Love Thy Neighbor

We are attempting to build more meaning into Christmas and shift the focus away from just opening presents.  I over-buy for my kids, so don't come here looking for advice on how to tone that part down.  But even with the abundance of giving we do to one another in the family, I believe there is opportunity to spread that abundant giving spirit to others. 

This year I involved the girls in project Love Thy Neighbor.  I made that up.  There's no real project Love Thy Neighbor running around Pinterest or something.  Well there probably is, but that's not what we did.

We kept things simple. 

We made caramel popcorn and candied pecans.  Super simple recipes.  The girls did most of the work for the pecans which they thought was great.  I finished off the leftover caramel with apples at nap time.  Wins all around.

I found these great little boxes at Hobby Lobby for cheap and they were perfect to house our goodies.

Evelyn decided that a shopping cart was the perfect mode of delivery.  This also meant that every bump we hit toppled all the boxes out of the cart, but you just can't win them all.  There is one box hidden behind baby because Annie wanted in on the delivery action as well.

In a moment of bravery, Evelyn decided to take on the role of ringing the door bell and telling everyone "Happy Christmas".  Annie also would go up to the door and hand the person answering it a rock or leaf and tell them "Trick-or'Treat".  Festive.

The reality is though, that I wasn't really planning on putting this little endeavor on the blog.  I am though for one reason.  As we were walking by houses in our neighborhood where we were not delivering treats, this little conversation happened.

Me: (as Evelyn was headed up to a neighbor's door) Honey, we aren't delivering any there. 

Evelyn: Why not?

Me:  Well, um.  (Major loss for words here.) We don't know the people who live there.

Evelyn: (very confused look) Can I give them one anyway?

Me: No, we didn't make enough babe.

Next year operation Love Thy Neighbor will have to grow to actually include all our neighbors.  I don't want her to think that we can only do kind things to people in our neighborhood that we know.  I also felt a little bad that this house was only one block from our home.  We've lived here for a year.  And I have no idea who lives there.  Boo. 

Elf Ideas

It's mid-December and those of you making a new Christmas tradition with Elf on a Shelf and probably starting to scour the internet for idea of what to have Buddy do in the night to surprise and delight your children.  Well, I'm here to help.  Or really, Evelyn is.

Evelyn plays Elf on a Shelf without the elf all year long at our house.  So here are some ideas, courtesy of her.

1) Get creative with food.  A block of cheese with giant bite marks out of it says, "I'm naughty, but in a healthy diet sort of way."

2) Paint isn't just for paper.  It's for hands, arms, legs, tables, carpet...

3) Mud can be made anywhere dirt can be found.  Get creative.  Stir it up.

3b) Cover your hands in it.

3c) Heck, cover your whole self in it and drag a friend into your antics.

4) Find some streamers or raffia and have a party.

5) Clean laundry is made to be dumped.  Your elf would surely love to hide in a giant pile of clean clothes.

6) Are you one of those who put your laundry away right away?  No problem.  Drawers can be emptied out too and have the same effect.

7) Makeup is fabulously fun to paint with.  It covers clothes, carpets, and walls with ease.

 7b) Lipstick especially will give you a fun, festive, Christmas look with it's lovely red color.

8) Don't underestimate the mess that something as simple as water can make.  Sometimes the fun happens outside, but it's even more fun to dump cups of water all over the house.  Make a moat around the kitchen table, a lake in the living room, the options are really endless.

9) Find all the hair accessories in the house and hoard them.  Wear them all at once.

10) Here's a combo of two previous options.  Paint and mud.  Combine them and see where your elf's creativity can go.

11) Have your little elf dress your sons up like girls.  Hair bows, tiaras, and dresses are all viable options.

12) Don't limit your elf's coloring surfaces to paper.  Other options for your elf to decorate include tables, the play kitchen set, floor, benches, chairs, cabinets, and toys.

13) Fun with scissors.  Whether your elf decides to cut his own hair, his sister's hair, or play horse's hair: all will make an impression.

14) Kleenex looks so much like snow, it will make any indoor surface more wintery.  Cover floors, couches, and fake trees in it to get your kids in the winter spirit.  Extra points for wetting the kleenex down first.

15) Naughty, naughty elves don't like to eat their peas.  Go ahead and have Buddy hide them in the bathroom sink.

There you have it.  15 options to carry you through the end of December.  Enjoy! 

