December 2013 – Page 2 – The Bless Your Heart Blog

Double the Fun

So, we got a fun phone call yesterday! My sister (who is technically my sister-in-law…but I’m not a big fan of that term, especially regarding her) called to tell us some “interesting news.” Wrex and I had discussed previously that we kinda felt that one of the siblings would make a baby announcement during Christmas. It just felt like it was time, ya know? So when she called yesterday, we immediately said, “You’re pregnant?!?!?” To which she replied…

“Well, yes…………..but with twins!!”

JAW.DROPPED.

1421136_10101600507921262_1719378867_o — Big sister Breckyn

YAY!!!!!!! There is no family history of twins on either side so this was a huge shocker to everyone – but a great shocker, I might add!

We are just thrilled beyond belief for them! We have several friends back in Denver with twins so we’re a little familiar with that reality… It was pretty much our only topic of conversation for the rest of the night – ha!

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Their quiver is getting full! And so are our hearts…yay for babies!

Living Room Christmas Tour

So, you’ve already explored the tree but I thought I’d share the rest of the living room with you. It’s pretty eclectic but I dig it!

Sawyer loves books, just like her mom and dad, so we put all of the Christmas books in one place and read at least three a day!

I got this super tiny nativity set when Wrex and I first got married and I love it! It’s just so sweet…and perfect for little hands to play with.

A SUPER TINY nativity that I LOVE! — So cute, yes?

I got this fabulous piece of work from a dear, dear woman and it’s probably my favorite thing in my house right now. It’s DIVINE.

The triangle tree is our advent calendar of sorts called a Jesse tree, which I’ll do a separate post on at some point. It recaps Jesus’ lineage as a shoot of the tree of Jesse and continually points everything back to Him. Sawyer LOVES it, as do we!

The eclectic wall... — The eclectic wall…

I love these cowboy santas – they are so very Wrex!

DSCF0791 — They look a little like Willie Nelson, yes?

My other favorite nativity is this one with the woodland bears. Baby Jesus is just so stinkin’ cute!

DSCF0793 — Someone can’t keep their hands off of this one either. 😉

These guys are quite handsome, too! I love the old fashioned colored lights and have several little jars of them.

DSCF0801 — I love the stick horse in Cowboy Santa’s sack…

All of this red and green and gold just delights me and brings great joy! It just feels so warm and inviting!

Can’t forget the stockings!! We don’t have a fireplace, but the stair banister works fabulously.

DSCF0796 — Maybe next year there will be five! **I am NOT pregnant at this time! See the comments section for updated information!** 😉

We made this star out of yardsticks and I love how it turned out, though I don’t feel like my photography skills do it any justice. :/

This guy might show up at a MOPS meeting this week, too…..

We can’t forget the felt tree! We made this last year so Sawyer could have her own tree to decorate over and over again – still a hit!

Wrex cut out the tree pattern. He’s a whiz with scissors! Me? Not so much…

My little house feels so cozy and warm with all of the lights and red, green and gold. For me, these things point me to Jesus – for He is why we do this at all…

{Easy} Christmas Craft

love

buttons!

I remember my grandma having a huge canister full of buttons that I would sort through and play with when I was younger. It was one of my favorite things to do at her house, as silly as that seems.

Wrex has bought most of these for me from auctions or thrifts. He’s cool like that.

Today, we put some to use on a fun, easy, Christmas craft! You’ll need…

tacky glue
a felt Christmas tree
buttons of your choice

I like Allene’s tacky glue for something like this.

Then, just get gluing!

When it’s 10 degrees outside and baby brother is asleep in the toy room, you’ve got to have lots to keep you busy indoors! Sawyer loved sorting through the buttons and picking out what to put where. I made two more trees that we’ll save to do on another day and then I’m going to figure out something fun to do with the trio.

Anybody else have a button collection!? Please share!

Daddy’s New Do

We switched toys on Monday so there’s been a lot of beautifying going on around here.

There's not a ton to brush... — There’s not a ton to brush…

Sawyer really likes to do daddy’s hair because she can load it full of product.

Please hair, grow! — Please hair, grow in the name of Jesus!

Mousse is her favorite – what fun!

You can see what's left of it on her fingers... — You can see what’s left of it on her fingers…

Anything that sprays out of a bottle is pretty fun, too.

She gets busy snipping with her little pretend scissors. We have lots of talks about how we only do that with these special scissors and no others…ahem.

