thanksgiving is my favorite and it still warms my heart thinking of this last one.  So here's a little bit of what's going on now:

Around here the weather is warm and beautiful every day,  too windy for me but still nice

Around here Renee is finished with her first semester of college, YAY and has the month off

Around here Summer is still working at Marc's and enjoys it

Around here Sam and Summer keep asking for snow and are sad it's warm out

Around here I'm keeping up and LOVING my December Daily album

Around here I've been also Journaling Your Christmas with prompts and LOVE it too

Around here I've got lots of shopping and wrapping to finish up this week, no stress

Around here Rich is taking some days off before the year is over, YAY, so nice having him home

Around here I've got a yucky throat thingy cold, Sam just had it so it's my turn

Around here I'm so enjoying my advent reading too, the time by the tree is always my favorite

Around here I just sent out my first batch of Christmas cards, YAY!

Around here I'm planning what I want to do in 2016!!!! Excited and ready for a new year!


That's about it for around here, all is good as it can be and I'm thankful everyday for that. Hope you are all doing well too. Happy Weekend, make sure to take time to just sit by the tree and enjoy the quiet part of this season too. HUGS!!!

Sunday, November 29, 2015

T stands for Thanksgiving 2015

Hello, how are you? I'm sharing our Thanksgiving day/weekend with you today for T day with Elizabeth and gang. This is my favorite day and weekend of the year and this one was so good and needed and I'm sad it's come to the end. It's so nice having the kids home and especially Rich for 4 days in a row, no schedules or anything to do but what we choose to do. SO NICE!! I need this time to prepare myself for the holiday rush and reading this book and my advent studies helps me so much, these last few years I've enjoyed the upcoming holiday time and don't stress quite as much, hoping to do the same this year. So this weekend I took a break from my phone/IG and enjoyed slowing down and being with the family and quiet time, so good and I plan to do this more often. I of course took some photos to share with using my camera which I think isn't doing well by the looks of some of these photos. So here's a peek at our long weekend
The break started on Wednesday for us, Sam and I spent a lot of time outside while it was warm out
The only cooking I did was baked goods and boiled eggs for deviled eggs. We always order pizza for dinner too, love this tradition and no cooking meant more time to relax and no dishes, YAY!
Summer couldn't wait to put up her tree, love that about her, more each year she gets like this :)
I worked on my November Pl pages and after this weekend's photos will have all of November done, YAY! Bring on December! I loved the pages I did this night too, YAY!
Love that I got Rich and I in a picture, getting foods ready for the next day!!!
I didn't get a lot of photos Thanksgiving morning, the kids slept in and the house was quiet as Rich started the turkey early and prepared the food all morning, he does this so well and loves it. I'm happy to get this picture though, all the kids and my sister Annie ate with us since she had to be at work and would miss dinner at my mom's, so nice having her with us. Everything came out so YUMMY!!!
I took some unposed photos at my mom's, this is what I got, lol. We all hang in her kitchen, laughing and talking and snacking, the kids are getting so much older, just imagine what this scene will look like in 5 years. All the food was good here too, can't have enough of the yummy food on this day!!
I did do some walking/laps in my driveway that night under the full moon and the Christmas lights across the street. So happy I did this, got my exercise in and the lights were so cool! I do this most nights if it's not too cold/wet  to get my exercise and enjoy the fresh air before it's really winter.
Sam, Rich and I played Sorry, a new favorite lately and Rich won, he always wins, lol.
Renee and I colored, we haven't done this in so long, loved every minute of it. Played some Christmas music quietly on my phone for us too, so nice!! Love this photos too!
we bought a tree on Saturday and Summer happily decorated it tonight. Told you she is so excited about the trees this year, GO SUMMER! When she was done with this tree she went and....
helped Sam change his room around and put up his tree, that's 3 trees for her this weekend. She also loves changing around their rooms and cleaning them. His tree looks so much cuter then it does here too, maybe it's the lighting or I need a new camera.
 
Sorry this was so long, I took 80 photos and tried to narrow it down, so much good happened. Can't wait to put these in my PL now. Thanks so much for reading and for Elizabeth hosting us this week again. Take care and have a good week! Hugs!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Around here

 
Around here it's Thanksgiving tomorrow!! YAY!!!
 
Around here there is two pies in the oven baking, yum!
 
Around here Renee has college today then we are on break!!
 
Around here we are ready for the long weekend break!!
 
Around here the weather turned cold and we had a bit of snow Tuesday
 
Around here we will have pizza for dinner tonight, no cooking or leftovers
 
Around here I started a little holiday shopping, before it's too crazy and cold
 
Around here I'm getting my December Daily album ready
 
Around here we had a great warm fall, so thankful for that
 
Around here I need to start my Christmas cards
 
Around here the new normal is pretty normal now
 
Around here I'm thankful my kids don't work on Thanksgiving
 
Around here I'm ready to put up our tree, maybe tomorrow or Friday!!
 
Around here I'm ready to sit by the tree lights and read and savor this time
 
Around here I'm so thankful for my family and friends, blessed so much!!
 
Around here I was happy to run into Nancy, HI NANCY!!
 
 
Hello friends, it's the day before my favorite holiday/ favorite weekend of the year!! I will post some more of my projects from the retreat over the weekend. Wishing all my friends in the states a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! Be safe and enjoy the time with your loved ones. Thanks so much for reading here and leaving me comments. I appreciate and love each one of them and YOU!!

Thursday, November 19, 2015

My scrapbook retreat, lots of photos and fun!!

