Most of the celebrations of Christmas have come and gone for our family. We are enjoying a quiet morning at home: Benjamin is napping, Judah is checking out his new toys, Joey is catching up on the Internets, and I am blogging (obviously). I have managed to sort through all of the pictures on our camera, which was made into quite the task by my brother-in-law who has a habit of filling up memory cards with images of people's ears, blurry motion captures, and various things found on the table (like cups and nuts). But, alas! I have prevailed.

The boys were thrilled to be loved on by my parents. It had been quite some time since they saw them last! My dad is pretty proud of his two grandsons. 

Benjamin was surprisingly interested in opening presents. He thought everything was pretty grand.

I made Judah a !MASSIVE! floor pillow. He has a blast flopping on it, especially if he has his daddy to flop with him. 

Judah was not allowed to drink pop, so he settled for the last few drips of the bottle.

This was our (first) fabulous Christmas dinner: 

arugula, raspberry, and candied almond salad with balsamic vinaigrette

traditional Christmas stuffing (although there was no bird to cook it in)

ham on the bone with spicy mustard sauce

roasted potato stacks with herbs, olive oil, and chives 

and, OF COURSE, PIE. Pumpkin pie, to be exact. 

I did not manage any pictures of our second dinner. Let me assure you, it was fantastic as well.

At our second celebration, Benjamin continued to be passed from one set of arms to another. Grandma's were an obvious favourite.

He also enjoyed Uncle Sam's company very much.

Judah and his cousin Lucy played a game of crokinole that had no order whatsoever.

Judah was under the impression that the only objective of the game was to fling the pieces madly while shouting in victory. He was really good at that game.

The cousins also got a lot of book-reading in. No matter how different they may be, they will always share a love for books.

Willis remained uncertain of the Little People, but seemed appeased with the affectionate pats and scratches he would get on occasion. 

All in all, this Christmas was a wonderful experience. The only thing that was not right was Joey's youngest brother's absence. WE LOVE YOU, DAVID! 

We have SO. MUCH. to be thankful for. I am so thankful for everyone who I have the privilege to call family!

I'm excited to use these beauties this Christmas! There's something so comforting about knitting when family is all around. :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

a christmas home tour

Hello, everyone!

Can you believe there are only three days until Christmas? My family arrives here on the 24th... and that seems like it's an ETERNITY away!

I thought I'd share what I've done to make our home beautiful this Christmas season.

I've always wanted a wreath, so when I found this style via Pinterest, I had to make it! It's super easy. Simply bend a hanger into a circle, untwist the hook, slide on Christmas balls (I used plastic ones from Superstore), twist it back together, and hide the hook with a wide ribbon. Easy peasy.

Since we don't have a cat anymore, I jumped at the opportunity to get a poinsettia. Our cat would have mangled that poor beauty. And that lovely felt Christmas tree advent calendar to your right? That has been mine since I was about four years old. Judah had the joy of putting up the little ornaments this year.

I made about 40 snowflakes from simple, white paper and strung them around our living room. Not only does it look good, it was loads of fun making them. I felt like a kid again (although my snowflakes were never so intricate back then).

I made this print to highlight some of my favourite phrases from the Christmas songs we sing. I love how it isn't overtly Christmas-y, but still gets a theme across.

I have to be honest: these pussy willows sit out all the time. HOWEVER, I still think they add to my Christmas decor in their stick-like appearance.

And last (but not least!) we have our Christmas tree. This year we decided to refrain from hanging coloured balls on it. I love how sparkly it is.

There you  have it!


What are some of your favourite was to decorate for Christmas? 

wordless wednesday

this whole world smells bad!

There is a really funky smell coming from one of our bathrooms. This has happened before. All of a sudden, this vile, putrid, all-pervasive odour emanates from the bathroom in such a concentration that it gives me a headache and makes me feel like throwing up if I enter that bathroom. We have no idea why this happens, what's causing the stench, or why it only happens about once a month. It is making me angry and pouty and kind of discontent with everything right now. All because of a vicious, evil odour.

Oh, what's this? My fabulous husband just went up on the roof to discover that all of the vents have caps on them so that NOTHING IS ACTUALLY VENTING. Nothing has ever been venting. Every vile and evil waft that's supposed to exit the house in a calm, orderly fashion has been building up until, BOOM! it explodes in this death gas and makes me want to cry. 

Thank you, trailer company, for failing to remove those after delivering the house. I feel robbed of my air quality because of you. *sigh*

This post is brought to you by my need to vent to everyone and no one in particular. 

there is no theme to this post, I'm afraid.

