Christmas 2013

We have had a wonderful Christmas break and enjoyed our time together so very much! We did our first "jammy cocoa Christmas" where we rode around and looked at Christmas lights and sipping on hot cocoa (just us, not the babies ;-)

 And not just any cocoa, but Chad made a delicious homemade mint hot chocolate with homemade whipped cream on top. Yum!!

We spent Christmas Eve with Chad's family.

 We enjoyed a delicious dinner and had a wonderful evening with everyone!

Then it was back home to get the girls in bed and get everything ready for Christmas morning! Chad and I were so excited to finally be the ones putting together toys on Christmas Eve =)

 

Everything was ready for Christmas morning! The girls woke up around 8:30 (finally!) and we were so excited to take them to the living room to see their gifts. They weren't really sure what to think at first, but then they settled in and realized the new toys were theirs to play with!

We had fun playing with their new kitchen and dishes!

Then it was time for stockings!

We had a fun morning at home, just the four of us. It was so fun to watch the girls play with their new toys. We had a delicious breakfast of Chad's french toast and then headed up to my parents house for a late lunch and gifts with them.

 I love this picture of my parents and their beautiful grand-girls!

Our family of four on Christmas Day 2013

Those two have grown just a little since Christmas of 2012 ;-)

We have been blessed beyond measure and are so thankful for the gift of God's Son and the many other blessings He has so graciously bestowed upon us. What a joy to celebrate Jesus at Christmas time and each and every day that He gives us!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

December has been busy and full of fun! We've tried to make the most of this month and make wonderful memories and new traditions.

The girls helped us decorate our beautiful tree that we brought home. They were enamored with all of the lights and decorations. I have a feeling next year will be even more interesting ;-)

 

We put up this little tree in their room. It's full of pink and silver ornaments. The sugar cookie ornaments are from their first birthday party. I love it!

 The tree in our living room.

 

The girls have done pretty well with it. The little owl ornament at the bottom is the most intriguing to them. The love to sit at the bottom, look up and touch his feathers. It's so sweet!

We're getting lots of wear out of our Christmas jammies! There's not a whole lot cuter, I don't think!

 

Two serious faces, but my word, they are SO cute!!

 

More sights of the season.

 

This weekend we visited uptown to see the singing bears. The girls loved it, Emery especially! It's SO much fun to see the wonders of this season through the eyes of a child!

 We can't wait for Christmas Day!!

O Christmas Tree!

We usually use a prelit Christmas tree, but decided it would be fun to start the tradition of taking the girls to cut down our own tree. On Black Friday we went with my sister and her family to the mountains of NC. We visited a charming little Christmas tree farm where we rode in a wagon up the mountain to find our perfect tree.

There were many big and beautiful trees. And even a little snow on the ground! The girls had a great time, despite how it looks here ;-)

We looked around for a bit and then spotted the one for us. 

They came and tagged it, cut it down and took it back down the mountain for us.

After a cup of hot apple cider, it was time to load up and head home. 

We had the best day together! It is so exciting to begin new traditions with our family. I love making memories with them!

Christmas 2012

We had the most wonderful Christmas this year! It truly was such a joyful time. I kept thinking back to how last Christmas in particular was a really hard day for Chad and I. I remember fighting back tears most of the day and just really struggling. This year my heart and my arms were full!

My Grandmama came to visit the weekend before Christmas and was able to meet the girls for the first time. Here are four generations together!

And, I just love this picture of my Grandmama rocking Emery. So sweet!

We spend Christmas Eve with Chad's family. Just like on my side, Chad's side of the family has grown a lot over this year with three new additions!

My family of four on Christmas morning! 

 Although the girls had no clue what was going on, we had so much fun celebrating their first Christmas. They were blessed with lots of fun toys that we can't wait to play with as they get a little older.

I know next year will be crazier and even more fun. We can't wait!

Hung by the chimney with care...

It thrills me to no end to finally have names on these two extra stockings that I made years ago. If you'd told me a year ago that this would be the year, I don't know if I would have believed you. And never did I dream that we would need them both in one year!

My cup runneth over!

Christmas Cards! (& Christmas Card Carousel Info)

It's no secret that one of my favorite things about the Christmas season is giving and receiving Christmas cards from friends and family. This year I absolutely cannot wait to send cards that will have pictures of my precious baby girls!! I will probably do a combo of Christmas card/birth announcement.

How sweet is this design? I love the trifold cards.

 These are also very pretty. 

I found these cards on Tiny Prints site. I've not ordered from them before, but they have some beautiful designs.