 
Hello! It's good to be back home and settling for Thanksgiving and the soon to come busy holiday time. I had a good time at my scrap retreat, it's been years since I've been to one and even had one myself.  I wasn't sure what to bring and do for all that time, there's always some PL to do but I was hoping to scrap some too. I finally decided on some mini albums and PL and Disney, YAY! I even packed pretty light, just the stuff above, the blue bag had my clothes in it. I was happy to use my cute pink bag from my Secret Pal last year at church, it's so handy and held up to all I put in it. Are you ready to see this gorgeous place, it was really so pretty, the pictures don't show just how much it is.
 
Oh and let me say that being there with other scrappers, a lot of them I didn't know. It felt odd taking photos so I didn't get any of anyone and I didn't take nearly all that I wanted too. No one else was taking them and it felt weird being the only one so I did the best I could.
I got there about 3:30 on Friday and was the second person there, YAY! I liked it soon as I saw it, already looked cozy and my kind of house, windows everywhere and a porch to sit on.
There are 3 different houses here, the main house and the game room house and a one room cottage by the pond you will see soon. Above is the main house on the left and the far right is a peek of the game room. We used both of these to have enough sleeping room. I shared a room in the main house.
Soon as I took my stuff in, I walked around and got pictures before it would be dark. This place is only 20mts away from home but felt so far away from everything, peaceful and cozy. Here is the pond and the cottage off to the right,  isn't this lovely. Even if I didn't scrap I would have loved just walking around and enjoying this nature, always a favorite for me.
On the other side of all this and down further is all woods like this, sigh, love it! Wish I had seen it in full fall color though but still so pretty. I'm not sure how many acres there were but had to be a lot.
Here's the long driveway, wouldn't be fun to shovel it in the winter but I sure enjoyed taking walks down it a few times each day. All that sitting made my back ache so a good walk was helpful.
Here we are back up to the house and the porch which stretches on down to the game room too. It was cold enough we kept a cooler of drinks out there and packs of our drinks sitting there too. This made more room in the fridge. Hoping to go back here in warmer months and sit out there.
When you walk in there is an entryway with laundry and bedroom to the side and then this kitchen ahead. So pretty!! We scrapped in the room behind the fireplace, so much light! I loved all the wood already, the floor and the fireplace. Yep, I could live here!
here's to the right of the kitchen, more wood and a big stove. Just past this is the dining table and stools to sit at behind this counter. Lots of room for everyone!
here's the cozy little living room area, fireplace and a tv off to the side. We made good use of those recliners, two of the ladies sat there most of the time and did digital scrapping.
to the left of living room is a chair holder, how cool is that!!
Of course, we had a snack table set up too, lots of goodies all weekend here
here was my table, right next to a window, so pretty. Plenty of space too, YAY!!
Once everyone showed up this is what it looked like, a room full of tables and creative messes going on, YAY!! Like I said no pictures of anyone, I snuck and took this Saturday morning about 6:15 when I got up. I was the first one up each day and had this quiet space to myself for almost two hours, YAY!! I got my work done most in those hours of quietness. These ladies were serious scrappers though, staying up all night. I went to bed about 12:15am each day and did ok but by Sunday I was feeling a head cold and tiredness hitting me. Some of these ladies stayed till Monday, I wend home Sunday about 2:30, just the right amount of time for me.
I took some pictures with the sunlight coming in Sunday morning, I was the only one up. This is what it looks like from the other side of the kitchen. In the back on the right is the entryway. Look at those big closet doors there in the kitchen, one is a pantry and the other has cleaning stuff. I would LOVE that kind of space in my house right now. If you go down the right there is two bedroom and a bathroom. My bedroom was all the way at the end and had it's own bathroom.
Here's the room I shared with my Sunday school friends. They took they shared the big bed and another in the single and I took the air mattress on the floor. On the other side is a patio door that lets in pretty light. A HUGE walk in closet was beside my bed and then the bathroom too. 
Ok, are you ready to see my scrapping now, I'm so happy with what I got done! Here are two little mini's I worked on. I love working with mini's when I get the chance, such a cute fun size. I will share a few of my favorite pages from each one since this post is already pretty long.
First up is the mini Christmas album, this is from 1997. We lived in a different house then and had Kristin and this was Renee's first Christmas. So sweet going back this far and remembering.
here's the next page, so cute they are!
I added the ones from that day at my mom's house too. LOVE!
My mom with long hair and her beautiful table every year she does this!
LOVE these pictures!
Now here is my Halloween mine, so fun this was for me. Remember how sad I was about Halloween this year,  no more trick or treating for the kids. Well, I started looking at older photos and decided to make one album with just the kids and their costumes. LOVE!! I didn't tape anything down yet, still looking for a few more photos and might have to move things around but this is a good start.
 
Above is a photo of me and my sisters at Halloween and the bottom one is Kristin's first Halloween.
more of Kristin's first few years
Then we skip to these ones, can't find younger ones of them but sweet having all 3 of my girls here
Skipping ahead again because I love these pages, the papers were perfect for them.
Skipping ahead again to share the last page and last time we treated with their cousins. Making it a double spread since I like these pictures and the story of us that night.
 
I'm going to end this here because my computer is slowing down and this is already pretty long. Will post the rest of my pages in another post. Thanks so much for reading this far if you did. I had so much to share with you. Again, so happy I got this chance to scrap older memories and do so much at one time. Everyone was so nice and I'm sure I will do this again with them.