Merry Christmas!!

From our family to yours we wish you a very blessed Christmas and New Year. I thought I would leave you with a few of our holiday traditions from this season. I always take a photo of my kiddos for our Christmas card. This was the winner this year. My how they are growing, Myah is now 4 and Dayton is 14. I love to take images from around our home (besides I can show you another tradition I have, getting good deals at Joannes when they go on sale the week of Christmas this Wish sign was only a few dollars! )

A local church always puts on a drive through Nativity. Our family just loves going to this each year. They are always lined up down the road to get into it. They give you a cd to listen to while you drive up to each scene, it is the story of Jesus, so amazing! The kids love that we get free hot cocoa and cookies while we wait.

I love decorating the outside of our home, our neighbors go all out with their lights, it is such a treat!

This year we cut our own tree down for the first time, it was so much fun. Afterwards we took a train ride into the woods to Santa's log cabin and spent some one on one time with him and had cookies and roasted marshmallows. It was very special for Myah, not so much for Dayton!

Santa was waving at us while we were on the train.

Here is our perfect tree!

Myah's preschool put on a super cute Christmas program/breakfast. She took her job of being on stage very seriously!

Of course it would not be Christmas without SNOW!

We had a cookie decorating/baking day with my sister's mother in law and my mom. It was so sweet and the girls had a blast!

Myah loved helping Margaret squeeze the icing out.

Happy Holidays from me to you!!!!!

Last Minute Gifts

This is what I gave my neighbors, I saw it on someone's blog and thought how perfect!! So many of us get way too many cookies around this time of year, so I figured they could bake these at their convenience when all of the Christmas cookies are long gone. It is just a tube of cookie dough wrapped up in a piece of scrapbook paper, tied up with a tube of green or red writing gel and a holiday inspired cookie cutter. I finished it off with a sweet sentiment from our family. They all have loved them!

We all were rooting for her, now her album has gone crazy on the charts, this is a great gift for your moms or Grandma's who have everything.
It would not be Christmas around our house without reading the Robert Sabuda book, The Night Before Christmas, if you have never heard of him you must check him out. These pop up books are like nothing you have ever seen. He is from our tiny town so he is pretty big around here but I know he is a nationally known author/creator. This is a book that you will keep out all year round. He has several books available as well, you will love him I promise!

This book is a great addition to your personal library. I am halfway through my copy. The story is amazing just like everything else Mitch Albom writes. He is also a local guy so I went to Borders a few weeks ago and had him autograph a few copies for me. He talked about what brought him to write this book and I ended up buying a few more copies as I stood in line. He said people from all over the world are sending money into a fund for a church in Detroit to fix a huge gaping hole, this is a church that does many good things for the homeless. The day before I met him he said they just dedicated the new roof with a huge plaque covering the hole with everyone's names who have sent in funds to fix it, he said he received anywheres from a quarter to thousands of dollars. He is a neat guy and is very passionate about helping the homeless. This book will move you!

Me and Mitch!

Adobe Lightroom is something I recommend for anyone who takes pictures. Pro or not, it is a wonderful program by Adobe( Photoshop). It can change the exposure on any picture and make it brighter, which I love and you can also use actions in this program. It is a great program for the price. I also have the big Photoshop program and it is way more easy to use than CS4! The best part is that you can go to Adobe's website and use a trial version for 30 days. I did and realized I could not live without it. However with a price of $299 it was not in my budget. Then I did some research and learned that I could get a student version from online educational websites who sell software for a student price, $99!!! If you have a child enrolled in school k-college you qualify for this special price. Check it out!! I found mine at http://www.journeyed.com/, this is a wonderful gift I think!!!

I found these guys the other day singing on some ice skating program. I am in love with their sound. Just beautiful music! I found them on Amazon and on Itunes. They have a gorgeous rendition of Hallelujah, I am playing it over and over again.



I have so many wants but not many needs, I am so blessed with a wonderful family and great friends, a warm home and food on my table. I am very blessed and cannot ask for anything. However, these are little things that have inspired me and I just thought I would pass them on to all of you!

Christmas Decor

Welcome to our Home!

