True Love

This was the first year that we celebrated everyone's December birthday on their actual birthdays, plus a small family party, complete with hot cocoa bar, one of our favorite things about cold-weather birthdays. And it was fun, but it was also kind of rough. On me anyway. I think I'm going back to spacing things out a bit. Plus, I really dislike how certain family members are getting too comfortable in omitting their birthday celebrations and gifts and instead "lumping them altogether" on Christmas. I know gifts are not the most important things, of course, but it's the idea that they aren't worth the trouble of celebrating just because their birthdays fall close to Christmas. Birthdays are for celebrating! Things never get wild or loud at our house. No, never. ;) With a big snow storm, the first of several since then!, in the forecast, and basketball practices and work, we opted to do Caleb's cocoa pajama lights drive a little early. Thi...

If you've been reading for any length of time, then you know that we have two December birthdays within thirteen days of Christmas. Yes, it can be a little stressful, but mostly it's just magical and so much fun. I love celebrating my kids, but there is something truly special about having your birthday in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Here are some random pictures which highlight our month: My Mom and I spent the morning together and brought Levi to meet Santa. I can't say I'm surprised by his reaction, but it did break my heart a little when he acted so distraught, like I had betrayed him. Poor baby. It took a long while for him to calm down, but when he did, we had a great time. You can see it all over his face here: he isn't ready to trust me yet and has no intention of being fooled. Sorry, baby. Twas the night before Christmas... Levi was up early but I was able to coax him back to sleep, and then of course I couldn't sle...

It has been so hard to try to blog lately! Here is a quick look at some Christmas cheer in our home this year. I'm quite smitten with this new shelf/ mug rack. I ordered it from Target- it was just over twenty bucks and it was exactly what I'd been looking for (and not finding!), so I'm thrilled. I wrote on instagram recently that I've gotten used to cooking and eating by the glow of twinkling lights, I'm really going to miss it. And Christmas decor does not linger in our house, so its days are limited for sure, ha. I finally added the mirrors I'd had for, umm, only seven or eight months. And made this fun plaid pillow cover for an easy nod to cozy, Christmas cheer in our room. Nothing major, but it's nice to have a little something. We still don't have a mantel because we can't agree, ha ha, but the moving decoration on the hearth is just right. ;) Even Sophie likes to relax by the lights. They're...

One whole year of taking ordinary pictures of our ordinary moments on the tenth of each month! Yesterday was a jam-packed one, and now here we are at the beginning of Birthday Week for Caleb and Isabelle! Our first real snow of the season arrived Saturday, and since none of us has been feeling very well (and our nights are awful again, whyyyyyyy), we stayed home from church and enjoyed a low key morning. Daddy made us cinnamon rolls and eggs and piping hot coffee. Yum! Levi found this old, ready to be tossed trial sized toothpaste and fell madly in love. We couldn't get it away from him. Here he pointing out a jingle bell from the tree. Note the left hand, and he's clutching the cap in his right hand there, ha ha ha Isabelle had been reading in bed and when she finally came down, I made her an orange juice spritzer and told her that I was taking her out for a date that afternoon. :) We decorated these Saturday night, and obviously they were ...