December Daily: Day 14

I'm loving my version of the Christmas apothecary jars on Pinterest.

December Daily: Day 13

 Christmas Candy & Fruit Packing

December Daily: Day 12

 A few scenes from our church Christmas program "No Trumpets Blowing".

December Daily: Day 11

As usual, the Nursery class Christmas presentation was highly entertaining! ;-)

December Daily: Day 10

December Daily: Day 9

Our most played Christmas albums this year.

December Daily: Day 8

December Daily: Day 7

Literally, within the past week or so, Little Miss Attitude has come to stay at our house. Sabrina has always been a fairly easy going (but very stubborn) little girl. She has shown plenty of independence and other typical two-year-old behavior since she turned two in May, but lately she's decided to take things up a notch or two - just to make life a little more exciting around here, of course.

December Daily: Day 6

I love how this nativity set gets so much love from little hands every year. It seems like this year they are enjoying it more than ever. Both Grant and Ryleigh love acting out the Christmas story with the little people and animals. In fact, Ryleigh has promised us a "show" (telling her version of the Christmas story using this set) soon and has been "practicing" for it. It's going to be interesting I'm sure! :-)

December Daily: Day 5

We had our annual church Christmas banquet tonight. As usual, our kids thoroughly enjoyed greeting people as they came in the door with a "Merry Christmas!" and a candy cane for everyone. They all looked so cute that I got my camera out to take a picture of them in action, only to find out that my camera battery was dead. So. Annoying. There were quite a few candy canes left over, so Ryleigh and Grant insisted on decorating the small tree that stands in my dining room with them. It looks cute, but I'm not sure if I like the idea of having candy within such easy reach of little hands. Guess we'll have to see how it goes....

December Daily: Day 4

December Daily: Day 3

The first wrapped gifts to appear under the tree.

December Daily: Day 2

Christmas gifts in the making.

Hello, December!

Wait a minute...is it really December already?? Phew... let's not talk about how long it's been since I posted. Let's just move on with December Daily, okay? :-)

Yes, you read right. December Daily is (hopefully) back again this year. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be doing my December Daily album this year 'cause...well, let's just say that last year's December Daily album remains unfinished in my poor little abandoned storage scrapbook room! Maybe, just maybe, I was a little overzealous. This year I'm gonna try not to be such an overachiever.

So, to kick off this great month, I'm gonna get to have a photo shoot today with this little sweetie here:

It's none other than my adorable niece, Avery Madison Habecker. I was privileged to be there for her birth just about six weeks ago. She is such a little sweetie & her Aunt Shari can't get enough of her!

Of course, I can't mention Avery without mentioning the other special additions we've had to our family within the last few weeks. My sister Brenda and her husband welcomed Kayla and James into the family via the beautiful process of adoption. They have already become so precious to all of us and we are so grateful for both of them!

Hello, Kindergarten!

Ever since she turned five in February, Ryleigh has been asking when she could go to school. In fact, the morning of her birthday, she woke up & asked, "So...when am I going to school?" So, after a flurry of

 filling out paperwork,

 

picking out school supplies (can you tell that this girl loves pink?), 

ordering uniforms, registering, etc., the day FINALLY came.

She looks a little sleepy in these photos, but she was super excited!

A few facts about Kindergarten:

• She has 10 other kids in her class & five of them are from our church. (Yeah, we had a baby boom that year - a total of 11 babies born between February & September!)
• Her teacher is Miss Rachel Thomas & Ryleigh really loves her.
• She says that her favorite part about school is recess & music class. Mrs. Jessica Maloyed is her music teacher & is obviously doing a great job with her students. I was really surprised this past Sunday in church when Ryleigh started pointing out half notes in the hymnal!
• She is my little bookworm & really loves Library Day, when she is allowed to check out a book from the school library to bring home. Seems like she reads constantly & is now starting to read books to Grant & Sabrina. 
• One of her favorite friends from school is Jaron Reese. I was shocked and caught off guard today when she got in the van & she said, "Guess what I did to Jaron, today? I kissed him!" Both Jeff & I said "WHAT?!" which sent her immediately ducking behind the seat with embarassment. She wouldn't talk any more about it for the longest time, but then later said that she had only blown him a kiss. Hopefully that's all it was & it didn't scar him for life! :-)
• Last week she came home with an announcement/permission slip for a field trip to Reptile Land in a couple of weeks. For some reason, she thought we might not let her go & acted so surprised & excited when I told her that she can definitely go. Several times throughout the weekend, she would randomly give me a super tight hug and thank me profusely for letting her go on her field trip. She is such a funny girl!

