December and Advent and Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  We've been doing a little decorating. We won't get our tree for a couple more days, but it's still looking pretty festive around here. The kids are super excited. Nearly every day Levi tells me that he can't wait until Christmas. I feel like Advent is more than half the fun, though. We kicked it off with a little party complete with Christmas tree shaped pizza, hot chocolate, and new Christmas books. My brother and sister-in-law sent the kids a nativity set of their very own, and they opened it that same evening. A few days later we celebrated St. Nicholas day with more gifts and cookies (craft supplies and books). This month is full of so much goodness and fun....the tree farm, drive through nativities, Christmas lights, the kids' very first ballet experience: The Nutcracker, parties, hot chocolate, ornament making, and lots and lots of snuggling and reading.

  Each Advent we pick a kiddo devotional to read through, and we add a few books to our growing Christmas book collection. It's always hard for me to choose which new books to buy. All year I add books to an Amazon Christmas book wish list. Then, in November I spend way too much time looking over the list and trying to decide which ones to get. This Advent we chose to read through Ann Voskamp's Unwrapping the Greatest Gift. It is, of course, beautiful and inspiring and has the added benefit of appealing to all ages. Okay, so my two year old isn't very impressed, but that's to be expected. She does like the pictures, at least. The Advent Storybook is another one of our daily reads. It was the very first advent book that I ever read to my little ones. It's not a devotional, but it is a sweet story (broken up into 24 stories) about a little bear traveling to Bethlehem to meet the baby Jesus. It's become a much anticipated tradition, and we read a story from it each evening leading up to Christmas. Legend of the Christmas Stocking was a St. Nicholas Day present. I wanted a book that focused on the generosity of the real man behind the caricature of Santa. This one delivered. I failed at choking back tears when I read it to them. I am a total sap when it comes to Christmas stories. This Is the Stable and  Something for Christmas were also added to our shelves this year. They are both super sweet reads for the younger crowd. So, what are your favorite Christmas reads?

Happy Thanksgiving

 We had a low key but good Thanksgiving. I thought it would be the perfect time for family photos. Hahahahahaha! That just ended up a mess of silliness. It was fun, though.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 7th!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  When Levi was just a couple of years old Stephan gave him a copy of The Encyclopedia of Animals. He has been poring over that book ever since. I cannot tell you how many hours I've spent stumbling through the latin names of all those animals. "Hey, mama, what's this one?" "Hey, mama, will you read me just one page?....Will you read one more?....and, one more?" After years of being dragged around and loved on by a growing boy, that old copy finally could not be duct taped together anymore. It officially bit the dust. Levi cried. I promised him a new one, and so for his birthday he got his wish.

   My sweet itty bitty baby is not so itty bitty anymore. Still sweet, though. Goodness, how has it been 7 whole years since I became a mama? We celebrated his birthday exactly how he wanted it....family, a cake topped with Toothless and Skull Crusher (thank you, Nanno and Aunt Annie, for decorating it), a few gifts, and a drive around the pasture. It was too cold for the originally planned hayride. Thank goodness driving the truck through the pasture makes a good alternative!

  Seven years of parenting down. It's been a wild and beautiful ride. I'm so grateful that it all started with this incredible soul.



Goodbye October.

 

Four babies in, and I am still surprised at how time flies that first year. Suddenly October was upon us and with it the fair and pumpkins and costumes and parties. And, now just as suddenly it is coming to an end. September was pretty much the same way, and the few months before it really just seem to have all blurred together. This is my favorite season, so I wish it would slow down. The weather is pretty much wonderful. The leaves are starting to turn and fall, and well, there are pumpkins. I love pumpkins.

 

 

There are also the costumes. It's so fun to put them together and/or make them for my little ones. They get such joy out of dressing up, and they will use and reuse their costumes all year round until they are literally falling apart. Then they'll come to me crying and ask me to fix them.
 

 

The only costume I made this year was Levi's. He has been asking for a Toothless (from How To Train Your Dragon) costume for months. As usual he was very particular about how he wanted it, so I let him stay up late one night to help me make it.
 

 

 

 

My mom bought the girls "pumpkin princess" outfits. When we went to our church's Fall Festival Lillian decided to go as a kitty pumpkin princess, and Sophia went as a butterfly pumpkin princess.
 

 

 

 

After a week of fun Fall events, we had our own little family "Pumpkin Party" tonight with my parents. The kids and I carved a pumpkin to bring to the party.
 

 

Joshua dressed like a bee for the party, but that lasted all of a nanosecond before he insisted his costume be taken off.

While Stephan kept the kids outside this afternoon I made a caramel apple pie for our dessert. You can tell I was all by myself in the kitchen because I actually had a chance to play with my food and then take a quick picture.

Since we don't live in a neighborhood anymore trick-or-treating is a hassle. Last year we started doing candy hunts at home instead. It was such a hit, and it's looking like it might become a bonafide tradition around here.
 

 

 

 This year we added in a hayride too.

 

 

It was a first for Joshua. He wasn't so sure what to think of it.
 

 

 

 

 

  It's been a fun month. I'm a little sad to see it coming to an end. But, hey, November is up next, and that's a fun month too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Knit And Sew

 Crafting has been slow going since Joshua was born thanks to a bout with postpartum carpel tunnel. I've gotten carpel tunnel while pregnant, but this was the first time I'd ever gotten it after. It's finally nearly gone, so my knitting pace has sped up a bit. Naturally matching sweaters for my boys were the first things on my to do list. I put the buttons on Joshua's today, and I've gotten a decent way into knitting Levi's. I'm glad he got a little brother while he's still at an age where he thinks matching outfits are cool.
 

 

 

 

Next on my list is a quilt for Joshua. I've got the fabrics, and a basic idea of what I want to do. (Inspired by this.) I just have to work out exactly how I want things, and then get to stitchin'.
 

 

I'm pretty sure that I just want one large, off centered star, but then I saw this quilt with multiple stars, and I'm starting to feel a bit uncertain. I think I'll sleep on it. 

 

 

 P.S. The sweater is the Andalusia, and I knit it up in some Beaverslide Mule Spun yarn.