Our Week in Pictures: Christmas Edition

Hi friends.

Did you all have a wonderful Christmas? I hope so. Ours was fantastic! We made it to all three families with minimal chaos. Hooray!

We made cookies.

We went up to Michigan the weekend before Christmas to see Matt's mom, step-dad and half-sisters.

There were dancing lights.

And lots of new toys!

And even more One Direction.

(ahhhh...to be a tween again!)

There was a hilarious grocery store combination.

And bowling (who doesn't love bowling? Especially when you get to use bumpers because your 3 year-old needs them!)

(now how is that for some joy?)

We headed back home on Christmas Eve, and guess what was waiting for me in the mail?

MY DIPLOMA CAME!!! (cue wild running, and arms waving, and happy dancing). I am done. Done, done, DONE!

I got the privelege of hanging out with some pretty cool kids in our Special Needs activity room for one of our Christmas Eve services. Love them.

We've decided on having the "open your Christmas jammers on Christmas Eve" tradition. I like it.

Matt and I went to 11:00 service on Christmas Eve. 11:00 is my favorite service because you leave and it's CHRISTMAS! It's even better when you leave and it's snowing, but that wasn't the case this year. (p.s. isn't the Sanctuary at my church pretty? We got married right up there!)

Is there anything better than setting up your child's first bike on Christmas Eve? Especially when you didn't have to build it! (Thank you, Walmart, for pre-assembled bikes. I don't usually like you very much, but in this case I am willing to make an exception!)

I don't typically play the "Look what I got!!" game, but...I got a Better Life Bag for Christmas!! (again with the arm waving and the happy dancing)!!!! If you don't know about Rebecca and her amazing company, go spend some time on her blog. She's got some cute kids, too! They're worth the trip by themselves!

(She's so pretty. Her name is Molly!)

And then...the best gift of all...a massive head cold! Boooo!

So, there was lots of this

And even more of this

All is well now, though. And I appear to be the only one who had to deal with the yuck, so for that I am grateful. We got the chance to spend the day with Matt's other side of the family yesterday, but sorry...no Instas. Bad blogger.

I hope you feel as blessed as I do this year!

Heather

Our Week in Pictures

Hi friends.

My heart is so heavy today, following yesterday's tragedy in Newtown, CT. It almost feels silly to share the normal parts of our week knowing that 26 families have lost normal forever. My heart aches for them.
However, I believe that the best thing we can do in the face of tragedy is remind the enemy that we know exactly how blessed we are, and that he has not shaken that. Yes, the world seems scarier and even more broken, but my God is bigger than all of that, and that is what I will cling to.

So here they are, our blessings for the week.

Abbey had her Periorbital Dermoid Cyst removed this week. She was amazing, and told everyone she saw that she was "getting her bump off!"

It required general anesthesia, which is always a little nerve wracking, but she came out of it beautifully, and was enjoying a purple popsicle before we knew it!

Like everyone else on the interwebs, I documented 12/12/12. If you know anything about me and finishing photo projects like this (photo a day? don't make me laugh!) you know that the fact that there is actually a picture for every hour is a pretty big deal.

Christmas is coming faster than I can deal with. So much wrapping to do. Yet another reminder of our blessings.

Be blessed!

Heather

Our Week in Pictures: AZ edition

Hello friends!

We just spent a fantastic week in Arizona visiting friends. This was the first time we had been back since we moved a year and a half ago, and it was so nice. It felt like we had never left.

Here's a quick re-cap, Insta-style!

We left early...I mean REALLY early...

If you've got to take your shoes off at security, you might as well have interesting socks, right?

Comfy clothes are a must.

Sunrise...from the plane. I told you it was early.

We had a week of amazing weather! These two got to playing like they had never been apart!

This happened. Twice.

We went up north and rode on the Polar Express! So much fun.

We saw a parade...they played in the dirt.

More beautiful weather in Prescott!

I love the Lighting of the Courthouse! How often do you hear the Christmas Story straight out of Luke read on state property?

All lit up and pretty!

A certain little girl got a bunch of new dress up clothes from her Mimi! Heaven.

I celebrated my birthday while we were there. Hello, last year of my twenties! And hello super cute shirt from the hubs!

We went to one of those All Trampolines, All The Time places. So much fun, but FYI...I'm old. I was SO sore!

Abbey made herself comfy on the plane ride back. Who needs personal space anyway?

She slept almost the whole first leg home. Hooray!

This is only a fraction of the fun we had last week, but it's all that made it onto my phone! The rest is hiding somewhere in the 750 pictures I have to go through on my camera!

Speaking of which....can I digress and SQUEEEEE a little bit about my new camera? It was a Black Friday surprise from Matt!

I looooove it! And yes, I realize that is the wrong lens sitting next to it. We figured that out before we bought it, thank goodness!

Are you on Instagram? I'm Its_ALongStory!

I'm linking up with Jeannett!


Be blessed!

Heather

Our End of Summer in Pictures

Oh my gosh, don't fall over...

I'm posting!

I know. I'm pretty surprised, too. It's been one of those weeks, folks, but I've missed you!

I love the summer/fall transition. I missed it in Phoenix. A lot.

You never quite know when it's going to happen, but one day you wake up and think "yep, it's fall".

That happened this week.

Here's what we've been up to around here.

 First days of Preschool happened. Um...what? Who gave her permission to do that?

Hookey was played, and last trips to the beach were enjoyed.

Gorgeous afternoon blogs were read.

Husbands took overnight flight school trips, and wives had trouble sleeping. Dr Who was deemed the appropriate cure.

Naps were enjoyed. Of both the kitten...

...and toddler varieties.

Seasonal firsts were sipped...

and worn.

Cute hats were tried on...

And then made for half price!

Gloves were spotted. Not OK.

Chicken Chili went straight to the hips

Homemade applesauce was smashed.

And new #SheReadsTruth was started!

How has your week been? Are seasons changing where you are?

Be blessed!

Heather