And, that's a wrap!

After travelling and being on-the-go for the last week, we were certainly glad to be home...

that is, until I remembered that we still had a Christmas tree to take out, decorations to put away, and gifts, paper, and boxes sitting on the floor.

I'm not gonna lie...some of it's still sitting there.

My decorations are arranged nicely on the dining room table, waiting to be put away, and my non-Christmasy stuff hasn't made it back out yet.

I just didn't feel like doing it yet.

I guess I kinda feel like I'm not ready to be done with Christmas.

I'm sure it's largely due to the fact that we weren't able to sit around the house and bask in all the after-Christmas glory like usual. No leftovers in the fridge, no new toys to get the hang of, no enjoying the last few days of our Christmas home.

Now, don't get me wrong, we had a great time in Wisconsin...

but I came home feeling like I didn't get enough of Christmas in my own home.

So...tonight I sifted through the almost 500 pictures that I took, and it made my heart a little bit lighter. The smiles on the kids' faces...the excitement of Christmas morning...being together with family...it was all still there! And so, I think I'm finally ready to close the door on Christmas, and open the door to a whole new year!

I can only pray that it will be better than the last...for us, and for you too. :)

*Christmas Eve and Christmas Day*

(click to enlarge)

*Some favorites from our trip to Wisconsin*
♥

A sad goodbye...

It's our last night in Wisconsin.

I know we'll be glad to get home,

but we're always sad to say goodbye.

****

To all of our family and friends here...

thank you

for a wonderful visit!

We love you all and hope to be back soon!

All our love to you!

♥

*****

This was Matt's parent's New Year's card. It said...

"We're all snuggled in for a long winter's nap!"

Cute, hu?!

♥

So far, so good!

Well, after a very eventful travel day (we were up at 4am, had an 8am flt that didn't leave until almost 1pm , didn't get into Chicago til 7pm, and to Matt's parents house around 11pm...ugh.) we're here! It's been a bit busy, and probably will be until we leave, but that's what happens when 1/2 of your family lives 2000 miles away and you only have 1 week a year to catch up with all of them. Sunday Matt and I went to the Seahawks/Packers game, and despite Seattle's miserable performance, we still had an amazingly awesome time! Lambeau Field is history in itself, but the people make it worth visiting. I had so much fun...even in my Seahawks attire! At one point during the game, I was walking back up the stairs to my seat after standing in a very long ladie's room line, and the entire section stood up and "BOO'd" me!! It was at my husband's request of course, but it was hilarious and so much fun! My neighbor and I shared popcorn and hot chocolates...something that just doesn't happen in Seattle. The people here are good. Real good. Today we had our family Christmas with Matt's brother and his family. Taylor and Allie (who turns 3 tomorrow) have been best buds since we got here, and it's great to see them forming a bond that I hope won't be forgotten by the next time they're able to see each other. We opened presents, had a delicious lunch and are now watching the Wisconsin Badger game and drinking some beers. A good day. Tomorrow is Allie's birthday party, which of course Taylor's very excited for...and we get to see Great Grandma and Grandpa too, so we're all looking forward to that! Thursday it's supposed to snow all day!!!! ...and we're going out with friends for New Year's Eve...can't wait for that! Then Friday we're taking Tay for her first sledding trip! I am so unbelievably excited to see her little face...I can imagine that smile of hers now...ear to ear. :) Then, Saturday...it's back home....after stopping for cheese of course. ;) I'll have a lot of pictures for you when we get back, so stay tuned for those! Hope you all have a wonderful New Year's...be safe! ♥

And we're off!

*2 granola bars
*12 crayons
*Snack mix
*1 Mickey Mouse cell phone
*2 magazines
*1 pkg of instant oatmeal
*6 books
*4 mini candy canes
*16 baby wipes
*2 writing/coloring tablets
*10 mini muffins
*1 spoon
*2 mini boxes of raisins
*8 apple slices
*1 mini see-n-say
*1 banana
*1 large bag of fruit snacks

...oh, how my carry-on items have changed! We're heading to the airport in exactly 8 hours...Wisconsin, here we come!

