joyous noel

(I took the above with my 85mm, 1.4 and since getting my 50mm 1.2,

I haven't even used it once! But it's such a nice lens!
I do really love it and need to use it more :)
Our Christmas started out with a Christmas Eve morning at Zoomar's with a nice picnic lunch outside enjoying the sun after 10 days of rain!!



I tried to get a fun "swinging" pic of all 3 of them... but as you can see,
swinging without Mommy and Daddy close by was not ok.


The kids got some practice in... before the "real" ride ;)


Waiting ever so patiently to hand over their "Pony Ride" chip :)
They are looking so grown up, it's a little sad to think how quickly they are growing!
But still so so cute.


We all know how much Rowan loves riding horses...
he always goes for the biggest one!
But that little Miss Sarah is a huge fan. She just loves it!
Grinning ear to ear the entire time.
All I have to say, this summer in Idaho is going to be
riding horses every day with these 2!

And this little one might be just as happy to sit on the sidelines watching for a while.
She is becoming the silliest little girlie.

That night...

Santa came... and it was an exciting 48 hours for my little ones!

and Mark & I as well :)

we even got a "peak" at Santa walking up street
in front of our house merrily calling out, "Ho Ho Ho!"
this was our very first Christmas home home...
rather than traveling to be with family.
I loved it.

The days and weeks leading up to Christmas were, of course, wild and crazy...
but getting all the great cards from our wonderful friends made me race to the mailbox every day and smile.


I tried something new this Christmas and am in love...
Flavored caramels. Seriously. Divine.
I was talking to my Dad on Facetime and noticed his tongue was black...
"Dad, why is your tongue black?"
"Because Mike Sommer brought me homemade licorice and I've eaten the whole thing! This is all I want for Christmas so you better call Letti (Mike's daughter and my dearest friend since birth) and get the recipe and make it for me!"
HUH???
Are you kidding me?
It's taken me years of ruining almond rocca to learn how hard it is to make candy... those of you present at Brittany's shower can attest... there was a bad batch in there, sorry!
Candy is hard. Hard. To. Make.
Sweet Letti came through for me and after only ruining the first batch (thanks to my sweet 80 year old Grandma for helping me read my candy thermometer correctly!)
I ended up with black licorice, red cinnamon, orange, & green peppermint.
What I didn't give away, I ate. ALL my myself.
I might have to make some "New Year's" caramels tomorrow just because.

Christmas Eve night we did a little Nativity with the kids...
Sarah as Mary.
Rowan as Joseph.
Mark as the Donkey.
Me as the Angel.
And Shelby as a Shepherd.
It was as darling as could be and Sarah loved riding the "Donkey" around while Rowan led the "Donkey" by his "leash" (a medal from my last half marathon!)
The best part was that my parents got to be there too... via FaceTime.
LOVE technology!!


I shouldn't be surprised, but I am always wondrous when every time a child sees a Nativity, those sweet little fingers always hold the Baby Jesus. Never the donkey or the sheep or any of the animals like they normally would with a play farm... they never just "go" for Mr. Farmer or Mrs. Farmer, but with a Nativity scene, they always go for Baby Jesus. It always touches my heart and brings such a Spirit in the room of reverence and awe. Kids just seem to know Him. It's been such an amazing experience to me with raising little ones, that no matter what their age, they just know Christ. I've been sat in church with a book in my lap and point to Him and say, "Who's that?" They always undoubtedly answer, "Jesus" without hesitation. One time, I did that to Shelby who can barely say 10 words, and she leaned down and kissed the book right on Jesus and said, "ohhh". Since having my children, my testimony of the Savior has been strengthened in so many wondrous ways. I'm so grateful for Him and His sacrifice for us, and the chance we have on this Earth to know Him and pattern our lives after His example.

After eating his yummy cookies... Santa was very generous and left these very fun gifts!


Our budget was $75 per child, and I'm so happy to say that thanks to Ikea & a buy one, get one free day at the Disney store, I easily made that goal!! This is the first time we have had a Christmas here and I've actually had to budget out presents for everyone! In years past, my parents have spoiled them like crazy so I didn't buy much, and we live in a place with little storage so I cringe at the thought of so many things to find homes after holidays and birthdays.
Currently my little toy closet looks a fright!
It's utterly ridiculous... and it seems the older kids get, the bigger the toys,
hence more space is required...
We never quite figured we would outgrow a 4 bedroom, 2200 square foot house.... We "claimed" it would be a house we could live forever in... yeah right.
we have toys coming out our noses, a child that sleeps in a CRIB in my closet because one of the bedrooms is a much needed office... and a garage that never seems to stay de-cluttered...
We had our children just a tad too close together to get them to share rooms just yet,
My goal this year is to get that little Shelby in with her sister, but she has to learn to sleep as well as her sister first!!
Let's just say.... a move may be in our future.

Well, it was love at first sight with "Hippo", they have been inseparable since Christmas...
He even came to church with us and got his own seat belt :)
And when we all got back in the car, we heard Rowan say to Hippo:
"You were so good to stay in the car! What a good boy!"



This little "Belle" loved her tea set, but her favorite thing
Santa brought her were the M&M's....
let's just say it's what she ate for breakfast.

So, this little girlie slept through Christmas. The kids woke up at 7am, grateful it wasn't 4am... but our little slug slept until 9!! We kept listening to the monitor and checking on her but it was her little moment to enjoy her sleep ;)
When she did wake up... of course, every toy was her favorite,
whether it belonged to her or not!!

We rounded out of fabulous Christmas with a fun dinner in traditional English style with crackers, crowns, and jokes!
We had such a fun night with such amazing people.
We just love the Keetch's & the Parnell's!

Our Christmas was amazing. I just loved it. It made me feel like a kid again and seeing my children enjoy the magic and beauty of this special time of year brought such a joy to my heart.

And now, on to the New Year!!
Of course, my resolution is to be better at keeping up with this blog! haha...