That's some fast scissor action! — That’s some fast scissor action!

Daddy’s a really good sport!

She's a gentle little beautician... — Doesn’t he look handsome?!

He was fine that I posted all of these shirtless pictures, by the way. Pictures of what she’s done to his toes…those are a different story.

Tree Time

Before we left for Denver, a certain little girl pleaded to put up the Christmas tree. She was quite convincing, so despite the extra work, we did just that!

Daddy has no problem setting the tree up…

But he’s not a fan of “fluffing” the branches…

Our house doesn’t have just a ton of open space, so our tall skinny tree fits perfectly!

DSCF0814 — Seeing this everyday makes me smile.

I’m kind of a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas; I like traditional colors and ornaments that mean something or were passed down or tell a story.

Our tree is full of Wrex and I’s ornaments from when we were younger, along with ones for the kids and ones we got when we were first married, etc. I LOVE the rich history that is hanging on that tree!

My favorite ornament of Wrexy's...a little hereford calf! — My favorite ornament of Wrexy’s – a little Hereford calf!

We went a little more woodsy this year and added this tree branch garland. We made this for a friend’s wedding this summer and re-used it as part of our Christmas decor.

We collected branches and then Wrex cut them into disks, drilled holes and then threaded twine through them. I really like how rustic and organic they look.

garland — We might be seeing this at MOPS meeting soon…

I’ve never owned a tree skirt. I always end up finding something fun (fake snow, felt, etc.) and making due. This year, I grabbed a couple of burlap feed sacks from the stash I have that is still BEGGING to be made into curtains. (I’ll get to that…in all of my spare time, ya know. HA!) I wrapped them around the base and voila! Cute enough for me!

I love this time of year and all that it represents. Let us not forget that if we make it about anything other than Jesus the Christ, then it is not Christmas. He IS the reason we celebrate and decorate and give and feast! Merry Christmas, friends!

Keep an eye out for a full living room tour this week!

Thanksgiving 2013

My heart is full. My proverbial gas tank maybe a little empty after such a wonderful weekend, but my heart is FULL.

We traveled out to Denver and spent the weekend with our adopted family – always a good time! There’s never an inadequate amount of hugs or smiles or laughs or food…just time. Would any amount ever be enough?? I think not…

That's a good-looking, gracious bunch... — That’s a good-looking, gracious bunch…

We stayed at the {beautiful, pregnant} bestie’s house. It was so nice to spend some time with her and her hubby before their lives get even busier with baby. She’s scheduled to arrive the 16th!! EEP!

Gorgeous pic (taken my sister Stephanie Kelley) — Gorgeous pic (taken by sister Stephanie Kelley)

They have a piano in their foyer and Sawyer couldn’t get enough of it! We’d set the timer for five or so minutes and she’d play her heart out. She and Dessa sat down and played together one night before supper, which thought was especially wonderful.

Wryder was teething all weekend (hello, top teeth!) and wasn’t the happiest he’s ever been but he got to play in the laundry basket while we got ready for supper and I think he actually liked it!

Containment, people...containment! ;) — Containment, people…containment! 😉

On Saturday, Wrex took the kids to run some errands down south and I got to go out and Christmas shop. Alone. I’m never alone! I had Starbucks for breakfast and Red Mango for lunch and walked until my feet were about to fall off. It was nice to get in and out of places so quick and to have a little break, but I was ready to meet back up with the troops that afternoon.

Sunday morning, the lovely and oh-so-talented Stormie (I know you haven’t forgotten about her) took our family photos. God bless her. It’s not easy with two incredibly unphotogenic people, one toddler with a vicious smile and a 7 month old. I can’t wait to see the finished images.

We spent the rest of Sunday with the lovely Stukas family. They bless us more than words can say. They have four gorgeous kiddos that are incredibly sweet, kind and well-behaved and we love that they love Sawyer as much as she loves them! The Lord has interwoven our lives in a beautiful way and we are so so so so thankful for them. I can’t fully describe what it’s like to have people in your life that you trust so fully and implicitly. Wonder if they’d ever move to Holyoke….hmmmm….

How do we know so many beautiful people?!

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. So needed. We grew so much during our time in Denver and we made some phenomenal friends that we miss being able to do daily life with. We know that we know that we know that this is where the Lord called us and that makes missing them a little easier, but miss them we do. Thankful for the time. My heart is full.