mind the gap

Once upon a time (last week) we jumped across the pond.  My (very spontaneous and adventurous) mom joined us so that we were able to sneak away to Paris for a few days.  It was très amusant.  Did I mention I speak zero French?  We love love love traveling with our kids.  Seeing them see new things is twice as nice as just seeing it ourselves.

I love this man so much that it brings me to tears just thinking about all he means to me.  Err no, not after wine.  The wine's good, but I just really love him.

risen

My favorite day.  He rose!

Wishing you a happy resurrection day :)

waking up

Even though it seems like we sort of passed right over winter, things are definitely waking up out there.  

Of course we're bringing it all in.

 

Some random things:

:I turned 27 last week

:We all really miss the beach

:I'm thrilled with how our homeschool year is going

:I loved Stop Stealing Dreams

:Did I mention we miss the beach?

:I've officially packed up all the diapers in the house, and it feels strange and happy and sad, all at the same time

:Not one sister-in-law, but two are pregnant and due in October, which has me over the moon

:It's been way too long since I've sewed anything substantial

:It's 8:55pm and I could fall alseep in under two minutes if I were to lay down :)

it's january?

But it's so spring-y!  You won't find a single complainer under this roof.  I mean in the back yard.  Or down by the creek.  Or around the lake.

I'm still checking the extended forecast and crossing my fingers for some glorious snow, but in the meantime I'm quite happy with what we've got.  

Nothing says mid-winter like a picnic by the creek, right?  

greeting cards have all been sent...

... but the flurry of gift-making is in full swing over here.  Closed doors, hushed whispers, "don't look!", oh yes, there are definitely elves hard at work.  With two more envelopes left to open on the Christmas countdown, a pageant only two days away, and wrapping paper and tape everywhere, it's time!  

(About the countdown envelopes, I got the tiny clothespins at JoAnn's, and made each envelope out of Christmas paper by cutting out a shape like this and then gluing the sides down.  Inside there have been different things to do each day, from things we already had planned, like seeing the Nutcracker, to making paper snowflakes.  The kids loved this, even though Deacon stole a few of the envelopes.)

Merry Christmas everyone, and Happy Birthday Jesus!

*Just in case you thought I got the kids to smile and look at the camera in a few tries or anything, I thought I'd add that most of the shots look something like this: