Girl Splurge!

We splurged on Black Friday. Oh, what a day! I went out with some friends to Wal-mart, which opened at 10:00p.m. on Thursday, and that was fun. I'd never done Black Friday before and seeing the parking lot, the crowd in the store...it was incredible! Crazy people!! My friend wanted some sheets...and they were all gone. And funny thing, we were checking out and the checker said the only fight she'd seen was over sheets. How odd is that? When did sheets become such a hot commodity?
(I love her dandelion hair here...it's finally starting to grow in more!)

Anyway, so I went back out around midnight to Kohls. And stood in line for an hour. And then took back everything I bought. Except for this dress. It was 60% off, so not a huge deal -- probably not worth an hour in the line at 2:00a.m. when I had to teach at 5:00a.m.--

But we just had to splurge. She's our little girl! The backdrop isn't the best, though it does give a holiday vibe.

Then me with my baby girl. I love her so much! She's growing and learning every day and it's amazing to see her personality and disposition manifest themselves increasingly more all the time.

Merry Christmas!!

Love at Home

Just a bit about my kiddos.

Caleb playing with water. He didn't want his picture taken, thus the indignant look on his face.

Mackenzie being oh so cute in her Christmas get up.

And more Christmas get up. These holiday outfits were ones we had for Caleb...and he was 2 months younger than she is at this time.

They sure do love each other! It's been so fun lately to see them playing together. Caleb will get her toys and show her the toys he's playing with and explain things to her; she will grab his entire head and try to stuff it in her mouth; they'll lie on the floor together screaming and laughing and eating their hands; yes, I have fun children!

Tis the Holiday Season...

And I mean "holidays"....Thanksgiving and Christmas! Otherwise I would have said "Tis the Christmas season..."



Mackenzie was our little Turkey on Thanksgiving! We got to eat with a couple of friends in our complex, potluck style. It was so good and I was so glad to be able to get all the food without having to cook it ALL!
I never posted about gratitude either. There is so much that I am grateful for. One thing that I've been feeling lately is the power to be informed and to have an opinion and to make my own choices. The gift of agency is amazing. I am so grateful for the opportunity each day to try and be a better Mama, be a better wife, a better friend; each day is a new day. I'm grateful for my family. Most of all, I'm grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. Teaching Caleb about Him always makes me emotional. If I start to feel distant, I just hone in on Him and His life and I feel His spirit reaffirm His divinity and His love for me. It's wonderful.

And that leads us directly to His birth: Christmas! I'm so excited about Christmas this year...Caleb is practicing his Santa visit conversation, we've got some fun gifts for our kiddos, we have a tree (seen being decorated)...it's magical!

Showing Caleb how to put the ornaments on.

Him giving it a shot.

Caleb and Justin with the finished project.

And here it is! We had an old mattress cover that was used when we moved and it hadn't made it's way to Goodwill yet....with a few cuts, a few folds, some maneuvering, and voila! A tree skirt!

I really love our tree. It's a real one. Cheap, so it's already dried out hard core, but the needles haven't dropped yet. It's just exciting! And Caleb loves the lights.

Merry Christmas!

Play Dough Fun!

Every now and then I get up the courage to do something artsy and messy and so wonderfully creative for Caleb. Every now and then.


Here, we are playing with some play dough I made. I loved making it, and it's kept so well so far (almost a month old!). For any of you other moms (or teachers) who are looking for creative learning, I've fallen in love with this blog. I bite my nails thinking about presenting Caleb with some of the very messy activities, but it's so much fun to watch him learn while playing.

I made a purple snowman. Caleb wanted to make one too (the blue one). And he very enthusiastically kept calling it a "snowman!"

Then he needed more noodles, and took my snowman apart.

So proud!

And my turkey. haha, this was before Thanksgiving, so I was trying to be festive. It made me feel so accomplished when Caleb saw it and said, "It's a turkey, Mama." yes, son, it is. Thank you. :)

Hard at Work

Caleb wants to be like Daddy. So, when Justin is studying Caleb likes to go get his "computer" and study right along side with him. Sometimes he'll even get colored pencils and "highlight" like Daddy. It's so cute! I love it.

And Mackenzie likes to work hard, too. She is investigating her feet, looking at something oh so interesting next to the chair, and then of course, smiling at the camera. She's 5 1/2 months here.