Happy Thanksg....I mean, uhhh Merry Christmas!

Wow, its been a while.

Actually, its been four weeks and two days

don't get me wrong, I've thought about it

even sat at my computer, fingers on the keyboard, 

thoughts racing...but nothing

lots of thoughts, very little words = no post

sorry

but today, I have a couple thoughts, a few words AND lots of pictures

so here it goes

these last four weeks have been a time of firsts...

Aidan and her buddy went Ice skating...i love these two girls and I hope they're best friends forever

and Aidan skated by herself for the FIRST time

Ice skating day ended in tears when I surprised Aidan with a trip to Kaiser for her flu shot

I didn't hold her arm down enough, 

and she jerked causing the needle to scrape her arm,

and then they had to stick her again. 

FIRST time that every happened.

Her consolation present...the only thing I could find in the pharmacy

...a tooth brush.

Made my FIRST quiche for thanksgiving breakfast, turned out well. Don't you think?

Haley had her FIRST Black Friday shopping experience...she wasn't too happy about it

But I was...because for the FIRST (and most likely last) time, I saved more than I spent at Target

We knew Christmas would go fast this year...

doesn't it always?...

so we put up decorations right away

including the FIRST tree topper I've ever loved

its Mickey!

and it took me over 25 years to find it

Thanks, Mom for buying it

Well it wasn't my first time making these, but it was my 

FIRST time pinning my own picture on Pinterest

In case you're interested...they're cinnamon brownies.

They're amazing and incredibly easy to make.

Box Brownie mix, substitute orange juice for the liquid, add some cinnamon chips..and TaDa!

FIRST time the Jasons put together a bunk bed

major, manly bonding happening here

FIRST time using Costco boxes as bumper cars

huge hit...you should try it

FIRST time, he fell asleep during The Holiday...

NOT!

First time I had the 6th grade girls from church over to make Gingerbread houses

guess which one's mine?

FIRST time Haley saw an oral surgeon, for biting completely into her tongue. 

FIRST time I've heard Nothing But the Blood performed in a mall

Another friendship I pray, lasts forever

FIRST time, of the season, we went out to look at Christmas lights. 

We're going again tonight

you can't read it, but this house put a huge banner of John 3:16 out front

Love that!

And last night we received an amazing present from the Youth/College/Career/ our FRIENDS

our very FIRST ipad

I was speechless, i totally cried

its something that i've wanted for a long time

never thought I would get

not sure that I need, 

certain I don't deserve,

but absolutely sure that I love!

And that's been our month

And tomorrow is Christmas

Christmas is on a Sunday,

and I love, love, love that

I wish every Christmas was on a Sunday

And I can't wait to celebrate with worship and praise

Because my Savior was born

He came to earth, 

He became flesh,

He died for me,

He rose,

He lives,

and His name is Immanuel

Matthew 1:21

"And she will bring forth a Son, and you 

shall call His name JESUS, 

for He will save His people from their sins."

recipes, wreaths, and random

Its getting cold
like 58 degrees cold
and thats cold for me
but COOL weather means COOL presents from friends for little feet

those little feet were put to work this week catching up on the letter Hh

And today is Tuesday, which means two more days to Thanksgiving

which means two more days until turkey

which means two more days until 20 lb. gained

But I've begun the weight gaining early this year with some warm recipes for the cold weather

Oh Carrie, please share your recipes!

Oh ok, if you insist

First of all these three things are always the beginning of something warm

 like vegetable soup

or if you have leftover honey ham from youth group

 And for dessert, or breakfast, or snack, or anytime
 Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

I use a recipe that makes two loaves because 

this is what happens in the first day

I made this last night, and that's what it looked like in the morning

Do you like wreaths?

Does this one tickle your fancy?

or maybe this one

Well my friend Stephanie at sMr is having
an awesome give-a-way for them
check it out
or you can just buy one at her Etsy shop

And before I end, I posted this on Instagram last week
Caption read "straight from the vine"
didn't even notice the nose-picker in the back
what a great moment to capture :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

1 Chronicles 16:34
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!"

This year I'm thankful to the Lord for
1. My Lord and Savior Jesus. I don't even want to imagine my life without Him
2. the Nose-picker, Grape vine eater, and Giant (the man's 6'4") who make the chaos fun

3. A warm and happy home to celebrate the season in

4. God's provision for friends to make their missionary support for Scotland

wedding fun, disneyland fun, and a super long read

Our trip began two weeks ago from today

We left earlier than scheduled, always a plus
7:30am instead of 8:00
picked up our Starbucks and began the drive for Atascadero

ever been there?
I doubt it...

unless you're actually from there you've probably only passed it
but our family is from there, so we go there, and we love it there

First night was the wedding rehearsal
it was so fun seeing aunts, uncles, grandma, papas, cousins, and friends
here's Aidan with her aunties. The tall one's the bride.

