Wednesday, December 31, 2008

A Look Back at Christmas....

Well, I am FINALLY getting a chance to get on here and share some Christmas pics! I didn't have many from actual Christmas day, b/c we were so excited and enjoying the moment and I didn't snap many pics, but I have a few. We are so incredibly blessed. I cannot even begin to tell you all the things that we got that we didn't deserve. We have great friends and family, who showered us all with gifts, but we mostly have an awesome Savior, who is the real reason for the season. Okay, so on w/ some pictures....

The girls after opening presents...I made them matching pajama's but Natali spilled something on her shirt RIGHT before bed. LOL

Can you tell we aren't morning people???

Emersyn...hiding behind the TV door...she carried the outfit around for about an hour! LOL

Natali, using the stockings as puppets...

Carrying that darn outfit again...LOL
Natali ended up getting A TON, and I mean, A TON of stuff! Of course, we buy the absolute minimum b/c we know that BOTH of the Grandma's in our family go completely NUTSO over Christmas, buying waaaay too much. Luckily, Emersyn was still a bit young for TOO many gifts this year, but I'm sure next year will be a different story.
Steven ended up getting a lot of nice dress clothes, some dress pants (I think they're called slacks or something...don't ask this country girl!) and some new dress shoes. He got a lot of other stuff, including money to spend on his fish tank.
I got lots of decorations (YEAH!), the automatic sweeper I wanted, a new pillow (I needed it, bad! Been hinting to Steven and he actually picked up on it!), and a few necklaces. Oh, and I almost forgot...my brother got me some sewing lessons. I told him that I need them, since I am a self taught seamstress. I bet there are all kinds of tips/tricks that I am completely clueless about, so I think it'll be a blast. Steven says I am gonna teach the teacher a thing or 2. LOL
Emerysn ended up w/ a few toys and a few outfits. Nothing too extravagant. The boxes were the most exciting part for her! :)
And Ms. Natali...well, it's safe to say that she made out like a bandit. I mean, that girl ALONE had over 3 trash bags FULL, I mean FULLLLLL, of stuff from both Grandparent's houses! I think it's a bit ridiculous and we've asked both grandma's to cut back, but do they? Of course not. So, she made out w/ TONS of new clothes, toys, a few new V-Smile games, a HUGE gumball machine, a new CD player, some Hermit crabs (thanks a lot, mom!), and this...

Her name is Cheese Dip...

Which is fitting since our other dogs were named Nacho and Taco...


She is super duper good w/ the girls...


And, she's a man's best friend...






Merry Christmas to all....


Okay....so now I guess I will show you some of the Christmas gifts that I made this year. I made MANY MANY more, but just happened to snap a few pics of these random ones!

Here is the record bowl that I made my sister. She LOVES Michael Jackson, so I used one of his old records. (Yep, you read that right...she actually LIKES MJ!!! Don't ask me...she's a goofball!)


I made ALL of the kiddies in Natali's class crayon rolls. They were a huge hit. I actually just made them out of felt and it was SO much easier! No measuring and such. I just but the sheets of felt into thirds and then used a different color to make the pocket. Nothing fancy, but the kids loved them. (As did the teachers!)

And, some MORE crayon rolls for a trade I did w/ a mama on Diaperswappers...

Then, I did these matching pillows for a mama, also on Diaperswappers...
And, this name pillow for a brand new baby girl....


And, we made these clipboards for Natali's teachers. I wish I would've gotten a better picture. These were my first and they turned out REALLY cute, but I think next time I do them, they'll be even cuter! :)



Well, as you can tell, we had an abundance of blessing on Christmas, as we do everyday! I just hope that you and yours had a great Christmas too.
And, this will be my last post of 2008! Be careful, safe and courteous. We are staying in where it's safe and warm and playing board games w/ some friends and family! Don't forget, my birthday is only a few days away! ;)








Sunday, December 21, 2008

Four More Daaaaaays....

