December Daily 2010 | Title Page & Day One

Ahh December...it's finally here!  I love love love this month.  Even with the busy schedule and everything that must be done, one of the things that I've been looking forward to is December Daily.  Documenting the holidays as they happen with words and photos.  

Holiday Activity | Advent Action Cards

Around here we are so excited, the holiday season is finally upon us.  One of the things my kiddos enjoy each Christmas is the Advent calendar I made them a few years back.  Each day they look forward to opening that box and discovering what yummy, tiny treat they get to eat!  Here's a picture of it...can't wait to fill it with treats for December:

Mama's Holiday Wish List

Josiah Benjamin, Christmas 2008

It's the day after Thanksgiving today, and a huge pastime for a lot of people today will be, of course, shopping.  Also popular: creating a meal with Thanksgiving day leftovers, watching football, and decorating.  While I typically don't brave the crowds on Black Friday, I do enjoy the rest of this list, and hope to do a little of each today.  While checking out what's up online I happened upon this great giveaway by Today's Mama and GameStop.  They're giving away some great prizes bundles, and a grand prize: a $1,000 GameStop gift card.  All you have to do is participate in Mama's Holiday Wishlist Meme.  So here's my take: 

Halloween Minibook | Part 2

One of the things I'm loving most about this time of year is the chance to quiet down and just stay in, and with school conferences and the Thanksgiving holiday break from school, this week I am getting to do just that.   Having a bit more time and a few evenings free has giving me the chance to finally finish up the Halloween minibook I started earlier in October.  The foundation was already laid out (you can view that earlier post here), the photos I ordered finally arrived, and I was finally able to put the finishing touches on this project. 

December Daily 2010 | An Introduction

One of the things I have looked forward to most about this fall is the anticipation of all the holidays that come at the end of the year, and what they bring with them. Excitement. Joy. Spending time with family. Trying new recipes, enjoying old ones, and gathering around the table to say thank you with our families.  Enjoying the magic on my children's faces on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  These are just a few of the special things about this time of year that I just love.This year I'm excited to participate in a project that is all about capturing the moments and memories of the holidays: December Daily.  This project, made popular by Ali Edwards, is something that has become pretty popular in the past few years, and this year I'll be joining the fun!    You can learn more about this project by checking out Ali's December Daily compilation page, as well as take a look at how others are approaching this project by checking out the December Daily 2010 Flickr gallery.

Welcome Little One

Welcome to the world little one! We welcomed our second daughter Maggie Elisabeth on October 14th, weighing 7 lbs 10 oz, and 20" long.  She is our little peanut and has instantly captured our hearts. : )

Getting Ready to Remember

I love fall.  It is most definitely my favorite part of the year.  Cooler weather, warmer meals, time spent with family, having fun with make believe and giving thanks.  Getting ready for the excitement of Christmas, Santa Clause, hot cocoa, and remembering and celebrating the Christmas story, and why we really celebrate.  These are just a few reasons why. 
I know this year with the baby girl on the way I will be busier than I have been in recent years, so I'm trying now to be as organized and prepared as I can be.  I've been trying to get some of the projects I want to do ready and prepared so that when I'm ready all I need to do is write about the moment and capture it with photos.  I remember so many things this way!  If it wasn't for my hobby of 'scrapbooking' there are a lot of memories and special moments that would simply be lost, but it's amazing how much even a single photograph can remind you of.

Halloween Minibook

With these next few weeks fixing to be probably the busiest of the entire season for us, I've been making sure I have what I need ready so that when I get the chance to document a special memory everything I need is prepped and ready to go, whether it be our baby girl's first moments, Autumn celebrations...I want to be ready.  I thought it would be fun this year to make a minibook of some of the fun activities we like to enjoy around here when October hits, so I took some time to put together the base for a small album.  All that's left is to add my photos and journaling as they happen...I won't have to worry about those fun memories being forgotten or left behind, I can just record as I go. 

Here's a few photos of the base of my project.  Getting this project ready just makes me so excited to enjoy the events as they happen!

Welcome Autumn And All of Your Fun

One of our favorite activities each fall is taking a trip out to Brosi Sugar Tree Farms to visit their pumpkin patch.  The kids always have so much fun there, even though the routine seems to stay the same: hayride, picking just the right pumpkin, navigating the corn maze, then back to the market stand for snacks and silly photo taking.  Here's a few of my favorite shots of the kids from the day.  Oh Autumn, how we love you! ♥

Expecting Baby

Over the past few days I've been doing little things here and there to get ready for the arrival of the new baby girl. 

Baby Love and Thank You Cards

Thought I'd share this pic of the centerpiece from this past weekends baby shower. Too cute! Those ladies totally blessed me...a nice way to celebrate baby girls upcoming arrival! 

I'd thought about ordering some thank you cards, maybe something personalized from Shutterfly, but decided against it after looking at the price...more than I wanted to spend and not personal enough; and since the packaged thank you cards I saw in town just weren't gonna cut it, I decided to make them myself.

I was doing this on a budget, so I decided to use supplies I already had on hand, and came up with a design I could put together without using adhesive (clever and thrifty).  After a little brainstorming and sketching a few different ideas I came up with this:

Freedom From Fear

Being just a few weeks away from having our daughter, I've had lots of different thoughts running through my mind, and a mixture of varying emotions that come and go.  Ahh the roller coaster of pregnancy hormones!  For me the best way to deal with these is to find out what God says.  So I did a little searching, and happened upon this on Joyce Meyer's  website, so good I had to share it!  Here's an excerpt:

Picture Day

I don't have a very good memory, especially of my school years as a child, but one of the things that helps is looking back at some of my old school photos.  Picture day for me was always so exciting!  Making sure I looked just right, with my outfit and hair just as I thought it should be...I would even practice smiling to see which 'look' I liked best. : ) Silly, I know (did every little girl do this?).  Now that I'm a mom picture day for me is just as exciting.  I love doing what I can and helping to make sure my kiddos have good memories of those childhood experiences.  I may or may not decide to order the school photos depending on how they turn out (leaning more towards may though, since I can't help but think my kids are the cutest things since sliced bread!), so this morning we took a few photos to capture the moment for each child.  Hopefully when they grow older they'll be able to look back at these photos and remember this part of their school experience fondly. I know I will!

Josiah ~ 2nd Grade

Yakima and the Columbia River Gorge, WA

Towards the end of August Matt and I took a trip up to Washington to see Keith Urban and John Mayer perform live at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, WA.  Along the way back we made several stops and photographed the landscape, which was stunning!  Here's a few photos I've edited from that trip.

One. Two. Three.

A few photos I got this last week, completely capturing the spirit of my little boy.  I caught a glimpse of these couch acrobatics and knew I had to get a shot, and of course he was obliging.  I love my boy.

One...

...two...

...three!

Get Comfy

It's funny how something like a warm coffee (oh Starbucks, how I love your fall flavors!) can make me feel all comfy and peaceful.  It seems like a lot of my time lately has been focused on getting comfortable.  36+ weeks along and I've been nesting like crazy.  Washing baby clothes, picking up little things here and there for her. ♥   Organizing. Cleaning.  Decorating.  Making the little nooks and crannies of my house (yes, my tiny little house)  feel homey and warm.  Getting settled into fall, or at least what is the end of summer.  Doing my best to accept where I am at this moment, and not worry about the future and it's uncertainties.  Reminding myself of what I need to do to stay centered, and just take it one day at a time instead of trying to jump to a place that I won't be ready for until later.  Good things come to those who wait!  This little saying is so true.  So...here's a few scriptures that are really relevant for me right now, and a few photos capturing this last week.