Although I'm sad to see Christmas go, (Taylor was so. much. fun. and we had a fabulous time with our family!) we are really excited to have a week to relax, catch up with our far-away family, hang out with friends, go to the Packers/Seahawks game, and play in the SNOW!! Lots of pictures to come next week...stay tuned! :)

Merry Christmas to you!

From the bottom of our hearts...

we wish you

a Christmas full of

Peace,

Faith,

Love,

&

Joy!

♥

*the Grubes*

Let It Be Christmas!

My cousin Molly turned me on to this song this year and it quickly became one of my absolute favorites. I've always loved Alan Jackson, but he really outdid himself with this one. I've listened to it atleast a hundred times and I still get a lump in my throat every time. Hope you love it too :)

*****

Let it be Christmas everywhere

In the hearts of all people both near and afar

Christmas everywhere

Feel the love of the Season wherever you are

On the small country roads lined with green mistletoe

Big city streets where a thousand lights glow...

*****

Let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let every heart sing, let every bell ring

The story of hope, and joy, and peace

And let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let anger and fear, and hate disappear

Let there be love that lasts through the year

and let it be Christmas

Christmas everywhere

*****

Let it be Christmas everywhere

With the gold and the silver, the green and the red

Christmas everywhere

In the smiles of all children asleep in their beds

In the eyes of young babies their first fallen snow

Elderly's memories that never grow old...

*****

(Chorus)

*****

Let it be Christmas everywhere

In the songs that we sing and the gifts that we bring

Christmas everywhere

In what this day means, and what we believe

From the sandy white beaches where blue waters roll

Snow covered mountains and valleys below

*****

Let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let every heart sing, let every bell ring

The story of hope, and joy, and peace

And let it be Christmas everywhere

Let heavenly music fill the air

Let anger and fear, and hate disappear

Let there be love that lasts through the year

And let it be Christmas

Christmas everywhere.

Christmas everywhere.

♥

Doin' the family thing

This weekend was full of lots of family fun!

We had the Peterson (my dad's side) Christmas party on Saturday at my cousin Kristin's house, where there were about 30 people for a delicious brunch.

The highlight of the afternoon?!

Santa!

Yep, for the second year in a row, Santa came to our party!

The kids were SOOO excited!

Afterall, he is the real Santa, you know...

atleast that's what Abbie told me. :)

(click to enlarge)

*****

Then today, we spent the afternoon at Cheri and Jay's house for

the Wagner family party!

As always, it was good time.

Our family is increasing in size by leaps and bounds...

there were almost 60 people there today!

And that's not even everybody.

Surprisingly, though, it wasn't that crowded.

It probably helped that the guys were in the garage for a good

part of the time, and of course the big kids couldn't stay inside either!

Here are some photos from today...enjoy!

Our little family :)

Abbie had a pretty dress on when I got there,

but had to change so we could be twinsies.

I ♥ this girl. :)

Holly and Cheri both looking festive and beautiful!

Taylor and Molly

Molly lovin' on her sister, Amanda...who's not looking excited about it. Ha!

I think this is all of the great grandkids...16 of them!

Notice all the baby girls? :)

Did we really get two cute family photos in one day?! Sweet! :)

And a collage with the rest of my favorite photos from today.

(click to enlarge)

All in all...

a fabulous weekend with family!

And, more to come!

♥

Christmas fun!

We've been up to lots of fun things this Christmas season!

Here's a little run-down from the last week...

Rockin' around the Christmas tree!

*****

Going potty!

Getting up there is the easy part...

...but pulling up your britches takes some practice.

*****

We've had a few sick days where I saw a lot of this...

...and this...

...and this.

*****

We've been baking Christmas cookies...

...and eating the dough. :)

*****

We got dressed up for a little Christmas party...

...got to hang out with Great Grandma...