Even the bathroom gets a speical little snowman! I used clippings from the back of my Christmas tree to tuck into the bowl.

Yes it is!

I bought this angel 4 years ago when we were waiting to adopt Myah, she should have been here for Christmas and it was very hard without her, but this sweet angel gave me hope. A new tradition for us this year is the Elf on the Shelf! See him hiding!

I don't think I have revealed on here the new color of my dining room a beautiful pale blue.

I still love my free huge window that I got when my sister's friend closed her store, I love to decorate it for the holidays especially! It just goes well with my love of all things old!

I love old ice skates as well, reminds me of growing up on the lake and skating every day after school.

My sister asked if I wanted this large wire basket and I said absolutely! I keep it on the table all year long with the candles and small pieces of driftwood that I collected from the shores of Lake Michigan. I threw in a few vintage ornaments for the holidays, I love it!

I have had these buckets and trees for years, this year I decided to add a starfish to the top to show our love of all things beachy!

My mom bought me this sweet snowman this year, he is the only new thing I have, the rest is all things I have had, ya know, trying to re-purose things I already own, I put some mika snow in the bottom of this large jar and he is in his own little winter wonderland!

Again, showing off our love of the beach and ocean, I have this large basket filled with our vacation shells and for the holidays I just set some pretty silver, clear and white bulbs in with them.

Not the greatest picture but I love my winter white theme this year. So simple, clean, natural and magical all at the same time. I love our tree this year, we cut it down ourselves for the first time, we will definitely be doing that every year from now on! I also found the prettiest rosemary tree at our local nursery and put it the mantel, it smells wonderful! I also hung my peace garland that was from the Rachel Ashwell collection at Target a few years back, it reminds me that my two favorite loved ones that have passed away this year ( my dad and grandma) are at peace even though it is hard for me to imagine the holidays without them.

I just did not have the energy this year to go all out and make a big fuss, so after hauling all of the decorations and ornaments in I realized that I just wanted to use ornaments that were white, silver and clear. I found some of the kids favorite ones that went with the theme and made everyone happy! I am also one of those people who does not care if my cords show either! Don't scorn me please!

I love this ornament, one year I helped my good friend Kim decorate a table for a tea at our church. These were to be everyone's gift from her, unfortunately,she was in a bad accident after church and these ornaments were still in her car from our shopping trip, this is the only one that survived the crash. Kim and her boys were uninjured thankfully, but it still reminds me of how fragile life can be.

Another shot just because I love them!

I love my goose! My sister had taken a trip out to Maine and I had given her some moola to pick me up a treasure, this is what she brought back for me! I was thrilled!

Welcome to our home! I have been enjoying every second of this holiday season. I wanted to keep things pretty simple around here and so I used things that I already had around the house. I love all things white and vintage so it just seemed right that I would go with that this year as well at Christmas time. It goes so nice with our new white kitchen! I know this season will be much different than most being that it will be our first without my Dad and Grandma, so I have tried very hard to start new traditions for our family and honor our old ones as well! We did have snow already so that helped create a great atmosphere! I hope you enjoy a quick peak into our decorations and have a wonderful holiday!!

Christmas Tour

The sunroom (in the dark)

Kitchen

Master bath

Bedroom

Dining room (notice my $50 hutch that I am letting her love on for a while!) We are sisters, we do that sort of thing!

Doesn't it look like a magazine!?

I wish I had a better picture of her kitchen, this is all that I took! L-R Patrice (who is due in 3 weeks!) Mom, Sharon (ob-gyn"s wife!) Lisa ( 4 months prego), Melanie(my sister) and me. We were glad we had an ob gyn wife in the crowd with these pregnant women!

Family Room

My niece's playroom

Annabelle's room (not really decorated for the holidays but thought you might like to see how cute it is! )

The long picture hallway

They brought in trees over my sister's bed and hung roses in tiny vases from the branches.

The basement even got a tree!

