Oh, Christmas Tree!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and kickoff to the Christmas season.  I hope you did too!  As has been our tradition for the past 10 years, we met Nick's mom and dad the day after Thanksgiving to pick out our tree.  I can't believe it's been 10 years that we have been doing this!  So much fun!!!
 We go to a lovely Christmas tree farm called Hensler's.  It's been featured in Midwest Living and other publications and is just spectacular.  They have a Santa and for the past two-ish years Cal has wanted the first thing he does upon arrival to be visiting Santa.  Three years ago he was a little shy, and last year and this year he had no problem.  Here he is standing in line.
 He always whispers to Santa which is just adorable in my book.  Top secret stuff, right there ;)
 And we got a great photo of him and Santa.  Love this little boy's spirit so much.  He told Emma he told Santa what she wanted too since she was too much of a "scare-dy cat to tell him".  Sweet boy.
 Once outside the workshop we went to see how the reindeer were doing...
 They seem to be just fine :)
 Then it was off to wait for the tram to take us to the Christmas tree fields.
 It's all fun and games until people start getting nuggied...(and how do you even spell that word?)
 Here are our boys ready to go!
 She melts my little heart.  She is just so silly when you give her a saw.
 Gotta make sure that blade is straight.
 Here's my hottie standng next to our tree...to the left of him.  Yep, Griswold and his tree :) Do you see how tall that tree is?  My husband is 6 feet 4 inches tall, ladies and gents :)
Here are my boys next to our tree.  Seriously, doesn't it make Nick look super short?  I love them so much!  I wish Emma could have been in this picture but alas, she was chopping down the tree with her grandparents.  Every year her and Cal switch off and they love helping them. So cute!  

I wish I had the photos of Cal helping his Daddy cut our tree down but this Mom forgot to check the battery situation and my battery pack died right after this picture.  I've never had the huge Canon die before, it has a HUGE battery life so it must have been dead.  Dead, dead.  I was trying to remember but I think I had charged it last before our vacation, you know a month and a half ago.  I know you were just on the edge of your seat for that little tidbit of knowledge.  ;)
And then we went home and decorated it.  Or rather, we decided we would decorate it, none of our old school vintage lights would work so Nick went and bought a kajillion dollars worth of new LED lights but they had harvest gold colored bulbs and no "gumdrop" colors so we all schlepped to the store so Nick and I could bicker on the east side of lowes for the better part of an hour about lights and how many lights we need, and how the vast benefits of LED versus traditional will benefit the world for decades to come, only to buy lights EXACTLY like the ones my husband had purchased while braving Black Friday crowds with two children, except for the fact that they had purple bulbs instead of the dastardly harvest gold. And they were twice as much. So now kajillion x2.

 And breathe.  

Oh, I got an outdoor rug too.  So it was worth it.  :)

But we got home, decorated the tree with kitten safe ornaments and have gone on our merry way.  But we have this beautiful beast of a tree in the corner and it makes me happy.  We don't have much of a theme but I love it.  It's a reflection of our life and all of the memories we've shared.  I remember my friend Lisa giving me an "Our First Christmas" ornament before we eloped to Hawaii and I hang that and say a prayer of thanks for such an amazing marriage.

I hang the ornaments my Aunt Jan gives every year and I thank God for her and our family and our memories.  And then I remember I must buy more sprinkles!

I hang all of the precious ornaments my mom and Nick's mom have bought the children every year and I say more prayers of thanks...for healthy babies and safety for them.  For the naivety of childhood we've been able to afford them.  For the warmth our home and snuggly clothing envelopes them in.  For God always providing for their every need.

So for us our tree on Thanksgiving weekend makes perfect sense because we are whispering into the boughs plenty of prayers of thanks for His giving.  It all comes together for a gorgeous tree I just adore.  And that hopefully won't set our house on fire.  Fingers crossed folks!  :)

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas tree too and I hope you had a great holiday!

My love to you all!



What I Wore Mondays: Church Potluck Edition

Sunday we had an all church Thanksgiving Dinner.  It was such a fun time and we met some really great people :)

 So here's me with my lovely outfit!  It was actually just a super quick throw together.  When I need to get ready fast, if the kiddos are having a hard time waking up or what not, throwing all black together with some different shoes always seems to do the trick.  And when going to a potluck and bringing two sides one must always wear flats as it is hard to carry pumpkin roll and potatoes in heels.  Not a rule :)  Plus the fact I had to use my quick ninja moves to keep Cal away from the lemonade stand at the church made it a good thing I wore black :)  Have to be sneaky with that kiddo!
Okay, here's what I wore and as always if it's still available I've provided a link:
Black Pants (Hilfiger)   
Black Turtleneck Sweater (GAP)
Animal Print Flats (Payless)...the print is not available anymore but you can buy the same shoes here.  I also must tell you that I love these shoes!  I have them in multiple colors and patterns!  I can wear them all day chasing kiddos and teaching and they are so cushioney!  If you are in doubt be sure to read all of the reviews.  They are amazing!  This is actually the only shoe I buy from payless but they are made by Dexter shoes and are super wonderful! Okay, PSA on the shoes, done!  
Last but not last let's talk about my purse, or should I say diaper bag because that's what this puppy is.  This is made by Skip Hop.  When are babies were actually babies we bought so much stuff from here.  So fun and vivid!  

But this bag is amazing!  Now that I am homeschooling it still has a place for everything!  And I can shove a binder or a planner and books in there for learning on the road with no problem!  The side pockets which were for bottles not accommodate water bottles with ease.  In D.C. I took a water bottle and a bottle of hand sanitizer around with me in these pockets and it was perfect!!!  I just love this bag!  The solid black and leather is no longer available that I could find.  But you can still buy the same style bag in a different print.  It is the Skip Hop Studio bag if you want to google it to purchase.  I found them for sale on the Layla Grayce website here.  

So that's what I wore.  Again, this isn't about being the prettiest or the skinniest or the best dressed, but rather being an encouragement to dress up and feel fabulous for you and to show your family you love them :)  

*What?  Did you notice our fireplace is different?  There'll be more on that later so stay tuned!