random photos catch up

since i've been such a slacker blogger the past couple months, i thought i'd post my favorite photos from november and december. most of them are from my phone.

p helping mommy dust the stairs

k baking cookies with his pet from school.

this was a project he was sent home with.

winter fuchsia tights.

carter baby getting into my succulents.

another school project for k. making indian hats.

my new favorite meal. stuffed spaghetti squash.

this recipe is loaded with veggies and is a total food-O!

breakfast during thanksgiving weekend with noel and jennie.

aunt noelie with her angel's of love!

my sailor loading up our free christmas tree from "trees for troops."

my girls.

precious p baby napping with me in my bed.

the kids' tree. i let them have total control over decorating it.

(except for the lights.)

paisley's new skinny jeans from nana.

christmas 2011

yeah, i've been a huge slacker this month. but at least i sent out christmas cards, right?

doesn't matter that they were cheap kind and had to half my usual list of recipients does it?

our christmas was great; full of love and i think the two oldest are finally understanding what christmas is really about. yay for that. more pics to come...

holiday traditions

it's about time we start some holiday traditions around here.

our first order of business?

our first annual daddy daughter date to the nutcracker ballet.

paisley was so excited to get all dolled up for her daddy and spend an evening alone with him.

she chose her dress, sweater, shoes, and even some of mommy's jewelry.

there's nothing like seeing a father take his baby girl on a special date night...

the husband reported that miss p loved the first half, but lost interest 

in the second half of the play. maybe 3 years old is too early? either way, 

i know she felt special and that's what we were going for. until next year...

madison inn- our veterens day getaway

yes, i've been a major blogger slacker.

so much has been going on and by the time my kids are in bed, i'm too exhausted to even blog.

here's to playing catch up!

back in november, the husband and i took advantage of an amazing veteran's day offer. for a couple years now, bed and breakfasts around the nation are celebrating the holiday by offering a free nights stay  to veterans. they booked up fast, but i was luckily able to reserve us a spot in a small town called Madison. the innkeeper was so sweet on the phone and automatically made me feel comfortable.

here's the website for the inn we stayed at.

our good friends watched our kids for the night, and we drove 1.5 hours to get to this quaint inn.

we loved the manager of the place! she was just so warm and friendly.

here's our room when we checked in that night:

david got a free prime rib at a local restaurant and then we cuddled in our cozy room with no kids!!

we woke up to this beautiful light streaming through our windows:

breakfast was at 8:00 downstairs. i love this old craftsman home:

breakfast was ah-mazing. she started us off with a baked pear 

stuffed with walnuts, cranberries, and marmalade:

then she brought out home style hash browns, ham, a biscuit, 

and a souffle in the adorable chicken dish.

we were able to meet the two other couples that were staying there.

both were veterans as well. the older man served in vietnam and lost his leg after being at war for 11 months! it was so interesting to chat with all of them over breakfast.

here's the front of the house:

after we checked out, we spent the afternoon exploring the small town.

there were cute shops like this one:

with cute unique things like this sign and ornaments:

and the fall colors, oh my! look at these gorgeous trees!

i feel so lucky to have a husband serving our country. we haven't had to sacrifice too much yet, but the blessings are numerous. some people complain about life in the military, but i feel grateful to have a steady income in this crazy economy and to have the perks of health insurance. i feel even more gratitude for the men and women who are deployed and away from their families. and for the people who have served before us. we are free because of them.

shutterfly

so christmas card season is coming up and i'm so excited! although i may dread actually taking our family photos, i thoroughly enjoy browsing cards and deciding which to choose from. these days, they have so many modern and fabulous choices! last year we went with shutterfly and i couldn't have been happier with the quality. here's a link to remind you what our card looked like.

christmas 2010

are you stressing about christmas cards yet?

what company are you using?

happy picture taking!

spring bulbs

i know i mentioned that my dadis one amazing gardener.

to say he has a green thumb would be an understatement.

he recently sent me some pictures of his indoor garden. he just planted his spring bulbs and the way he presents them in his gorgeous antique pots, moss, and twigs is just breathtaking to me. 

take a look:

isn't his taste impeccable? someday, i will have my own garden as beautiful as his.

but in the meantime, i'm trying. and he has helped big time.

look what he had delivered right to my door step!!

300+ bulbs. a variety of daffodils, paperwhites, and tulips.

although my yard will look nothing like his, this spring will be beautiful around here.

i put david hard at work to dig holes for my hearty daffodil bulbs. 

it was so gratifying digging in the soil with my fingers and "sowing these seeds."

although i am LOVING this fall season, i can't wait to see the first signs of spring peek through my yard.

thanks dad so much! not only for the bulbs, but for the desire that you've given me to enjoy all things nature.

ps. david and i are leaving for a overnight getaway in T minus 5 hours! so excited!

halloween quilt

i finally finished my halloween quilt that i started last year!

here are the pictures with my two lovely assistants:

the back is a fleece polka dot.

it was my first time quilting with fleece and it wasn't too bad.

i used the same quilting method as this one.

now if i could just figure out how to quilt something other than straight lines!

i finished it a couple days before halloween, so we only got to cuddle with it for a short time before it went in the deco bin, but the kids sure loved it!