This past weekend I had a wonderful time, my sister's house was selected to be on her city wide Christmas Home tour. There were 6 homes that we got to tour, I have to say my sister's was the most beautiful but I am apparently not the only one who thought so. She had over 600 people through her home and they took a survey and she overwhelmingly won the favorite vote! I am so proud of her, she has worked years to see her dreams become a reality. From a small old farm house to what it is today, it was a huge renovation but definately worth it. We had a great day, just us girls no kids! Here are a few pictures from her home, we weren't supposed to take photos but they let me being that it was my sister's house and she was with me!

Pottery Barn Fairy are you listening?

Oh how I love this!!! I would really cry if it mysteriously ended up on my doorstop, I am just sayin!

Oh and I want these in ivory, two of them please!!!

Cause if you are I really really really want these!!!! The "can't get them out of my mind" want them. They would be perfect on my cold leather couch for the long winter months coming up!!! Plus they would go well with my all white -ish color scheme that I am trying to pull off. I am wanting to bring a lighter feel to my dark furniture. I think these would really help. Oh and I stood in Pottery Barn the other day rubbing that blanket and, oh my, is it the softest blanket that I have ever seen (or felt)! And if I have to keep going back to get my soft blanket fix they are going to start looking at me like I am a strange PB stalker or something.

Lotions and Potions

I have been trying some new products lately and thought that I would share my new found favorites with you. I will preface all of this by saying that I am really trying to take a more natural approach with my face, body and home cleaning lately. I know the benefits for the planet are probably the reason many of these companies created their products but I am finding the benefits for my skin to be my main reason, keeping the planet beautiful is still special to me don't get me wrong! Actually my skin has become very sensitive over the past few years. And after Myah came along I realized that her skin has very different needs as well. I have been reduced to using Gold Bond Medicated Lotion Extra Strength for my skin issues(yes I smell like an old person), I have severe itching, I mean to the point where I will bleed, especially my legs. So I have spent my fair share of moola on tubs of stuff and tubes of goo that have eventually found themselves sitting on a shelf in my linen closet, just not strong enough for me to find relief. I have recently found the Lush Cosemetics line. I think I am in love. I heard about these from another blogger, I learned that the products are all freshly made and mostly all natural some even vegan. I even bought a face mask so fresh that it comes in a small pot that needs to be refrigerated and then expires in 3 weeks. I actually told my family not to eat it, it looks that yummy!!! The best part is this super funky little boutique in the mall has the most funnest ( I know it is not a word but it fits the bill) staff, who are so willing to massage your arms and hand and are very helpful. They even give me tons of freebies!!! Honestly, I told the young lady that I have had a bad week, (ok year) and she told me that I needed a bath tub cocktail. She gave me a few bath fizzies adding up to about $14!! It smells wonderful, like hot cocoa!! I also told her that I was just coming in for one specific product and didn't want to spend any more this visit than that and she cut off a sample for me to take home. They want you to feel good, not matter what!! You must go and visit, don't let it scare you!!!

I just started using this Mrs. Meyers soap to do my dishes, keeps my hand from getting irritated, the Basil scent is my favorite!

This is another new lotion that I have sampled and finally broke down and bought it after smelling my hands constantly after trying it. It is another natural product from Naked Bee, the orange blossom honey scent reminds me of sweet tarts!!

This Buff Body Butter scrubby was something that she cut me a sample of and it is amazing!!

This is my bath cocktail combo, love it!! These fizzies are so much fun.. She mixed the Floatin Island bath melt with teh Butterball bath bomb (below). How nice of her!!

Ok, this is a must used with many of their products, The ocean salt scrub, I bought the small tub to see how I like it, I will upgrade as soon as I am done with this one! It actually has some vodka in it so I could scrub and get tipsy!!!

I saved the best for last....this has saved me let me tell you, they said in the ads for this one that many people who will only use prescription strength products on their sensitive skin have found this to be the only lotion that will help. So I tried it after reading that and I agree! It is called Dream Cream. I really was skeptical but it has been wonderful for my skin!!

So that is it, hope you will try at least one of these great products!