...and give our littlest cousin some Christmas lovin'.

*****

We did ZooLights with the Newgards, and had a fabulous time!

You'll have to check out Tiffany's blog for the pictures.

This is the only one I seemed to get...

you can't see Taylor's face, but I can tell you,

it looks just like Avery's. :)

*****

And of course,

we've been watching a lot of football...

...and eating Chex Mix.

Holly and Taylor provided half-time entertainment by wrestling...

...and riding a bull!

Another fun day spent with good friends. :)

All this fun is exhausting!

I sure hope you've been having as much fun as we have getting ready for Christmas! Can you believe it's only 10 days away?!

We're also getting really excited for our trip to Wisconsin the day after Christmas. Our plans for our trip include going to the Packers vs. Seahawks game at Lambeau Field, meeting our new niece Emily, celebrating Allie's 3rd birthday with her, and spending a lot of time with family and friends that we see much too little of.

We have a lot to look forward to in the next couple of weeks!
Can't wait!!
♥

A few of MY favorite things!

As I was writing in a Christmas card today, I was inspired to make a list of some of my favorite things about this time of year. When I got on the computer, I saw that my cousin Molly had updated her blog this afternoon, and wouldn'tcha know it, she did the exact same thing! So, I thought it would be fun to make my list, and ask you to do the same!

With a Christmas and/or winter theme...
these are a few of my favorite things!

*candy canes
*frosty mornings
*stocking hats
*toasted marshmallow hot chocolate
*little footie jammies
*flannel sheets
*shopping for the ones I love
*peppermint mochas
*delicious smelling candles
*Christmas tree lights in a candlelit room
*Christmas movies on TV every night
*Advent calendars
*puffy vests
*Christmas cookies
*football in the snow
*flannel pjs
*sitting in front of the fireplace
*Santa
*my festive, decorated house
*family Christmas parties
*Christmas music in the car...and everywhere!
*nativity scenes
*snow globes
*the excitement this time of year brings to kids...it's like magic!
*adorable outfits
*snow days
*AND MY MOST FAVORITE THING...the children's mass on Christmas Eve.

What are your favorite Christmas things?!*

*If you have a blog, post it there! If not, leave me a comment :)

Yikes!

This has been Taylor's hair the last week...full of static,

and totally wild!

I know this is a terrible picture, but this is really what she looks like today. :( She was even saying "cheese" in this picture... Poor girlie :(
Watching "Bubhouse" (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) always
makes her feel better, though :)

Get well soon my little sweetie!

You don't wanna miss out on our Friday night date

with our besties! :)

Gettin' in the groove of Christmas

I've been listening to Christmas music religiously for the last week (okay, 2 weeks) and just can't seem to get enough of it.

Which leads me to wonder...

what do you listen to at Christmas??

Are you a tradional Christmas song lover?

Or, do you prefer a more contemporary tune?

Instrumental?

Me, personally...I love them all!

And that's why I can't ever decide what to listen to.

For the last couple of years my favorite song has been

Sarah McLachlan's "Song For A Winter's Night"

LOVE that song.

It's so calming and peaceful.

Her voice, and the melody...beautiful.

However, how do you go wrong with

Silent Night,

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing or

God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman??

And then, there's the "winter" songs that I love to sing along to...

Sleigh Ride,

Jingle Bell Rock,

Winter Wonderland...

*sigh*

Sure wish I had more than a month to get my fix.

What's your favorite Christmas song??

It's beginning to look a lot...

...like Christmas!

Saturday was a beautiful day! The weather was just right

for hanging Christmas lights, decorating the outside of the house,

and getting some much needed fresh air!

(click to enlarge)

Taylor and I had a lot of fun doin' the little stuff, while Matt worked away up on the roof, making our home festive and bright! He really did a great job with the lights. :)

*****

Sunday we drove to our favorite (and local!) tree farm, Sprouffske's.

My family has been cutting down trees here for as long

as I can remember, and this year was by far the quickest I can

ever remember picking out a tree!