Entering December

I just mapped out the next 3 weeks of our lives last night.  We leave for Iowa 2 weeks from Saturday and there is a TON to pack into these days.  In the crazy, we are embracing this advent season.  A season of waiting for our Savior and celebrating His first coming to this broken earth.  We enter these next few weeks prayerfully.  Hoping that we can live in the moment with our kids, neighbors, and friends and shine His light instead of looking ready to pull our hair out. 

On that note, I will most likely be sparse around here.  But I did take some time yesterday to write a post for a friend of mine who was instrumental in helping us bring Abraham home.  So today, you will find me here. 

Happy December!  Embrace the season!

A Week In Iowa

 It's crazy time of the year again!  The holiday season is in full swing for us, which also means Scott's busy season for work.  Throw in us hosting a party for a group of Scott's work associates and my brother being hospitalized for 10 days over Thanksgiving, and life has been even more...exciting...than usual.

Thanksgiving fun began the weekend beforehand when we shipped the girls up to Iowa for a weekend of fun with Scott's parents so we could host the party in relative peace.  My brother being hospitalized meant my parents couldn't watch the girls during the week, so after going to preschool with grandma (who's a teacher at one), I was able to get up to Iowa with Abraham and be on kid duty until Scott came up on Wednesday. 

We spent Thanksgiving day with Scott's grandparents.  Abraham got to meet his great-grandpa for the first time.

We celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday with my family complete with a giant piece of beef, a classic holiday tradition, right?

The girls got to learn duck, duck, goose because their mother has never taught them this game.  Negligence?  Perhaps.

They taught their cousins Ring Around the Rosie though.  So I redeemed myself slightly.

They adore their time with the cousins.  It's full tilt, every moment they are awake.  Constant motion and noise.  It's enough to make me want a nap.

 Abraham and Ellie (the newest cousin) became fast friends. 

This little man is rocking the milestones (and the hair).  He's getting really strong, pushing up, and trying to get onto all fours.

Grandma moves the table for these yahoos so they can watch TV from it during breakfast.  Spoiling in full effect.

And on an unrelated note, this is Annie's new trick.  She's a ballerina (if you couldn't tell).  The tutu is worn literally every day.  The dance moves get more and more complex by the week.  This is one of my favorites, and the addition of the magic wand makes it that much better. 

A Slice of Heaven for the Weekend

 The girls got to have an out of body experience a few weekends ago when we secretly planned a trip to Nebraska for them.  It wasn't until we were halfway to Uncle Chris' house that Evelyn guessed our final destination.  Uncle Chris' house is the stuff of dreams for these two (and let's face it, for Scott too). 

The weekend was full.  Saturday morning started with cat chasing.

This child really does belong on a farm.  She was born to city dwellers though, and will have to wait and buy a big piece of land for herself some time in the future.  If she doesn't own a whole host of animals as an adult I will be shocked.

These two little girls are about to become the happiest children in the midwest.  And Scott switched from lawyer Scott to cowboy Scott (although I think there's a button down shirt on under that fleece, don't let him fool you).

I mean that face, seriously.  I teared up a bit I think.  She was so, so happy to get to ride a horse.

Annie burst out of her shell too.  I thought she would be terrified of Rebel because she won't even ride on the swings at the park.

That's Aunt Katie ever so patiently leading our girls around the yard on Rebel.

Annie adored having so much space to run around.  The poor cats didn't get a moment of peace while we were out there.

Abraham got to meet Uncle Chris for the first time, clearly he's thrilled.

Evelyn kept saying we needed to stay for just a few more days.  I think she was ready for us to just head home and leave her there. 

Abraham: 4 Months

Well...sort of.  You're actually 4.5 months old now.  Poor 3rd child.  I have the best of intentions, but the days are long and busy. 

All photos were done by the amazing Jami Nato.  She did family pics for us this year and they turned out so, so good.  I'm thrilled.  And she has a special going on this month if you're looking to get some family photos done. 

Those dark eyes have completely stolen our hearts. 

Our little squish is (slowly) growing.  He's given us quite the adventure these last couple of months.  Hospitalizations, tests, ridiculous quantities of doctor visits.  But he's oh, so worth it.  I wouldn't trade him and all this crazy for the world. 



At his 4 month check-up he was 23.25 inches long and 12 lbs. 15 oz.  Whopping 5th percentile.  That's our peanut. 



He's doing everything he should be doing at 4 months old despite his set backs with being so sick.



He loves to laugh.  He holds toys.  Rolls over.  All the fabulous baby things.



His hair is a.maz.ing.  It's reaching new heights and I adore every curl. 

You are fiercely loved by everyone in your family, buddy.