Christmas 2013

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.  We did at our house.  

This year Bella is 4 and Lucy is 2 and I can't imagine Christmas much better than this!

Happy Birthday, baby Jesus ~ our Savior, our King.

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Christmas Pasts

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas Eve.  I'm so excited to be spending the entire day with my family.  I am so very richly blessed.  Let us all remember to stop and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Christmas 2011

Christmas 2012

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Christmas morning...a little early

Remember being a kid on Christmas morning?  Wasn't it THE BEST!!!  Family, gifts, comfie PJs, Christmas music/movies, the best breakfast of the year: breakfast casserole and monkey bread.

The Christmas mornings after I was married, but before kids, I remember being so disappointed on Christmas morning.   The magic wasn't there.  Jacob gets so excited when he gets me a gift, so he usually gives me my gift as soon as he gets it.  He's an eager giver.  Once we had kids, I am trying my best to recreate the magic of Christmas morning that I loved so much growing up.   Jacob and I made the decision that once we had kids that Christmas Day would be celebrated at our house.  The kids could stay in their PJs all day and play with their new toys.  Any of our family could come over and hang out, but it would be relaxed and comfortable.  So the past 3 years, we have done just that.  However I miss spending Christmas Day with my sisters & Rylee, she too wanted to let Rylee spend Christmas morning the same way.

This year we found a solution.  We recreated Christmas morning at "home" the weekend before Christmas. On Friday night, my sisters, my girls, and niece spent the night at mama & daddy's house. The guys came over 8:30-9 that morning.  We opened gifts, making that glorious, magic, mess in the living room floor.  Watching the girls light up.  Then we enjoyed breakfast casserole & monkey bread as we all talked & laughed.  It was as close to perfect as you can get!  I hope that we continue to recreate Christmas morning.

The 3 dark green stockings are ones that mama hand made us 20+ years ago.  They are made of felt and each are different. Out of all the adorable stockings sold in stores, I think mine is pretty perfect because it was made out of love by my mama.  

Snuggles with my Bell

Us adults were tired & ready for bed as the kids were wide awake at 10:00pm

cute Jacob.....REAL cute.

Cool aunt KK got them this huge doll house to play when they go to Mimi & Pops

Directions...ugh.

Lovely Lucy

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Princess Bella's 4th Birthday Party!

When we began discussing Bella's 4th Birthday party, she quickly informed me that she wanted a birthday party.  So a princess party is what she got!  Of course I would've loved to have been able to give her fancy, royal festivities...our budget forced us to keep this party fancy by using our imaginations.  With most of our decorating supplies coming from ol Wally World.  Kids this age, have wild imaginations...so it was as royal as can be to them.  They decorated silver spray painted Burger King crowns and added stick on glittered foam stickers.  BAM...all pretty, pretty princesses & handsome kings!

Before the royal event, Jacob gave Bella a light up amulet necklace, just like Sophia the First.  She was beyond gitty about it! It was so precious to see her get so excited about this $20 ebay purchase!  

My mama had informed me that she got a "strip" at Party City to make a balloon arch.  This tiny "strip"  & 200+ balloons created this.  Thank goodness for an air compressor!  But to see Bella's eyes light up when she saw this was wonderful.

Lucy was battling her hair bow...she won. 

That precious angel face and those sweet hands folded together melts my heart!

The "After Party" was pretty fun for the girls too!  Lots of new dolls to play with!

Shout outs:

Thank you mama, daddy, Jacob, KK and Lulu with food & decoration help.

Thank you to Pam Barnett for another beautiful, yummy cake.

Thank you to Candace Gary for capturing these fancy images so we will always remember her princess birthday party!

Bella's Winter Wonderland 3rd Birthday

Bella's Birthday Brunch (2 years old)

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Seeing Santa!

We make seeing Santa a girly occasion.  Because men and waiting patiently in lines are 2 things that never go well together.  So we took our annual trip to the Bass Pro Shop North Pole.  

I said "Say cheesseeee."  This is what my girls do.  But check out Rylee!

Bella loved the Jolly old man.

Lucy...well, she sat on his knee.  She barely moved, but she sat there!

Rylee made sure to tell him what she wanted! 

This is the one and ONLY picture of me and my girls on this Christmas outing

After all the North Pole fun, we met our daddy where he was nice enough to buy all 6 ladies in his life dinner at Mt Fugi!  They sang Happy Birthday to Bella.  It was awesome, I tell ya.  Those eyes lit up!

Lulu was snapping the picture of us.  Our daddy is SO out-numbered.

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