Hello, lovely readers.

Thank you for putting up with yet another blog design. What can I say? I uploaded the pictures my husband took on Saturday and was absolutely smitten with the one in my header. Who am I to ignore inspiration?

I'm unreasonably excited about what this week will hold. It's less than a week until Christmas - and this year, WE are hosting (at least for my family). I'm planning out all of the meals, getting the house in tip-top shape, and finishing a few odds and ends for gifts. I can't wait!

I leave you with a taste of the pictures Joey took on a beautifully warm December day.

what we've been up to (pictorial version)

being a silly toddler and trying on grandpa's reading glasses

looking impossibly cute & squishy (and a tad bit cross-eyed)

exploring our nearly snow-less surroundings

meeting new kitty friends

making, buying, and wrapping gifts

almost falling asleep at the supper table (but not wanting to admit it)

making many, many cookies

showing as much restraint as possible and freezing said cookies promptly

prone to wander

I love my little family. I really do. Sometimes I get near-sighted and seem to forget how much I have been blessed with. Sometimes I can't get past that extremely irritating whining tone Judah has perfected  and fail to see what a wonderful little boy he is. Sometimes I lose my temper - and I always regret it. Sometimes I find it hard to remember that I am a sinner saved by grace, and I have no right to hold grudges against anyone. Sometimes I am ungrateful for what I have been given.

I am so humbled and amazed that God loves me, that He gave His life for me. I am amazed he still persists in blessing, correcting, and guiding this stubborn soul. He is so good to me - even if His good doesn't feel so pleasant at the time. I have been forgiven much. I owe so much to Him.

Oh, to Grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. May Your goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it! Prone to leave the God I love! Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it - seal it for Thy courts above.

did I tell you about that one time...

I am a mother to a toddler. I've got stories.

Like from today, for instance. Today Judah decided he would forego his nap in favour of smashing a light bulb all over his floor and playing with the shards. The light bulb, of course, came from a lamp I was certain he could not reach. Upon investigating the strange tinkling sound I heard coming from his room, Judah guiltily looked up from his handiwork and said, "Uh-oh, broken!"

Then there's the one where Judah left the sanctuary of the church and came back in carrying a piece of cake he had snagged from the potluck table. 

Once Joey caught two preteen boys feeding Judah juice (you know, the powdered sugar kind) and snickering to themselves as he chugged back the glorified syrup like his life depended on it. This was also at the aforementioned potluck.

Oh, and before I forget, how about that other day when I decided I would treat Judah and let him make cookies with me? That was a good day... except for the T-A-N-T-R-U-M-S every time I had to put the cookies in the oven.

I feel like I'm a new mom all over again... except without the afterpains, sleep deprivation, and smooshy newborn to cuddle. This kid is keeping me on my toes, let me tell you.

this was HOW long ago?!

Here's some vintage The Cuteness to make your day. :)

outdoor friends

And for these wonderful photos, my husband gets the credit!

wordless wednesday

{edible ball bearings!}

I might be a tad obsessed...

...with this new lens.

a new lens

Joey and I bought our Christmas present today. If you have a fairly nice DSLR and the stock lens it came with, you're probably mostly satisfied with the quality of your camera. If, however, you want to be thoroughly satisfied with the sharp focus/blurry backgrounds that are all the rage right now, if you would like to take clear pictures of your squirmy babies in low-ish lighting without using the flash, and if you don't have loads of money to throw into a fandancy new zoom lens...

THEN.

You need to get yourself a nice 50mm f/1.8G lens. It is probably the most affordable lens out there, and it produces STUNNING photos. We have owned ours for about eight hours. I am already in love with it. The above photo was taken at 7:00 PM - a time with lighting that made it nearly impossible to get a good photograph with our stock lens.

But just look at that! And I don't even know what I'm doing yet!  

Hoooo boy. This is going to be fun. :)

these days are numbered

Dear world,

I am neglecting my weekly church bulletin duties to bring you an important announcement:

Benjamin (you know, the newborn? the not-even-four-months-old one?) is no longer immobile. Although I am still in warm squishy baby bliss, I am now painfully aware that these days are numbered. This morning, Ben was not even interested in getting off of his back. He did not at all enjoy tummy time. I helped him to get his legs twisted so he could figure out rotating the rest of his body onto his tummy, but he didn’t really seem to understand what was going on. Imagine my surprise when, not four hours later, I found him on his tummy after I had laid him down on his playmat so I could take a mo to do my hair.

Ummm…

If you see my little, bald, dependent, immobile baby, please to be letting me know.

 

Sincerely,

Andrea