Wow...Christmas is a'comin! I am SO darn excited. I can't wait. I am COMPLETELY done w/ my shopping and even have all of my gifts wrapped. :)
I ended up buying Steven some dress clothes. Like, really dressy, compared to the rest of his hillbilly get'up. My BFF, Meghan is getting married in January and me and the girls are in teh wedding, so we'll be REALLY dressed up and I wanted Steven to be dressed up, too. Maybe this will be the perfect time for us to get some family pics! I bought him some pants, dress shirt, and a tie and my mom is buying him dress shoes. SHHHH...don't tell him!
Natali is getting some Webkinz (she's an addict!), a few clothes, and this book:

I loved it as a child and I know she will, too!
Emersyn is getting some cloth blocks that I got for a STEAL of a deal from a lady on Diaperswappers. That's about all she's getting. She will never even know, though! ;)

So, what do I want, you ask? Well, Steven has asked me several times and I have a list of little things I want. But, when I started naming them, I sounded like a complete moron. Here's kinda how I sounded:

"Let's see...I've been wanting one of those handy sweeper things that you don't have to use a dustpan w/. And, I saw this really cool vacuum on TV the other day. Oh...and I've really been needing a whisk lately. Hmmm...how about some new washcloths? Oh, oh oh....I really want one of those Scrubbing Bubbles Shower cleaner thingys...."

Awww...the life of a mom. Everything I want makes sense to ME b/c I know it will make my life simpler, but to others, I sound completely dumb. ;) But, I'm still crossing my fingers for the sweeping thingy-ma-bobber!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Been MIA...

Well, I guess you could say it's a war zone here. My sewing room is a DISASTER, but I have completed a few orders, so I guess it's okay! Now only 6 crayon rolls to go! ;) And, of course, I still need to add the stuffing to some pillows. But then I'll be FREE to do my own Christmas sewing! I haven't even made my girls a Christmas outfit yet, but I will this week, just in time for Natali's Christmas party at school.
We have been busy, busy, busy for the last few weeks. I have been sewing up a storm and in my "free" time, I've been wrapping Christmas presents. Me and my mom went to Cheapo Depot this week and I found a few more presents. I am sooooo close to being done that I could scream! Now I just need to pick up a few things and then RELAX and enjoy the holidays. So, do ya wanna see my list now???

Mom- DONE!
Dad- DONE!
Mike- DONE!
Vicki- DONE!
Charles- DONE!
Michelle- DONE!
Madison- still need to pick up a CD for her
Alyssa- DONE!
April- DONE!
Leo- kinda done...still debating if I should get him more...LOL
Kimble- Maybe 1 more small thing for him, too
Freddie- DONE!
Vinny- DONE!
Jeremiah- DONE!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steven- ACK! Need to pick up his stuff still! (I know what I'm getting him, just need to get off my lazy butt and get it!)
Natali- DONE!
Emersyn- DONE!

So, it looks like I'm doing pretty darn good, huh? All that stressing for NOTHING! ;)
Oh, and I finally got around to telling everyone that we will be staying HOME on CHristmas day. They didn't take it very well. My brother was H.O.T. He was really mad b/c we only live like half a mile from my dad's house, where we usually meet. He said if my sister can come up from Arkansas, an hour and a half drive, then I can make the 1 minute drive! LOL Oh well. Guess what...I'm still planning on staying home. I just want to spend this day w/ my family, just us, no one else. So, call me selfish! LOL But, in my defense, we ALWAYS have people at our house. EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! Our families are always just "dropping by" and while I love them all very much, it is really annoying! LOL Seriously, there hasn't been 1 single day since Emersyn was born that someone hasn't came to visit us!

Okay, okya, I'm off of my soap box. I've got to go wrap Alyssa's birthday present b/c her party starts in an hour. We still gotta get to their house! LOL

Friday, December 5, 2008

I'm tagging myself...