Now, please come back to share your Christmas Card with us in the fifth annual Christmas Card Carousel on December 17, 2012. I love visiting everyone's blogs and seeing all of the beautiful cards!

Please feel free to grab this button and share on your blog =)

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Ornament Party

Sunday evening my sweet friend, Rachel, hosted an ornament exchange for some local bloggers. She welcomed us into her lovely home and we had the best time munching on yummy snacks, drinks (including this crockpot hot chocolate) and chatting the night away.

I had met several of these girls before, but I was excited to meet the rest in person. Here is the whole group. I actually ran out the door without my camera but Melissa was sweet enough to share her pics =)

Front row from L to R: Michelle, Katie, Ashley (private blog), April

Back row from L to R: Rachel, Me, Annie, Lauren, Melissa , Heidi

I came home with this beautiful gold and white sparkly snowflake ornament from Ashley. I love it! I'm slightly obsessed with glittery ornaments because they look so pretty on the tree. 

 It was such a fun night and I can't wait to do it again!

Christmas Tour of Homes ~ 2011

This year I kept our Christmas decor very low key and simple. In fact, we didn't even put our big tree up for the second year in a row. It makes me a little sad but with it being just the two of us, and being gone a lot, we just decided against it.

I was thrifting several weeks back and found a cute little pre-lit tree that I was intending to use on our front porch. When we decided not to put up the big tree I thought I'd put it on the hearth and use it as our tree instead. I do like how it turned out.

 I added some lighted garland with red and gold ornaments and a few picks mixed in on the mantel and displayed just three of our stockings. (I have more for when the time comes that we need them)

I added a few other festive touches around the house. This gold branch wreath I found at a thrift store and hung it on a mirror. A little chalkboard sign spreads some joy in the guest bathroom. 

A sweet plaque about the best gift this season next to my scentsy warmer, and a pretty potted poinsettia that my sister gave us for our anniversary.

I love our Will0w Tree nativity set so much. The houndstooth stockings make me happy too.

 

I mentioned that I was wanting to makeover my mantel display and it's now complete! I found a frame that I added a vinyl monogram to and then lined the inside with burlap. I love the way it turned out!

 It was really hard to get a picture without glares so I hope you get the idea =)

Thank you for stopping by. I wish you a joyous holiday season filled with the love of Christ!

linking up with Kelly, Nester, and Erin

Christmas Ornament Exchange - Partners!

We had a fabulous response to our Christmas Ornament Exchange blog party! There were 144 participants and we now have paired each of you up. 

You will pick out an ornament ($10.00 limit) and by Wednesday, November 30th all packages should be mailed. It's that easy!!

If your first name begins with Cr - H you can find your partners here. I will email you the information needed for who you are paired with, then you will contact each other to exchange addresses, etc.

Crystal and Ginny

Dareth and Erin

Elaina and Faith

Dawn and Heather

Emily and Holly

Dayanne and Heather

Erin and Francine

Erin and Heather

Find the rest of the partners listed alphabetically by first name here:

A - Ashely: Addie from Just Another Day in The Life

Ashleigh - Be: Ashleigh from This Lil Heart of Mine
Br - Co: Ashley from Ashley's Carnival Ride

Cr - H: Here on my blog
J - Joa: Jenn from Knee-Deep in Munchkin Land
Jod - Kil: Kerbi from So Are You to Me
Kim - Len: Leah from The Imperfect Momma 
Les - Mol:  Emily from A Beautiful Beginning

Mon - Sonja: Karah from Chateau Stracener
Sonya - W: Sonya from Ladybugs, Butterflies, and Boxing

Christmas Cards!

I absolutely LOVE Christmas cards! About this time every year I start to obsess over what our card will look like. We had photos taken this weekend so I've been pouring over designs the past couple of days. I'm dying to show you our awesome pics that my friend Rachel took, but you'll just have to wait ;-)

Here are a few that I'm really liking from Shutterfly this year:

Erin Condren cards are on Shutterfly too! These colorful trees are so fun! 

 I'm all about cool fonts, and this is fabulous! I like the black and white photo with this design.

 More cool fonts. I love the modern colors in this one too.

 This one is fun with the whimsical ornament.

 

The only problem is there are just too many to choose from! To see the rest of what Shutterfly has to offer this year, check out the links below!

~ Holiday Cards

~ Christmas Cards

~ Party invitations

~ Address Labels

And, if you are a blogger, go here to for your chance to receive 25 free Christmas cards from Shutterfly!

Now, don't forget to come back here on December 14 to join in the annual Christmas Card Carousel and show off your Christmas card. I can't wait to see them all!