True Love

Isabelle's birthday was on Saturday this year, so we celebrated on her actual day. Fun fun! There were some hiccups because of basketball (and the fact that there is STILL no schedule posted so we have no idea from week to week when her games are, ugh), but we were able to bump it up from an evening party to a mid morning one, and that worked really well. It was so nice to see the sunshine! And even though you'll never escape Christmas decorations at your birthday party when you're born in December, you can still bring in pretty and fun colors! Those darling snowflake cookie cutters came as a set (Wilton, I believe) and they added the perfect touch to the table. I like the twinkle that the lights on the side table give... Favors were so simple and easy and FUN: fuzzy Christmas socks for the win! We put in a few candy canes and kisses, and I think it beats the junk that everyone throws away anyway. The girls enjoyed making hot cocoa, too. I put out some mar...

I wish I could say that I'm all ready for Christmas, but it generally takes me a few days to recover from birthday party central over here. Now I remember why I used to space their parties out, to give me a break, ha! The weekend before last, we had a family party for Caleb and Isabelle. Super low key, but everything looks fun and festive this time of year, right? The day before Caleb's birthday, he had driver's ed and THEN a two hour drive time, so I picked him up a little something to get through the afternoon. Lest you worry, he ate a full dinner when he returned home at 7:45, ha ha. :)   And then on 12/12, we celebrated who I thought would always be my "baby boy's" sixteenth birthday!!! Someone was up too early and knew that we had donuts... ha ha ha ha ha I don't have pictures of Caleb to share here because if you don't know teen boys, well, they are generally not wearing much clothing at home. HA But here is his birthday do...

Today is our Caleb's sixteenth birthday!! It feels completely unreal. How is timing moving by so, so quickly??!! Since I'm having such a hard time keeping up with posts, the shop, everyday life...everything in general, ha... I thought I'd share some photos of our home all decked out for Christmas. We moved into this house three years ago today- yes, on Caleb's birthday!- and while we've done lots, it still feels like there's so much to do. Including a mantel!!! Every time we get ready to make that happen, some life catastrophe happens and it gets pushed back. That's how it goes, I guess. But we are healthy and well, so no real complaints from me. :) I'll share the family room first... These were taken last Friday, when I was home ALONE. I dropped Levi off with my Mom so I could get some major sewing done. Yeah, right. I started to clean up a little, and one thing led to the next, and then the sun was shining for the first time in 800 years, so...