All Things Red and Green

Only TWO DAYS til Christmas!!!!! 

And it's really looking like it around our house.

Brett got all crafty last night and made Wassail for all of his managers at work. 

If you're interested in the recipe, let me know.

Luckily he had some mason jars left over for ME :) They are some of my favorite things to decorate with.

All done!

Our tree. O'Ryan loves to check out his presents and tell me what they are. He says things like, "This is my monster truck from Santa Mommy. I told him I want one." ...which is funny because he's holding a tiny little gift while saying that. He sort of gets Santa, but doesn't understand that Santa hasn't come yet. 

Excuse the bad-quality pics...they're from my phone with not enough light. This is one of my favorite ornaments. My mom gave it to me (she gave me one nearly every year growing up - and we still get one from her but as a family). It's an aspen leaf and I think it's coated in actual gold. 

I LOVE this one! It's from Jackson Hole (where you can find the BEST ornaments). We got this the year we got married - also from my mom.

Yummm...McAlister's tea. I also have a mini Starbucks cup - soooo cute.

I think this is from Pottery Barn. We have a lot of ornaments like this - nature-ish ones. Did that make sense? Anyway...

See the reindeer? Another bad pic. But he's from Pottery Barn too. We LOVE it!!! We have a silver one too.

We have SOOO many cards this year!!! Brett set them out across our big bar area. This is one of my favs, pictured above.

We bought this train (on Black Friday, too!) on sale at Home Depot to go around the tree. A certain boy in our house is obsessed with it, as you can imagine. O'Ryan likes it, too :)

Oh and this train apparently prefers to not be on the tracks and drive around the house where it often gets tripped over or stepped on...

Rachel introduced me to Circle E Candles earlier this fall. This is HANDS DOWN the BEST candle ever. And above is my favorite scent - Christmas Tree. Seriously, they last forever and the scent carries throughout most of my house. 

My mantle is blah but I didn't want to buy stuff for it this year...maybe next year. But I DO love our stockings. 

Mine has sentimental value. My great-grandmother, Nini, made this! Can you see the detail in it? She made one for everyone in my family when I was growing up. Mine was always the favorite because it had Santa and presents :) I'll have this forever. Decorations like this make me happy :)

Another thing that makes me happy? Crafts with O'Ryan's hand prints!!!! He went to Advent Camp this week for three days and made this. Adorable. His little hands are still so tiny. 

Here's the silver reindeer.

See the little snow flakes? My mom bought me these last year. I sprinkle them around when I'm having holiday get-togethers. It's the small things like this that make me smile. Weird, I know!

My dining room changes a bit throughout the season, but here's how it looks now. More snowflakes. And see the mason jars on the ends? I put cranberries and a tea light candle in water - they float and look beautiful lit-up at night!

This large vase usually sits at the center dining table. I LOVE switching out its contents every season. The sliver sparkles BIG time (you can't tell in this pic). Our Christmas decorating colors are usually red,  forest green and silver...so this vase matches perfectly!

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That's it! Our home at Christmas. I missed a few things, but there's always next year. We only have about half of our decorations out because we're showing our house this season. 

I won't post again til after the BIG DAY! I hope your family slows down, enjoys each other and feels the joyful spirit in the air this Christmas. 

Prepare your hearts! Our Savior's birthday is almost here!!! 

So I Can Sleep

I'm posting at 11:19pm because I'm thinking if I jot everything that's racing through my mind right now down on my blog I may be able to go to sleep in my warm, comfy bed...

So we'll see.

1. I can't get into much now because I'm so so done and over it for today, but let me say, I am beyond frustrated and confused and done with my health conditions. I know the Lord works in mysterious ways, but maybe God, you could mysteriously/quickly heal me??? I feel lost in all this mess.

2. I know I shouldn't watch the news or read it on my iPad. But I did. Then I got discouraged about the world my child is growing up in. Blah. Scary. It honestly makes me wonder...what's to come in the near future? So many things that are happening line up with what the Bible predicted...anyone else feel this way?

