I love this season. Days of decorating. Piles of presents to be wrapped. Cookies to be baked. Family. The anticipation. Waiting for Christmas. Waiting for Christ. My small group has been reading David Platt's "Follow Me" for the last few weeks. It's our last book together before we take a break for the holidays. We talked through several chapters together last night and one of my favorite passages was this: "For centuries, all creation longed for a coming King who would conquer all of these things [sin, suffering and death]. That King came in the person of Jesus Christ. During his time on earth, he healed the hurting, delivered the demon possessed, gave sight to the blind, called the lame to walk, and caused the dead to live again. Then he did what no one else in history has done or ...
Christmas
My Ruffle Tree Skirt
I posted this picture on Instagram a few days ago and I've had quite a few emails and text messages about my tree skirt and how I made it. I swear I thought I did a tutorial post, but the only thing I could find in the archives was this post about how much I loved it! I couldn't even find proper "in progress" shots. I made my skirt the week of Thanksgiving 2011 and it's held up surprisingly well. I'm sure I could have sewn it or hemmed it or done something a little fancier, but the homespun look is exactly what our little rock house needs. I remember being so worried that I was going to spend a ridiculous amount of time on it and it wouldn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but in all honestly, I could not be any happier. My fascination with a ruffled tree skirt started with this post ...
Our Magical First Day
I was just as excited about waking up Saturday morning as the girls were. In fact, I woke up about 4:45 and just couldn't close my eyes again. I laid in bed reading until an acceptable hour and then it was time to meet the Mouse! We had heard from Guest Services the night before that MK had reached capacity and been closed for three days running, so our plan was to be there a half hour before the gates opened and it was a good one. The girls opted for the Ferry Boat to cross over to the park and I was secretly thrilled. I love riding the ferry because it offers the first glimpse of Cinderella's castle! We took Ella to Disney World in 2009, but it had been awhile. This was the first trip for SK and my cousin, Molly, so they were all understandably excited as we began our approach. One ...
Crappiest Christmas Photography Ever
In my defense, we were so preoccupied with enjoying the moment that I didn't take many pictures. I so wanted to see the look on their faces when they opened each gift and couldn't wait to see how they reacted to our surprise, that the camera was kind of an afterthought. Add to that the fact that my camera was a trillion years old and there is absolutely no natural light in our living room and the few pictures I did get are blurry and the color is wonky. Even photoshop couldn't rescue me this time! Just pretend they are beautiful and rest assured that we got the entire morning on video for posterity. Although we managed to get through the entire morning without a single pajama-clad photograph as a family in front our tree, I did set up the tripod as we were walking out the door for lunch ...
Remember Christmas Eve?
Christmas Eve seems like so long ago! We started the day much like we do every year and celebrated Christmas with Josh parents. We were having such a good time that I managed not to sake a single picture of anything significant. No gift opening, no food eating, no family fun, nothing. Just pretend like you saw cute pictures of my kids and their cousin Bella in adorable black Uggs with stockings the size of a small car! We were exhausted when we left, but per tradition, we met my parents and KCory for candlelight communion at our church. When we arrived home we were greeted by three VERY cute, pajama-clad boys who wanted our help spreading reindeer food and getting excited about Santa's arrival. We sprinkled glittery oats all over both yards and ran around squealing for a bit before ...
Merry Christmas from Our House to Yours!
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12 More Days of Elf Antics
I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve and that Scout will be headed home in a matter of hours. This holiday season has really flown by and I'm not sure I got to enjoy it as much as I wanted to. I do know that my girls have had so much fun at parties and plays, we've read a Christmas book a day this month and played with our nativity scenes more times than I can count. They have loved waking up each morning and going on a hunt for our favorite elf and we will miss him when he boards Santa's sleigh tonight. Here's to hoping your elf left lots of magic at your house and that Santa pays you a very special visit! Day 13: Scout was dancing the Nutcracker, complete with a pink tulle tutu. Day 14: Somehow he got trapped in the bookcases. Even SK said, "He open da door?" Day 15: The ...
The Big Guy
On Sunday after church, we spontaneously decided to run into town and have a visit with Santa. Josh thought I was crazy for braving a weekend at the mall, but I was crossing my fingers for an easy adventure. Much to my delight, we found a parking spot right next to the door and there was nobody in line when we got to Santa's village! Sophie immediately started crying as soon as she saw him and was yelling about not sitting in his lap. Man, I love this part of Christmas! Y'all know I don't really want my children to cry or be unhappy, right? I just think the crying Santa photos are so stinking cute! She did eventually give him a high-five and tell him what she wanted for Christmas (a blue bicycle and a purple umbrella), but still wasn't happy about sitting with him. Ella, on the other hand, ...