Nothing better...

...than Galliker's Peach Iced Tea on a hot summer day!  What says "summer" to you?

Happy Birthday, Bree!

My baby is turning 2 today. I'm trying not to be depressed about how quickly time is flying. Seems like it was just yesterday that I held her for the first time & introduced her to her big sister & big brother. Wow!

Thinking about her birthday earlier this week made me think of this song that her Daddy sang for
her dedication just a few days after she was born. It expresses perfectly how we feel about her!

Anyway...here's an overview of how she has changed from a baby to a little girl in the past year:

 Celebrating her first birthday - May 2010

Trying roasted marshmallows for the first time - and LOVING them! - June 2010

At the park - July 2010

Meeting her cousin Kristell for the first time - August 2010

Enjoying church from the comfort of Nana's lap - September 2010

Getting spoiled by Aunt Darlene at Tia Lish's wedding - November 2010

 Spending Christmas Eve at Nana's house - December 2010

Celebrating New Year's with a root beer float at Aunt Brenda's house - January 2011

 Discovering the world of "kuwoh-ing" (coloring) - February 2011

 Little Miss Spunk (Daddy's nickname for her) - March 2011

Clowning around at IHC -  April 2011

 Helping Daddy pick out new glasses - May 2011

Finished Object...Monday?

I wanted to get this posted on Saturday, but my weekend just flew by. I hope I'm not too late to join Charity's linky party...

I have a baby shower to attend this week, and - as usual, I wanted to give a handmade gift 'cause that's just so much more fun! ;-)  So, I went to my faithful Evernote account to browse through all the ideas I have stumbled across online, but never have time to try. (By the way, if you haven't discovered Evernote yet, you need to check it out. It's my sanity saver, creative-brain-dumping-place, etc!)  I decided I wanted to try my hand at making one of these little outfits. I wish I would have had the time to try making the little matching shoes, but I guess that will have to wait for another time. Anyway, I am very pleased with the results & I hope the mommy-to-be is just as happy with it!

Linking to:


Masterpiece Monday

Amaze Me Monday
Making The World Cuter Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Catching up...

I'm aware that it has been FOR.EV.ER. since I posted. Most of you have probably given up and moved on to more interesting blogs whose authors are far more faithful than I - and I SO do not blame you. To be honest, I have seriously considered giving up on blogging. Sometimes I feel like my life is so busy that I'm spinning out of control. The past few months have been full of...

trying to keep kids from bouncing off the walls,

 

paying bills,

couponing and getting lots of FREE stuff (which thankfully helps with the aforementioned dreaded word),

spending time with Jeff's family Kansas,

trying to keep kids well through flu/cold season,

game nights with friends and family,  

voting on our favorite pews for the new church,

beginning and trying to stay caught up with Project Life 2011,

teaching "The Old Rugged Cross" to the kids in preparation for the Easter season,

squeezing in an occasional sewing project in an effort to preserve at least some of my sanity,

entertaining guests,

wishing for Spring,

decluttering and organizing,

planning and throwing a birthday tea party for Ryleigh's 5th birthday

doing laundry,

combing hair,

saying goodbye to Steph & Glenn as they return to Lesotho,

cutting Grant's hair,

writing thank you notes,

a quick, overnight getaway to NYC (which included getting to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway!),

traveling to Bus Convention with three kids (seriously, what on earth were we thinking??),

helping Ryleigh learn letters and sounds,

cleaning,

 

potty-training (will it EVER end??)

working out at Curves,

celebrating Grant's 3rd birthday,

Spring revival,

making Lish's birthday present,

finding out that I'm going to be an aunt (squeeeaal!),

meeting Brent and Brenda's new foster kids, Kayla and James,

helping with funeral meals, 

doing miscellaneous graphic design work for the church,

cleaning up BIG messes,

beginning a weekly Bible study in our home,

Spring photo shoots,

traveling to IHC,

 

laundry,

and MORE laundry!

Whew...now I think I know why I'm so tired! :-) Anyway, I guess what I'm getting at is that even though I have a lot going on at this stage of life, I don't think I'm quite ready to give up blogging. I don't know about you, but I really struggle with keeping my priorities straight. I'm trying really hard to enjoy each moment as it happens - including the really difficult (and I do mean difficult - any advice from seasoned mothers would be appreciated) toddler stages that my two youngest kids are in the midst of right now. In spite of the temptation to "escape" to my blog or Facebook when things are stressful, I'm trying really hard to suck it up and deal with the issues at hand. So...please bear with my random postings. I may not always get my priorities right, but I am really trying! :-)