3. Worrying about some of my loved ones. I pray for them daily, sometimes 10x/day. God's got them, but I still worry.

4. Should we move? I don't want to. But I do. Hmm...

5. When in the HECK am I going to find the perfect balance, the perfect schedule for myself??? I constantly feel pulled in far too many directions. I need play time, I need productive time, I need gym time, I need husband time, I need O'Ryan time, I need girlfriend time, I need family time, I need helping others time, I need prayer time and I need SIT STILL time. That's a tough one for me. 

6. I think I budgeted fairly well with Christmas gifts this year. O'Ryan may have gotten a present or two more than necessary but that's what we wanted to do for him. Brett and I didn't do gifts with each other, which was really nice actually. Less stress for me (since my man is like the BEST gift-giver ever, seriously). I can hardly contain my excitement for Christmas day...ahh!! To feel the joy of celebrating the birth of the one who SAVED US! To witness my own precious son share that joy! And to see him experience the other side of the holiday - the gifts - giving and receiving. Then spending time with family all day. Ah, can't wait!!! That's what this season is all about!!!! 

Okay, now that I'm feeling warm and fuzzy I'm signing off :) 

Night!

Gators and Parties

This weekend my boys and I...

Welcomed a baby gator into our home

And even invited him into the kitchen for a little stroll around the house

(the dogs only bit him once...in the face)

The little boy became obsessed with CFA's new cow watches and wore SEVEN of them

We celebrated our cousin Allison's 2 birthday 

With a GORGEOUS Winter Wonderland themed party

And consumed too much sweets

Ooooo-ed and Ahhhh-ed at the lovely cake! (the little igloo on top? too dang cute!!!)

And ate more sweets again

Sunday we took a silly (but also my fav of the weekend) picture of us at 2nd Baptist while watching a great Christmas show!

And tried to get a good shot of us all dressed up for our night out. (didn't happen)

Who cares. Our weekend still rocked :)

Now....BRING ON CHRISTMAS! We're ready.

The Fight

As much as I would like to think that my personal struggle with physical pain is nearing the end, I see that's not the case. Every day I have to work around it. And fight to not let it take over my life!

I logged onto FB this morning and saw a friend's post: "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14.

God knew before any of us were born that we would all have our own battles. But he did not make us to be completely independent. We are made to crave. Made to crave Him. 

As I continue to wake up each morning and am faced with evil and pain and struggles from our fallen world...I continue to give it to Him. Because just as any father would do, God our Father, desperately wants us to hand our burdens over. "You need only to be still." So amazing.

After all, if He made something as beautiful and magnificent as Kauai (pics above), then He can most certainly handle His childrens' battles :)

We Visited the "Raspberry" Today

Today, we visited the raspberry. But before we get to that, lets get to this...

Leah was doing her lovely wine/bark in the playroom.

So I walked in and 

found THIS in the cabinet!

Okay, back to the raspberry...aka "LIBRARY."

But in O'Ryan's world, we were at the raspberry. And OMG did he love it! He was the only kid there. 

He found these animals and fell in love with them. (Which is awesome because I got him something similar for Christmas) "And the cow has brown poop on it Mommy!! See?!"

(the cow's utters)

This new library had great learning toys for toddlers. O'Ryan actually sat for a long time and did both of the alphabet puzzles. Score!

Bribe to run errands with mommy and not whine : XL air head. 

(It worked!)

The weather this afternoon was great!! Not too hot and breezy. And very sunny as you can tell from this picture.

We were out buying a present for "G."

Besides the migraine that hit me mid-day it was a good, chill Thursday. My boy and I have fun :)

Ordinary Days

We've been able to wear cold weather clothes finally. How do ya like O'Ryan's look here?

Keeping our lives entertaining like always.

Loungin' in the morning with his furry friends.

I love Leah. She's my sweet girl!! She always follows me around, which can be pretty annoying (especially in the kitchen!). But here she found a good spot out of the way. 

This is how he was watching TV yesterday morning.

We had a lounge day yesterday. O is sick. It's really a blessing in disguise. It forces us (me) to slow down and totally clear our schedule. 

He's actually easier when sick. What you believe that?

(it's TRUE!)

This little park down the street is like our own private play area. We've made some good memories here.

And that's it for now! Our Ordinary Days.