Tis the Season

Is it just me, or did December arrive sooner than expected? (And snow on the ground already, too!) So, we've been scrambling to decorate and bake and memorize lines for church programs. All fun, but scrambling none the less. :)

I let the boys decorate the tree again (with just a few minor adjustments from me, of course). And I skipped some time consuming tasks like stringing popcorn for the tree, and lights on other shelves and windowsills. I really don't miss any of it, and it saved me loads of time. Instead, we spent time on Christmas projects the boys could enjoy, like making green and red paper chains, paper snowflakes and other ornaments, and Christmas themed bulletin boards for school.

Yesterday was almost entirely devoted to getting a Christmas card photo taken. NOT an easy task, I must say! Getting the boys and their dog all bathed, the boys haircuts, clean clothes, and all smiling and looking at Mommy and the camera simultaneously. . . pretty much impossible! However, after MANY clicks, there are a few photos that will work, I think. And while the dog was freshly bathed the boys got to enjoy playing with her in the house for once. All in all, a pretty good day! :)

So far December has been cozy and festive! I'm so excited for the rest of the month spent celebrating the precious birth of Jesus with family and special friends! What a joyous season, indeed!

July is Flyin' By

I always have good intentions about blogging daily, but then life gets in the way! So here's a glimpse of what we've been up to the last few weeks!

July 4th, we had a family picnic at the Moyer farm. These times are so precious because I'm not sure how many more years we will be able to share these times together! My mind is flooded with so many childhood memories whenever I'm at the farm. The memories are especially poignant when I'm there watching my own children enjoy the farm the way I did at their age! I'm so blessed to have my children know their great grandparents!



We had a church picnic July 5th and the kids wore themselves out for a second day in row! This over-sized ball kept the kids busy for quite a while!














Garrett playing kickball with the kids who live across the street from our church and came over with their mom for the picnic. They seemed to enjoy getting to know the church people better, so hopefully they will visit for a service sometime soon.














Carson playing a little catch with Daddy.














Jeff proving he can still keep up in a game of volleyball! (I believe the married men team soundly beat the teen guys team!)














Carson and Garrett ganging up on Caleb, one of our pastor's sons. :)
















Then we finally got the boys some sand for the sandbox! Don't ask me why there's never any sand left by the end of the summer, but, they are now using the sandbox for what it was intended once again!

Of course, helping Pop Pop mow his yard with the riding mower is high on their list of favorite things to do! :)

And Mom Mom had some new gadgets for blowing bubbles, which was tons of fun, too!

All in all, July has been lots of fun! Whew! I think I'm just about caught up for now. FOR NOW! Ha, I'm sure I'll be falling behind again quickly. It's just the story of my life! :)

A New Year Recommendation

I thought I would just send you over to girltalk for some great insight and encouragement about the new year. There is much food for thought in their short daily posts, why should I try to wax eloquent when I'm in the same boat as many of you wondering how to proceed from here! :)

"New Beginnings..."

I'll be posting some thoughts on the New Year, just like everyone else, I suppose. I haven't collected all those thoughts yet, however. So I'll "keep ya posted" on when that comes together. :)

Mice and Popcorn

Apparently we have a mouse in the house! The popcorn strings I so tediously made for our Christmas tree this year are chewed right off of the branches! Somehow a very careful critter has eaten half of the popcorn strings without knocking a single ornament to the ground! I don't know why he didn't bother to finish the string closest to the ground before moving halfway up the tree, but at least he was careful not to mess with my precious ornaments! I was planning to leave the tree up for a few more weeks, but now it looks a bit goofy. I'm anxious to be rid of the whole mess! I think a mousetrap will be waiting for our little popcorn thief later tonight! :)

A Most Wonderful Time of Year

We've been having so much fun decorating! Isn't it exciting to pull out those boxes and go through all your special Christmas things? It's like opening presents early! :) Hope you are enjoying the season so far!

Here are a few photos of our favorite things!

Come in out of the cold and snow. . .
grab a cup of coffee . . .and enjoy the tour . . .
Thanks for stopping by to enjoy a bit of the season with me! May your Christmas be a blessed one!

Yay! It's Finally December!

I'm feelin' that fuzzy feeling-ya know, the one that suddenly hits you right after you finish savoring that Thanksgiving turkey and swallow the pumpkin pie. It's that special tingle I get, when I know it's finally time to break out the Christmas decorations and let the month-long celebration begin! :)

It is SO MUCH FUN to experience the Christmas season with little children! It has opened my eyes to a whole new appreciation for this time of year and what it means! My boys are old enough this year to more fully understand the story of Jesus' birth and what a wonderful gift of salvation he was born to give to each of us!

We have yet to get our big tree (my sweetheart has been a little busy lately-a post for another time), but we've had plenty to do. Hopefully we can get us a real tree this weekend! Pictures will be coming soon. Happy decorating, everyone!

Cabin Fever

Well, it has been a very long week, but yesterday, Memorial Day, my sick little boys and I were able to step outside and enjoy some long awaited sunshine. Sickness hit our household last week (exactly 24 hours after the boys attended Sunday School-amazing how that happens). So started a week of sleepless nights, miserable days stuck inside in front of the tv, tissue boxes adorning every table top. Only to begin the holiday weekend with a doctor's visit due to pink eye and an ear infection. At least the week had been just as miserable outside with very cool spring temperatures and lots of rain and wind. Inside, even if it was a sick-house, was definitely the better option.

My sweetheart gave up his three-day weekend plans of a family trip to Cabela's, target shooting, turkey hunting, and whatever else he could squeeze in, to babysit us sicko's and do some long awaited around-the-house/yard projects. Having him around for three whole days all to ourselves was just the medicine we needed, and by yesterday we were feeling up to spending the day in our back yard on a most beautiful day. The boys "helping" daddy, of course, as he did some electrical wiring for the fishpond and some outdoor lighting. And me relaxing on the back porch watching the many motorcycles that drive by on a sunny holiday. OK, I did work in a load of laundry or two in the middle of all that relaxin' ('cause clothing mountains were forming in the basement after a week of neglect!)

And here I would like to pause and say a big THANK YOU to my husband's new company for actually using a uniform service! No more washing work clothes for me! Yippeeee!!

So, today, the hubby is back to work, it's dismal and rainy again, and me and the boys are lounging. We're not back to full steam yet, and yesterday's outside fun was exhausting. Ours was a very low-key Memorial Day weekend spent at home, but we were together as a family and life doesn't get much better. Hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as we did.