Watermelon in December

We were at Costco the other day, when Olivia spied some watermelon. As huge fans of it at our house, I decided to overlook the ridiculous price (it is December) and grant Olivia her request.

Without a skipping a beat, we cut up the watermelon as soon as we got home. I was afraid it wouldn't taste as sweet as it does in the summer , but was pleasantly surprised how delicious it tasted. (Was it actually sweet, or was it because it was December and we were eating watermelon..?)


Watermelon in December = Happiness.

Speaking of happiness, can you believe it's Christmas this weekend? Here we go!

We've been visiting with great friends and and looking forward to spending time with family. Is there anything better? Holidays + Family = Perfection.

Sunshine and lovely weather also make happy. We had the best snowy day two days ago. The morning sky was overcast as the clouds threatened snow. By early afternoon it was snowing. It was beautiful. We watched outside as we sat in our cozy home with not a place we had to be.

With kids home on break, I've found my patience to be fairly thin. Shocking, I know ;). But when we can calm down and relax and little more, I sure enjoy watching them interact. All at different levels of learning, but growing and striving. You know what's weird? Henry is our oldest child without being pregnant again. It feels so strange, but so liberating at the same time. He's our baby. (And he certainly milks it!) The thought of our family feeling complete makes me sublimely happy.

And a bit off topic, but still makes me very happy, this little chair. More than the chair though, this fabric. I love it. It certainly makes me happy.

This Little Boy

(Henry - 16 mos.)

There are adventures with Henry almost everyday. He's certainly one to keep me on my toes.
This little guy is a toilet dunking, binky swishing, toilet brush dragging, midnight escaping, vent dropping, head bonking, monkey climbing, top tooth grinning, tooth brushing, dish turning, Christmas ball throwing, stick jabbing, cell phone chucking, fruit snack eating, diaper digging, sister hugging, sister shoving, happy Happy HAPPY little boy.

And we love him to pieces.

Bringing in the Christmas Cheer

Winter has come.

With frigid temperatures (not unusual for Colorado, but about a month early, brrr) and snow, help make it feel Christmas-y.

Sunday night, we pulled out our tree and began the festivities. However, when half the lights didn’t light up on our pre-lit tree, we met a serious GRUMPELSTILTSKIN. Me. I had to stop as I started getting after the kids. One may think this wouldn’t have bothered them, but I was so grouchy.

The kids still danced around and started dressing the tree- obviously understanding the Spirit of Christmas more than their mother. I had to take a time-out.

My mom happened to call me the next day and I expressed my woes (my lifeless, lightless tree) to her. She informed of a sweet little gadget that could make my troubles disappear. The following day I went and made my purchase.

While it brought a few branches back to life (yay!), I still didn’t have the patience to replace about 100 little bulbs. Instead, I wimped out and just strung another set of lights around the remaining branches. As magically as the tree looked all lit up, my mood was incredibly better as well.

Just yesterday, I (re)decorated the tree and pulled out most of our Christmas décor. It’s amazing how much my mood has lifted and how the Spirit of Christmas is filling our home.

In fact, just this morning:

Kaycee: Mom, you don’t look old. Lucy chiming in: yeah, you don’t look old. Me: oh yeah? (who said anything about old?? where’s this coming from??) Kaycee: you just look like an older sister. Me: Thanks…

I smiled. Is this because I turn 31 in less than 24 hours…? or are we trying to butter up Mom for Christmas….

Either way, I guess I’ll be happy looking like the ‘older sister’ (in my children's eyes) and enjoy bringing in the Christmas cheer.

Capturing Moments

(Do you love your camera? I can’t seem to get the lighting right on mine..ready for a different one.)

I love watching my kids play. Especially when they don’t know I’m watching . . .

   

Rising Star

On the eve for Thanksgiving we went down to The University of Denver Men’s basketball game for Rylee to be honored as a Rising Star. Early that morning Grandma and Grandpa had taken her to the bookstore so she could be properly outfitted for the game .

We had a great time and cheered for Rylee – 1 of the 2 selected students from her school.

What a girl!

Not Yet Back to Regular Programming . . .

(Does my title even make sense? Ah well.)

A lot of us have been sick lately, so I'm getting behind again.

But, until we're back to our regular scheduled program
read this article:

Make Everyday A Payday.
(click it.)