Next day was the wedding AND Aidan's birthday

The morning began with a birthday breakfast at Dennys and ended 

playing Just Dance in grandma's living room
pretty good start and finish for a four year old, I think

But this was the in-between

flower girl prep in the morning

all the girls looked like little fairies in their tutus
no picture of cousin Karleigh, but she was a little beauty too
and my sister-in-law was something to behold

Jason and Uncle Zach shared the officiant responsibilities

Jason took the message part 

and Zach did the vows and the rings

both did a lovely job

All the little girls did great going down the aisle

Grandma even got a babysitter for Haley, so I could stay for the rest of the ceremony

But all I could think about during the entire ceremony was Christ's return for His bride

and it was just so exciting

the reception was so fun

the band was awesome, and they love Jesus

the groom and best man did a duet of Neon Moon

honestly, first time I've ever heard that song

And they even had a special giant cupcake for Aidan and sang her happy birthday

what a cool Aunt and Uncle

I'm totally kicking myself for not taking more pictures of the decorations

This was the only good one i got, but I was just in awe

Everything was done by either my sister-in-law, my mother-in-law, step-father-in-law, or friends

And it looked great, from the food tiers made out of the stump of a tree, to the birdcage that held all the cards full of money, to the flower arrangements, to the home-made jam for favors

Seriously, if i saw it on Pinterest, I would have pinned it

I would have pinned it all

Once the party was over, we were all on clean-up duty

even the birthday girl

               

So now to Disneyland!!!!!

We left Atascadero Sunday afternoon, and made our way to Southern California in the rain
but God was so gracious that it let up once we got to Anahiem

We met my family at CPK for dinner
(shame on me for taking no pictures with my parents or siblings on this trip)
And my siblings and their friends were so awesome, and offered to watch Aidan and Haley
so Jason and I could spend some time at Disneyland, that night, alone!
THANK YOU: Tim, Corrie, Emily, and Allyson

So we had a date
coffee, carmel popcorn, and FANTASMIC

Our first official disney day began...

MONDAY

and to our surprise, we walked in to this

after we left the night before, 

they had set up the big tree

and it made my week!

the rest of our day went like this

TUESDAY

we got to spend a lot of time with Aidan, while my parents watched Haley
We even took her on Space Mountain
THE GIRL LOVED IT

and I totally rocked Buzz Lightyear

Level 5, BABY! Level 5

WEDNESDAY

    Mickey Family Photo Shoot...         And if you haven't eaten one of these you haven't lived

           

we also became "THOSE PARENTS"

...the kind who put their kid on a leash

we found many friends

and then it was time to say goodbye

and we made our final walk back to our hotel

But you may have noticed there is a new countdown clock
Because the most awesome parents/grandparents in the world got us season passes for christmas
so we get to look forward to it all over again in the spring!

Happy Friday

final fun fact, final post before D-day, and FINALLY I get the whole wedding analogy

FINAL
disney fun fact

Mickey Mouse ranks three in the most recognizable characters in the world, after Santa Clause and Ronald McDonald


Even though our va-cay officially begins today, D-Day is not for another couple days. First we're off to my sister-in-laws wedding. Big DEAL, it is the first time my daughters will be flower girls. I'm so excited to see them walk down the aisle in their tutu's, at least thats how theyve been described to me. Pictures will come soon.

Speaking of weddings, something finally clicked

At bible study we did the whole toilet paper bride game
Yeah we have fun
Anyway it got me thinking about the real wedding this weekend and then that got me thinking about my wedding and then THAT got me thinking about Ephesians 5 where the church (us) are described as the bride of Christ
And then it all came together with my study in 1 Thess.
And then I finally got it
And I'm probably the last person in the world who did, but I still got excited.
See I've always heard the analogy, but the emotion about it just hadn't hit me.
Ok let me back up
So in 1 Thess I've been studying about Christ's return. So when i began to think about the wedding my mind went to what I felt when the doors opened and I saw my groom at the end of the aisle. The day had finally come for us to be together, it was the beginning of forever. And it was the most exciting thing I'd ever experienced. That's what it's going to feel like when Christ returns. When we see Him ascend from the clouds that's the excitement we're going to feel because we're going to see our bride-groom and it will be the beginning of forever!


And every time I think about I get more excited.

PinterTest Kitchen: canvas painting

disney fun fact

Donald Duck's nephews-Huey, Dewey, and Louie-were named after Louisiana politician Huey Long, New York politician Thomas Dewey, and Disney animator Louis Schmitt.

(source: Little-Known Facts about Well-Known Places: Disneyland)

I'm not artsy

but I aspire to be

so I did this one for the

its another pin from my Simple DIY board

just Elmer's glue and then paint the whole thing one color

this one was clearly the one from Pinterest

here's mine

I used a cookie cutter to help outline my pictures

I used the fall leaf, in retrospect I wish I would have 

used my Mickey cookie cutter

this is the face and oh-so-loud cry next to me as I was trying to work

upset that she ran out of go-gurt

and this is what it looked like after it was painted

the way the glue and canvas worked together was cool, 

my art not so much

I'd like to do it again, but put A LOT more effort in my art design

OR just have someone else do the design

I think next month I'll do some PinterTest baking

linking up with