Enjoying a few Chrismas things in mid-December

Sydney had her first Christmas program yesterday. I was so proud of her. My painfully shy little girl sang every word to every song all with a timid smile that, despite her trying, couldn't be contained.

On the other hand, it was all we could do to keep our second born, throw caution to the wind, fear-nothing, daughter off the stage and out of the spotlight. We did pretty good until they got to "Let it go" from Frozen. Son-of-a-nutcracker! There was no stopping her stealing the spotlight with her (very loud) singing and dancing on that one.

It's been all things Christmas around here lately. This year the candy on our gingerbread houses keeps mysteriously disappearing. One morning, Jon even came out to find Lilly laying on the table gnawing on the house like a dog on a bone. ::Headdesk::

December is absolutely flying by! I found a few pictures from Thanksgiving that I forgot to post on facebook. It seems impossible this time of year, but I'm hoping and praying that everyone gets and stays healthy in time for Christmas so that we can enjoy more moments like this.

Happy Friday everyone!

Fall Fairy Birthday Party

When I asked Sydney what she wanted to do for her party this year, I fully expected her to want a Frozen party. I was completely surprised when she suggested repeatedly that she wanted a "fall fairy" party. I think it came from a combination of us talking about Fall and a Tinker bell movie she has been watching lately with summer and winter fairies. Whatever the reasoning, it worked out well for me since we have been so busy. Fall decorations doubled as party decorations; win-win. The weather turned out to be beautiful and we had a great time celebrating with friends and family. Here are a few photos of our birthday fun.

Sydney requested a cake in the shape of a leaf. Sharon delivered as usual!

I got lazy with the craft and picked up a cheap one at the store. It was such a fail, LOL!

Giant Jenga in action!

The day had a little touch of Frozen, thanks to some wonderful gifts!

The Happy Birthday song is SO embarrassing!

Thank you to everyone who came out to help us celebrate! Happy birthday sweet Sydney! We love you!!

Tuesday Potpourri

Sometimes the worry of being a parent and "getting it right" can be overwhelming. There are days, many, where feel like I make a million mistakes.

I stumbled across this last week:

“Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.” - William Martin

Beautiful. What a privilege to be a parent.

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Mother's Day weekend was a fabulous combination of shopping, being outside, festivals, and family time. Here are a few (late!) photos from our weekend:

Shopping for vintage and handmade goodies at the Hobnob Market with some of my favorite ladies! This was the crazy pop-up storm that blew threw and nearly took all the tents with it!

This is the lovely table I bought for my darling daughters at the market. The VERY NEXT day Lillian decided to break open a bottle of bright orange nail polish and paint her entire foot, splatter painting the new table and our carpet in the process. The carpet was redeemed, the table, not so much. Looks like I have another painting job to add to the list!

Fishing didn't last too long, but the geese were entertaining.

We stumbled into a music festival on our way to the butcher shop. Lucky us!

Blurry church cell phone pic...the only family photo we got on mothers' day...hey, I'll take it!

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And finally...some photos from this past Sunday at the May Days Carnival. It was a small-ish carnival in a Rural King parking lot, but the kids had a blast! (Well, not Lilly, she sat in her stroller the whole time making a mess of popcorn and funnel cake.)

Behold, the dragon ride of TERROR!

Whew, still with me?! That was a lot of photos!

Happy Tuesday friends!