Magic Moments

Way to go, Vikes!

Christmas Day goes entirely too fast, thus we celebrate the entire Christmas Season. I don't think I soaked in the Christmas season this year, with all the events leading up to Christmas (vacation, moving, thanksgiving, Sage's birthday) I felt like I was running a marathon. But, we thoroughly enjoyed Christmas and all the special traditions it brought. We decorated cookies, made gingerbread houses (twice!), went to Lake Phalen's Light Display, went to see the play How the Grinch Stole Christmas and The Nutcracker Ballet, counted down to Christmas with our Advent Calendar and Wreath, had a small nativity play, opened gifts (3 times!), and reflected on the wonderful, marvelous, coming of our Savior to Earth.  As I sit here experiencing some post Christmas blues, I'm also missing the Lake. We just got home from 7 days at the Cabin spent with Tom's family. I think I only left the house once and that was only because I was completely out of baby wipes.  The time at the...

Much like this picture, we hope your Christmas is as good as it gets! Love from our family to yours, wishing you the blessings of this sacred season as we anticipate the second coming of our Savior!

 This week I am concerning myself with all things Christmas. Last weekend Christmas officially started for us as we spent it celebrating at the Lake with my family. We were all there and the time went too fast.  As you can see, Aiden and I started the weekend with some sledding. How do I choose? Sagey has a sweet tooth! YUM!  We decorate gingerbread houses every year. Normally, everyone does a house...my dad, Erik, Tom, EVERYONE. But, we didn't have an entire afternoon to devote to constructing gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and milk cartons so my Mom and Aiden did a kit. You can see below how well it turned out. If we do houses next week with Tom's family I will be using my hot glue gun. Sage had the right idea...he made himself busy trying to eat the gingerbread. Sagey got some snuggles from Uncle Erik while Aiden tried to dish out the teasing as much as Uncle Erik did. Who needs presents when you have tupperware? ...

 It can't be Christmas without snow and I for one am so glad the snow is finally here! It's soooo cozy. Aiden is outside making himself useful. I tell ya, having boys is paying off! They may have boundless energy, but the list of chores that I will never have to do again is growing, with shoveling and mowing the lawn being at the top of the list. Tom brought home a kid size shovel yesterday and Aiden is putting it to good use. He started with the sidewalk and all was well and good until I noticed he thought maybe shoveling the retaining wall was more of a priority. :) He is now clearing off the deck so that I can "go outside with flip flops" says Aiden. He told me his hands were tired but he was never going to quit. Sounds good, my boy! Sage and I are staying cozy inside. Tom requested chili and cinnamon rolls as this was his family tradition for the first snowfall. I'm hoping to dust off my cookie press later today too. :) Let it snow! ...

My mom bought the sign for me pictured below as a housewarming gift and I think it is perfect! Our house might be little by some people's standards, but I am in love. It's cozy. It's simple. It feels like me. It's not grandiose or fancy. It doesn't come with pomp and circumstance or vaulted ceilings or clean lines. It's just our house and it fits like an old shoe. And (dare I say this) but it is leaps and bounds easier to clean than our last home. Some have asked for pictures and I'm hesitant to share. I still have a long way to go before I feel "finished." I have a honey-do list a mile long (and we didn't even buy any sort of a "fixer-upper") but I also have lots more to do to make the personality of our house shine. Many times a day I think to myself, "If walls could talk..." I just love a good story, and I know our little house holds many and as we live here it's collecting more.  This house i...

1. I have discovered I can hold a baby and use a drill at the same time. 2. I fixed the washing machine twice. I don't know if I can really say "fixed" since the problems were so minor, but I am proud to say I figured out the solution myself. 3. Our sump pump works really well. Don't ask how I know this. 4. I have boxes left in the storage room only. That room probably won't become something other than the storage room for awhile. I'm making a list of long term and short term projects. Short Term = hang curtains, etc Long Term=Empty storage room, Install electricity in garage, etc   You get the idea. The lists never end. 5. My goal is always to finish Christmas shopping by December 1 so I can enjoy the season. Thanks to Amazon and a couple hours on the couch with Tom, we filled up our shopping cart, pressed the payment key, and we are done (with the exception of just a couple minor things). So far I haven't even had to pay shipping. 6. We went to...