We literally found our tree in about a minute!

We parked, looked at one tree...nope, not the one.

Matt said, "what about this one" to a tree about 4 over from the original...and it was perfect! Matt cut it down and we were back in the Tahoe in less than 5 minutes.

Now, why can't that happen in the years when it's pouring down rain?!

*****

Even though our hunt was short, I still managed to
get some pretty darn cute pics of Taylor :)

(click to enlarge)
Showing off her "Chwissmas twee" :)
(pls note the 'ch' is pronounced like in 'cheese')
*****
And here's a not-so-great shot of my little elf with the finished product!

*****

Tonight after dinner, we bundled up and took a walk up the hill behind our house and around the loop, to check out the Christmas lights. I'm surprised at how many houses are still bare, but I guess it is still November.
Anyway, when we came back, we scooped up some bowls of ice cream, snuggled up with the lights turned low and the trees glowing bright, and watched "Shrek The Halls" before sending Taylor off to bed. There's just something about this time of year...
...it almost feels magical, doesn't it?!
♥

Our happy Thanksgiving

We've been looking forward to Thanksgiving for several weeks
now, and it did not disappoint!

It was so fun and sooo delicious!

Last year I took exactly 6 pictures.

But this year?! 62!
Here are some of my favorites...

(click to enlarge!)

*****

Continuing the tradition on our
Thanksgiving weekend,
the day after was a ridiculously, long day of
shopping!

In case you're wondering what a day like this looks like,
I'll break it down for you...

330am - alarm goes off and I hit snooze.
337am - alarm goes off again...I'm up!
430am - I'm in the car, heading for my favorite coffee stand.
450am - pull into my parent's driveway, jump out of my car
and into my mom's...and we're off!
523am - get to my aunt Mary's house.
545am - my aunt Krissy pulls in (she's late!) and we
head outside to greet her and tell her that she's driving. Ha!
610am - at Target...the line is already wrapped completely
around the store. It starts at the front door and goes
all the way around. Yah.
We shop around and get everything we came to get.
In the mean time, Krissy had gotten in a short line at the
Pharmacy, so as soon as we were done, we were checking out!
(I have no idea of the time at this point.)
We leave Target with smiles on our faces...
all those poor souls standing in line for literally hours...
and we're off to our next destination!
From there we hit Old Navy, Wal-Mart (barf.), and Fred Meyer
(for free coffee and donuts before 11am!)
before heading back to Krissy's house to unload our
many, many bags of goodies and fill our
tummies with leftover turkey sandwiches...
fuel for the rest of our day!
We hit Toys 'R Us first, and then spend
the next several hours at the South Hill Mall.
715pm - I pull in my driveway, gather my bags,
and slowly make my way into the house. I'm exhausted!

All in all, it was a great shopping day!
Long...very, very long...but fun, as always!
Are you a crazy Black Friday shopper, too?! :)

Giving thanks

It's that time of year...

...when we are reminded to give thanks for all of our many blessings.

...when we really dig deep,

to appreciate all that we have,

and all that we've learned from our loss.

We all go through hard times...

financially,

emotionally,

physically,

faithfully...

...no one gets a free pass.

So, as I sit here and think of everything I have to be thankful for,

I can't help but think of everything that I've gone through,

and everything that is yet to come.

This year my heart was broken...again.

But yet, here I am.

Stronger,

more loving,

more appreciative,

more giving,

more positive,

and more faithful.

I am thankful for that.

"Glory be to God in the highest..." (Luke 2:14)

...for without Him, we would have nothing.

I am thankful for you!

And I wish you

a very

Happy

Thanksgiving!

♥

One bowl of Cheerios please...

...and hold the Cheerios.

It may look like she's finishing off her cereal here, but really...there's a whole bowl of Cheerios in there. She prefers to slurp all the milk out first, and then (if I'm lucky) she'll eat the cereal!
Gotta love kids! :)