Friday, December 23, 2011

A little behind

So I know I'm a little behind in the blogging world so while were away for Christmas in gonna try and catch up.

But for now I've been thinking a lot about Christmas. It truly us one of my most favorite times of the year. And being the mom of two adorable babes has made it even more magical.

So why am I constantly stressing out over every small detail of Christmas. I am confident jh is not concerned the his "what's in Ned's head?" present has a perfectly placed bow on it, but rather the assurance that someone will be there to play the game with him. Lynley is 3 months old today and I know she doesn't care that she has the most beautiful dolly under the tree, but that her parents are present and engaged to play folks with her and spur on her imagination. So why all the hustle and bustle? Why do we as moms kill ourselves and ruin Christmas, just for the appearance of perfection?

Shouldn't we learn from the Creator of Christmas that isn't surrounded by perfection. A stable, a manger, a virgin, and a baby who will save the world. So in this madness we call Christmas remember the baby. Nothing about His arrival came by perfection. So like Mary, "ponder and treasure these things in your heart."

Monday, December 5, 2011

Breakfast in Bethlehem




Each year our church does a breakfast call Breakfast in Bethlehem. It is a time where you go eat a pancake dinner, watch the christmas story come to life and sing carols with the family. It is super fun, and I love to see the kids watch the Christmas story come to life. We had a great time at it this year, but if there is one take away from this event it is a funny John Hunter story.


As you might now, we let John Hunter watch Soul Sufer. The movie about Bethany Hamilton the surfer who lost her arm to a shark bite while surfing. To say the is obsessed with that movie would be an understatement. So I said to him to Friday night that we were going to Breakfast in Bethlehem. To which he replied, do you think they will have surf boards? Confused I said, NO. And he said, I cannot believe Bethany would not bring her surf board to show me her shark bite. While snickering I responded, no honey, we are going to eat with Bethany Hamilton we are going the Bethlehem. That kid cracks me up!

Anyway the breakfast was great and the plus was we got to sit with John Hunter favorite girl, Emmy! What a blessing to be apart of a church who wants to teach children the REAL meaning of Christmas!

Happy 60th Birthday Gigi



Along with Thanksgiving we got to celebrate Gigi's 60th Birthday, and I cannot think of a better person to celebrate. We went to dinner on Friday night to a great place that sits on the water, and then came home and had cake!


Saturday Morning (her actual bday) we woke up and did presents. Now what do you get an amazing Gigi who has everything. Well I started thinking, and dad and I put together a basket that had 60 gifts in it that all reminded us of Gigi. Some were silly and some were sweet. I think she really liked it, and yes it takes a while to open up 60 gifts. But it was worth it.


Happy Birthday Gigi, we are blessed beyond measure to have you in our lives!


As a part of Gigi's birthday gift we had our friend Kara come and take family photos. They turned out great and I have already hung up a few in our house. What precious memories to cherish!

Happy Thanksgiving



We sure do have a lot to be thankful for this year as we celebrate Thanksgiving! We had a great dinner and ate way too much. My parents came up and some friends from our life group joined us. It was a great time had by all.
These are chocolate bar place cards that I had at everyones table... they were super cute and YUMMY!



Mom and I along with Lynley went out on Black Friday and got some fun stuff for Christmas. Honestly we did not get any HOT TICKET items but we had fun and the experience was great.

We decorated the house on Friday which was super fun, and as always it was super exciting to see the magic of Christmas through John Hunter's eyes. He is so excited about the small things such as the lights, his elf on the shelf, and Santa. It truly is the Most Wonderful time of the year!

Lynley's 2 months



Sweet Lynley girl you turned 2 months old on November 21 and what a 2 months it has been. We love you so much and we have lots of fun nicknames for you. Your brother calls you sweetie pie, mom likes to call you Lulu and Princess, and Daddy calls you baby girl! We love all your smiles and we all just gawk at you each time you small. You are starting to talk a LOT. I guess it is just par for the course in this family.

Here are your stats:
Height: 24 1/4 (yep you have grown over 2 inches since your 1 month)
Weight: 10.2 ( you have grown a pound.... yay)


You are nursing great, you sleep pretty well, you love to be on the go, but you HATE to be put into your car seat. You love any and all music. And you have a lovey/blanket that you are obsessed with.

We love you so much and are excited to see you grow!

The Brauns Come to Visit



Eric sister Anna and her husband Ben and daughter Kyah came for a visit in November. We had a great time and it was wonderful to see the cousins interact. It was a glimpse of all the things yet to come. We just hung out on Friday night and Saturday we braved the preholiday traffic and hit the mall.


We wanted to take the kiddos pictures and that was always interesting. When you take a 5 year old, a 2 year old, and a 2 month old it makes life kinda fun! They did great and we super cute. I give you a small preview but some photos are for Christmas gifts!


We were super sad to see them go but we are excited to get to hang out with them at Christmas. What a fun visit. We love you guys!