{CHRISTMAS TREE}

This year we got a real tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Mark wasnt too thrilled but I had sweet visions of pine scented smells wafting through the house and a cute tree filling up my window.

Well, BIG real Christmas trees are WAY out of our budget so we found a groupon for $20 and got a small tree that was only about 4 ft tall. I watered it like crazy but it wasnt drinking all too much and 2 weeks later it was so dead that I was afraid to turn on the lights and the ornaments were falling off.

So a few days ago, I threw it in the dumpster, and brought out the fake one, lit a pine candle and 

I LOVE it! 

I am never going back to a real one again- Mark you can remind me of this next year! 

 Every year we get a new ornament for the kids and write their names and the year on the back- this year Elijah got a Bronco player- he named it Tim Tebow- and the girls got Hello Kitty! 

Its been one CRAZY week! We have had a lot of sickness in the house so its made things a tad difficult. We had to miss the Valor family Christmas party. The kids have missed some school. Arianna missed her girl scout Christmas party and was deeply disappointed but I guess this all means we have spent more time together as a family for which I can be grateful!

Mark and I did get to get out to a FABULOUS Valor Discovery Christmas Party and it was WONDERFUL! Honestly, I was almost in tears at how grateful I was for that night out with Mark- no kids, wonderful food, great fellowship with some pretty awesome people- it was GREAT and much needed by this tired mommy!  Special thanks to Franki and Jon who babysat for us and even with a kid that had a low fever- you guys are AWESOME!

We were still able to have some company over last night for dinner which was so nice!
And I have been BUSY all week making Christmas presents, Christmas cookies and treats for parties at school and for teachers and friends, mailing presents and writing Christmas cards:) Its been fun!

I have fallen a bit behind in our advent daily happenings so I we have 2 books that have not been read and 3 names of Jesus we have not discussed but this is bound to happen, right?!

Hoping we can kick this bug in our house out the door so we can have a productive weekend and then TWO WEEKS OFF of school! Although I'm not too sure it will be anytime soon as I got a call a few minutes ago from the twins teacher that they are complaining about their belly's hurting- we will see what the day brings!

Dino Craze!

Last week we went to the Museum of Nature and Science for their free day and they had the COOLEST dino exhibit! They had 3 dinos that moved, breathed, roared, blinked, followed your movements... it was fascinating! Elijah and Ella were mesmerized! I was too- we stayed a good long time just watching them- Elijah keeps asking when we are going back to see the dinosaurs!

Ho! Ho! Ho!

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The pictures I have before here are from Massachusetts and need to be scanned in the computer:) someday!


 Every year we take the kids to see Santa!

We have gone to White Fence Farm the past three years because its free but it is far! 

This year, we tried Southglenn because its 5 minutes from our house and were NOT disappointed!
I think its the best year yet! 

Santa was SO nice and talked to them for the longest time! He looked so real:) and it was free AND their was NO line- we went right in! You bring your own camera! 

The kids really enjoyed it! 

Cameras Ready!

MY sweet little Ella had her first Christmas preschool performance last night and all I could think about was how fast she is growing up! She is a beautiful little girl who LOVES to perform! She wasnt afraid in the slightest and sang her little heart out! 

 We were so thankful to have little Julianna there to watch!

 As well as Aunt Emy, Avery, Alex, Grandma and Grandpa! 

 Ella loves her teachers- Miss Debbie and Miss Pam! 

 The twins also had a little Christmas performance a week ago at Southglenn- a bit more casual:) 

They sang in front of a roaring fire while little white lights twinkled above! 

We were so glad that Grandma could come to watch! 

 Of course, we had to get a little Mellow Mushroom pizza in for dinner- YUM! 

ONe more performance to go- all of them- even Lij, will sing at church next week! 

They are dressing up as angels and shepherds! 

Melt my {HEART}

 I am in love with this picture! I LOVE how the sunburst hits the top corner- I love that my little girlies enjoy tromping thru the snow in the woods on our walk home from school! I love the snow! I love the beauty of God's creation! I love that I have children to share it with! I LOVE that I have one little blond girlie who looks like me! I love Colorado! 

 And this little guy CRACKS me up! He is VERY into superheroes right now, especially Wolverine at the moment. We went to the dollar store today to find some bells for the Christmas program at church and Elijah had the hardest time deciding on a knife or a chocolate Santa:) The knife won out:) He now says that his name is Wolverine not Elijah and hasn't put the knife down all day:) 

And just looking at this picture makes me warm and fuzzy! Little Knox was the cutest little bundle of baby I have seen in a while:) SO snuggly- he basically slept in my arms the whole time I was there:) LOVE IT!  He is SO handsome and LONG! He's teeny though! And I even smelled his little head and he had that wonderful newborn smell:) aahh! 

It was a good day! 

Out-takes- Merry Christmas!

A few weeks ago, we had a photo shoot outside with the tripod and the pics turned out great although we didnt use any of these for our Christmas card- they are a tad blurry because of the lighting- it was very low. But I sure have some cute kiddos! 

I made the girls skirts and brooches for the picture and they turned out really cute:)

I have been busy crafting away these days- its fun! 

I am about 80% done Christmas shopping- which is great! 

Mark has one last week of classes and his final is on Friday and the poor guy is almost done! He has to be there all next week to proctor exams and have meetings but it will be GREAT because he will be stress free seeing as his classes are done. He has been having tons of study sessions at night over at Solid Grounds and we barely see him but its okay because it will soon be over! YEAH!!!

Ella's preschool program is this week on Thursday night and she is bursting with excitement! I am too- I cant wait to see her sing her little heart out on stage! This is her first big performance in her life:)

We had our annual Ladies Coffee Jewelry Swap today- it was so fun! I just love our ladies! 

And we have some pretty cute babies too!

Speaking of babies, I get to see little Knox tomorrow and I am SOOOOOO excited!

 Little newborns are just precious! 

Off to keep sewing! 

Happy Tuesday! 

The Confession

An innocent man is about to be executed. Only a guilty man can save him. For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn't understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn't care. He just can't believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected: the authorities believe in their case and are determined to get a conviction. He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison, to serve hard time, even to be executed. Travis Boyette is such a man. In 1998, in the small East Texas city of Sloan, he abducted, raped, and strangled a popular high school cheerleader. He buried her body so that it would never be found, then watched in amazement as police and prosecutors arrested and convicted Dont Drumm, a local football star, and marched him off to death row. Now nine years have passed. Travis has just been paroled in Kansas for a different crime; Dont is four days away from his execution. Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. For the first time in his miserable life, he decides to do what's right and confess. But how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges, and politicians that they're about to execute an innocent man?


I just finished reading this exciting read by John Grisham- I just LOVE his books! They hold my attention to the very end and are so well written. You just HAVE to see what happens next which leads you to reading well into the night:)  I love the law side of it too- very intriguing. There are a few curse words and a small paragraph about the rape and killing. Overall, it was really intense and a must read! Next on my list is to finish.. Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your kids with the Love of Jesus!

The kids and I read every night (or try to) before bed and we are in the midst of Henry and Ribsy by Beverly Cleary- I just LOVE her books- they are so funny and written well with lots of descriptions. I have tried to get my twins to read them by themselves but they dont get far.. so I decided to read them out loud at bedtime instead and they love it! I also picked up Homer Price by Robert McClusky at the library the other day- it reminds me alot of Henry Huggins and I vividly remember my mom reading this book to me! My favorite story was about how a diamond bracelet gets stuck in some doughnut batter and baked in a doughnut and tons of people come in to eat doughnuts to try to find the bracelet and win a reward- its really great! There are a few short stories in this book so its good for bedtime!