I have to catch my breath. The word "Whirlwind" seems to describe my December so far and I'm putting my foot down. I'm making a point to inhale the winter chill, to marvel at the lights, to feel the joy of my four-year-old as he tells me he wants to see Santa.
I have one last giveaway before we pick the winners, but it's not quite ready yet, so I'm changing my own rules and posting it tomorrow. In the mean time, I'm sharing something I know you're all dying to see...my iPhone photos that document the past few weeks.
Riveting, right?! I mean, where else can you see this...
Proof that I can screw up even the simplest of dishes. This Jello dessert did not make it to our Thanksgiving dinner and it's pretty clear why. What a mess. I have a feeling I won't be asked to write a cookbook anytime soon.
Sophia, on the other hand, is taking mighty nicely to the kitchen...
...and baked Adam cookies one night after she saw how miserable my dessert turned out.
We went to a craft show where my friend Jenn was selling goodies. I picked up a couple of these for Sophia...
She broke it the second time she wore it.
Last year, we didn't put up a tree. It was dismal in our rental and we did nothing to help that. So, this year, the weekend after Thanksgiving, I nagged insisted we get festive...
And by "we" I mostly mean "Adam."
I write by this in the evenings and it's the coziest thing ever. The third book in the Sweethaven series is a Christmas book, so I'm soaking up all the magic and pouring it onto my pages.
We started a new tradition this year of going to Target and choosing a new ornament. This was Adam's:
Those of you who know him will understand. He is often seen with a pencil behind his ear. It was fitting. I think I was wise to nag him about the tree...it's made a huge difference in my Christmas spirit. And we all know the spirit of the house comes from the mother. At least that's what I'm told when I'm in a really crabby mood.
For a couple of days in a row after the tree went up, Sam stood in front of it, decked out in his jams and said "I just want to stand here." Remember how cool Christmas was when you were little?
I treated myself to a Clearance mug at Pier1 and have washed it every single day since so I can have my coffee in it. Suddenly my previous favorite mugs have lost their appeal. Why is that?
This photo is so telling of my days...I start each one right here with coffee and the computer...tackling the to-do list of my job and thanking God he hooked me up with Webster's Pages in the first place.
Adam decided Sophia was old enough to watch "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Thinking back on it, I'm not so sure I shouldn't have intervened, but apparently she emerged unscathed and it was a nice way for the two of them to spend some quality time. (And suddenly she has a crush on Merry.) ha.
Naturally, when she found these:
She wanted to buy them for Adam. I said a picture would suffice.
I'm such an orc of a mom.
Adam and Sophia recorded a song Sophia wrote. It's a praise and worship song. It's not done yet, but I've already asked if I can share it with you when it is. Because I really like it. And because I want to be one of those braggy moms who always talks about her kids all the time. I think I'm good at that. :)
Then I threw my back out. That was fun. I was down for several days and still am not 100%. The good news was Sophia gave me a pedicure. My toes are now aqua.
Are you jealous?
Last week we headed out to Ethan's Christmas program at school. He's a sheep.
A sheep with glittery fingertips.
And then this weekend, we celebrated our anniversary:
Turns out we're kind of boring people who sort of relish our boredom. We had so much fun shopping, having dinner and reminiscing about all the anniversaries past...
And then deciding that the past couple of years have almost felt like a new beginning.
And loving that.
So tomorrow, the Big Christmas Giveaway is going live and you don't want to miss it! And I'll post winners of all my giveaways later on this week. I cannot WAIT to draw names! :)
Thanks to everyone for playing along!