Comfort

I am a person who loves to feel comfortable. Whether it is with my warm jammies and my fuzzy socks, or snuggled under a warm blanket sipping hot cocoa, I love to feel warm and cozy. This time of year I bring out the down comforters for our beds, adding another layer of warmth on these chilly nights. I enjoy the cooler weather, where I can turn on the furnace and hibernate during the winter months. Don't get me wrong, I love the hot weather, I was born in July, I am a summer baby, the hotter the better, but the summer months for us are just jammed packed with activities. Baseball games just about every night, boating, yard work, trips to the zoo, etc... we take advantage of every nice day around here. Sometimes I feel that at the end of summer I am ready for the winter months so that I can get caught up again on my chores indoors and veg a little bit. The kids are in school now, Dayton started high school and sweet little Myah started preschool, affording this momma a few hours to herself 3 times a week....priceless! I feel like I am getting control back into my life again. This has been a very difficult year for our family, with losing my Dad, Mark's step dad, and 2 weeks ago my beloved Grandma. Every time I think I am getting ahead around here, another crisis arises and I am needed there. I am hoping and praying that we have had our fair share for a while. With the holidays approaching I am a bit worried about how we are all going to get through them, so many changes this year. It is a new normal I guess. So you see, comfort is becoming something that I am seeking very often, whether it be a dip in my hot tub on the deck to enjoy the fall colors, sitting down to watch my favorite shows at night, or lighting a scented candles, it helps me feel better and relax. We love taking walks as a family to see the horses, just a little one on one time with my family helps me feel re-connected with them. We are all juggling so many different schedules and committments, it is nice to have a few times a week where we are all together. I am going to try very hard over the next few months to make our home a place that we can all feel comfortable, warm and welcome. I love having a clean house, I feel like we all breathe better and staying organized keeps me sane, I have been working hard the past few days to give every room its proper attention and scrub and shine every surface. I have cleaned our closets out, I don't like to have unneccesary clutter laying around and I have no problem donating things we don't use to those who need it. I am trying to better my photography skills, I love to take pictures and it is something I find enjoyable, I have some new lenses and software to play with, I have a lot to learn in that area!! I am also trying new recipes and trying to feed my family better, more nutritious meals than what I usually make because we are on the go. I have a list a mile long of things I would like to get done but I am not pressuring myself if I don't, I am taking time to just enjoy the little things in life and not stress about them. My children are growing up before my very eyes and I want them to look back on these times with fondness and I want them to feel comfortable each and every time they walk into our home. Our home is our safe haven, our place to just be us and not be judged, a place where they can put their feet up and relax away from all of the stresses of life, a place where they can laugh or cry and know that they are loved. A place where we all can be ourselves. I have been trying to make our bedrooms our own little havens, Dayton is a teenager, he is spending way more time in his room than he ever used to, he needs a certain "feel" to his room, his comfort items are his ipod, cell phone and x-box, but as his mom I know he needs a big bed ( we bought him a queen bed last year to keep up with our growing boy), warm blankets, lot of pillows, a fan for noise and I don't mind making his bed for him, something he loves, he will tell me, "mom I just love it when you make my bed". He knows how to make his own bed, but he is very busy with school and activities, I like having his room tidy for him when he gets home. Myah is the same, she likes to wear a "softie" shirt to sleep in, I don't think she had any comfort items when she lived in the orphanage so I think she rubbed her little shirt while she sucked her thumb to put herself to sleep. She loves having pictures of her friends in her room, she wants a nightlight on when it is dark and she loves having a baby doll to snuggle up to. I try to keep toys at a minimum in their rooms because they have small rooms and it just gets cluttered up very fast. In our bedroom, I have painted the walls a very warm cocoa mud color (doesn't that sound so attractive), I have lots of pillows, warms blankets, soft lighting, a big oversized chair, good books and an all white pallate on the bed to keep it simple, we also sleep with a small fan blowing, we can't sleep in complete silence and Mark is going to midnights again soon, so it helps to drown out the noise while he sleeps during the day. We also have room darkening drapes, we are masters when it comes to creating an environment for a good nights sleep.

I am not looking forward to the long winter months but I do feel a bit better about it when I am prepared. With the holidays arriving I am even thinking about putting nice heated mattress pads and flannel sheets on Santa's list. Ahhhhhhh.......