Friday, December 10, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like "Christ"mas!

Okay, before I get into the real part of what I want to write about, I will first tell you about our tree and other decorations! So here is our tree, it may not look like much but I LOVE it, more for sentimental reasons than aesthetic! I think I wrote about this last year but you may notice the blue lights. Yes, I am usually a fan of the all white lights look but the first year Jason and I were married, I had been wanting a Christmas tree real bad but we decided not to get one since we were going out of town. Jason knew I was sad about it so one night, he decided to surprise me. When I walked in from work, I saw our tree with blue lights on it standing in the corner of our apartment! There are few times in your life that you cry from happiness and that was one of those times for me. It turns out, there were only blue lights left when he went to buy some. So, until these lights die, we will probably use them because whenever I see them it reminds me of that night!
Ooops! This one is out of order! Here is the majority of our other holiday decor!

Now back to the tree! No, we also don't have a "theme" or coordinated ornaments, just some regular ornaments mixed in with some sentimental ones. Jason and I started a family tradition on our honeymoon where we try to buy an ornament on every vacation we go on. Granted, I don't think we have been on vacation in a few years. We bought the gold leaf in the middle of this picture in Grand Teton National Park on our honeymoon. Unfortunately it has become a little discolored over the years but I still love it. Some of our other ornaments are ones that have been made by family members and we also have a few that are pictures of family. Also, nothing says classy like the Simpson family hanging out on your tree (Yep, that's Marge in the lower right had corner!) So it may not seem like much, but I love this tree!
Last week, I was asked to give a short testimony/talk at our wards Relief Society Christmas dinner. The theme was "Christ"mas traditions. I was supposed to speak about the traditions we have as a family that help us to remember the Savior and his birth. It made me realize that there is so much more that I still want to do. This year (like we try to do every year) we have tried to keep the Savior at the forefront of our minds. I love that Abby is so curious and she is currently asking me about the Nativity scene we have! I probably tell her the Nativity story at least once a day! I am also glad that the Nativity we have is a cheap $5 Walmart one so she can touch it as much as she wants! A few of my friends have told me about the Fisher Price Little People Nativity which now I really want for my children but unfortunately, it looks like they are sold out everywhere :( Maybe I can find one after Christmas or early next year! We do read from Luke on Christmas Eve and now that I am thinking about our children getting older, I think about how fun it will be to act it out! Most of all, what I want my children to remember about Christmas over the years is not what they received but what they gave. I'm not necessarily talking about presents but maybe what they gave to those in need. Did they share their testimony of the Savior and his birth with anyone? What did they "give" to the Savior? Interestingly enough, this months Ensign contains an article about Christmas Traditions of members of Seventy. One of my favorites was one where each family member places a letter to Jesus on the Christmas tree. I think we will definitely do that one in the years to come! Most of all, I want to live my life in such a way that my children know that I have a testimony of the Savior, His birth, His life and of the Atonement. I love this time of year because it reminds me of what is most important and how I should live my life all year long!
And one more picture just because this kid is so dang cute, even if she does look half asleep!






Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Making a house a home... On a budget.

Ever since I became a stay at home mom, I have been bit by the decorating bug. I feel that our house may be smaller than I would like but it is our home and it is up to me to make it as cozy and inviting as possible. Only problem is, I don't have the budget to make all of my decorating dreams a reality as fast as I would like. I often ask my self why I didn't decorate the house when I had a much larger disposable income and then I have to remind myself that I was working full time, going to school full time and doing an internship! I felt lucky just to have the dishes done. Well, the first place I started was the kitchen and here is my progress so far. (Note, this has taken many months and some lucky finds as well as coming up with ideas on how to use items we already had) Above is the before picture, well there was another before that I didn't take a picture of. This one had boxes stacked on top of the cabinets and I couldn't stand it any longer. My ever practical husband however still thinks that I am wasting valuable storage space.
And here is the after, or at least as far as I have gotten. I would still like to make a wreath for the pantry door, I need to put some wood blocks underneath some of the items to give some height variance and you can't see the window but it desperately needs a curtain. However, there are other windows in the house that need curtains before this one. Now, I just have to reacquaint myself with a sewing machine (I haven't actually sewn anything since my sewing class in high school which was too many years ago to count.)


From left to right, the topiary (or whatever it is called) I bought on clearance at Tai Pan Trading. There was just a little chunk missing from the pot in the back which no one could see. I have to say that I love Tai Pan Trading and if I had an unlimited budget, I could probably have my house decorated in a week! Next, (and all along the front) I have some mini trifle dishes that I already had that I filled with these clear stones I bought at Roberts. I still need to get some of those battery operated tea lights to put in those. Next, I have a beautiful pair of candlesticks we received for our wedding. In the middle of those is one of my mom's old cookbooks. Next I have another wedding present, a cake stand, that I filled with greenery. If you wonder what I do if I need to use the cake stand, I can just take it down and wash it off and it is ready to go. On the end is another little fake plant I got from Tai Pan.

On this side, I have a vase we received for our wedding filled with some red tulips I bought at WalMart and next to it is this gorgeous platter I found in a consignment store for only $10!! It all may not look like much but I personally am quite proud of my accomplishment as well as the utilization of some great wedding gifts that would have otherwise been hanging out in a cupboard until I used them. As I find other items that will look good up here, I will add them but it is time to move on from the kitchen to other rooms of the house. My next two big projects are the dining room wall and the girl's room! I have started on both and hope to have them finished before the baby gets here. I hope to someday have my vision complete which mostly consists of a bunch of little projects. It may be awhile however because there are 4 pieces of furniture that I can picture in my head that will make my dream for my home complete. Until then, I will just keep envisioning it the way I want it to be.



Some recent pics!

Yes, it has been too long since I have posted any new pictures. And, I just realized that I haven't taken any pictures of our Christmas tree yet so the post I wanted to do about "Christ"mas traditions will just have to wait :( We have been so unbelievably busy lately that it has been hard to take many pictures. Jason has been working what feels like 100 hours a week but in reality is about 50 to 60 plus I have been trying to pick up some extra shifts for Christmas money so we honestly haven't spent that much family time together. I think the next day that I know for sure we will both be home is Christmas Eve (unless it snows). All of this said, it was great to spend some time together as a family on Thanksgiving. I didn't really take any pictures of the Thanksgiving table because honestly, I didn't have anything really to decorate with or make it all fancy and I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of food pictures. But, of course, I had to take some pictures of the little munchkin.Abby is saying "i'll be thankful as soon as you fill my cup with some of that pear cider"
MMMM... Food!
I have to admit that we did more of a simple Thanksgiving and I LOVED IT! It gets a little hard to put out some big fancy spread when it is just you preparing everything and you don't have anyone bringing anything. Plus, I am not one of those women who ENJOYS spending the entire holiday in the kitchen. I did try some new recipes that in all actuality were simpler than the traditional ones but were so yummy, they are going to be keepers! (Pumpkin trifle anyone?) Now, on to other pictures!


Here is the sweet little kid, hamming it up like she loves to do!

There isn't anything quite as fun as "playing" video games with Daddy!
Until next time, we love all of you!