I have been SO absorbed in everything Christmas lately, that I decided to do some blogging. Problem is, when I sat down, the only thing on my mind was...you guessed it, Christmas. So, I went to a few of my favorite blogs for inspiration and landed upon LeAnn's blog. I have a few blogs from girls that I was previously in sewing groups with and I like to stop by and I love stopping by her blog to see how big her kids have gotten! Anyways, that must have been just what I needed b/c she had this silly survey that I usually hate, but am doing just so I don't end up telling you about the new idea I had for my sister's Christmas gift! ;)
8 Favorite Books: The Bible Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace
The Very Hungry Catepillar
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Shiloh
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Chica Chica Boom Boom (So, half of them were from grade school...but I must admit that I've read them all countless times!)
8 Things that Happened Yesterday:
*Hmmm...putting my thinking cap on*
Of course, I got Natali ready for school and put her on the bus
I had made 2 of these little puppies before 10:00!

Me and my mom went to pick up Natali from school
Went to my favorite Mexican restaraunt for lunch
Went shopping and I bought a few Christmas gifts (Ooops, I wasn't going to mention that subject!)
I actually looked at Steven's fish tank, which I NEVER do. (It never seems very interesting to me! LOL)













(Boy, that fish tank sure is getting prettier!)
I took a nap...I have a great husband who watched the girls while I slept! :)
Had some lasagna for dinner, then gave the girls a bath and headed for bed...

8 Things I'm looking forward To:
Growing old with Steven
Watching my kids turn into great adults (notice how I skipped the teen years)
Having grandkids to spoil and send home
Growing closer to God, and hopefully even going in the Rapture
Christmas (Ugh, there I go again!)
Steven's business taking off (Just gotta keep trying and praying!)
Adding to our family, maybe a few more times ;)
Living like NO ONE ELSE!!!
8 Things on my Wish List :
Happiness
Safety
Health
Peace
A New President (Okay, I don't want that one until 2009, THEN I'll be wanting someone else!!!)
Financial Security
More fabric... You just KNOW I don't have more than enough already!
A new ironing board (Hey, I'm trying to get OUT of debt, so I try not to think of thing I WANT!)
8 Things I Love About Winter:
Christmas
My birthday
Emersyn's birthday
New Years
Honoring Jesus' birth
Ham...(I don't like turkey, but I sure can eat me some Christmas ham!)
Warm fires
Snuggling
8 People I Tag:
Whoever wants to do it, go ahead! I doubt 8 people even read this! LOL

From Our Family To Yours...


Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Christmas Ramblings...

Well, I am on my way to comleting my Christmas shopping. As you can tell, I tend to STRESS out about the holidays. Today, I made some AMAZING trades over on DiaperSwappers. It is really a great site and the ladies there are SO nice. It's really saving me a LOT of money by being able to trade my wares w/ other WAHMs. I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread.
So far this week, I have traded for a set of dryer balls, some pail powder stuff for my CD's, some wipe bits, some adorable crayons, 3 I Spy bags, and 3 Tie Dye shirts along with a few other random things. I have saved at least $100 in Christmas shopping. I still have a few other trades that haven't been finalized yet, but I'm hoping to get them done soon. So, at least I am starting to feel like I am SLOOOWLY creeping towards the finish line of the shopping season! :) Although I am still stumped on gifts for Natali's teachers. I need ideas!!! PLEASE leave me a comment and let me know what you do for your kiddo's teachers!

Monday, December 1, 2008

"Is Jesus a Girl?"

Tonight, Natali's bedtime story was the story of Jesus' birth. Here's kinda how our conversation went after the story:


Me: "So, why do we celebrate Christmas?"
Natali: "For Jesus' birthday."
Me: "Then why we get presents if it's Jesus' birthday and not ours?"
Natali: "Jesus gives us His presents b/c he loves us."
Me: "That's right. Good girl."
Natali: "Mommy?...." *long pause* "So, is Jesus a girl?"

Which would explain why Natali will be getting trucks and dirt bikes and boy stuff from here on out! :)