christmas at the lake.

this is the last christmas post. i PROMISE.

the day after christmas we were at the lake. and we stayed in our jammies all. day. long.

it was rainy, cold and dreary. perfect for sitting by the fire, watching some football and snacking.

 we got my dad some waders for the lake.

he loved them.

he kayaks a lot and the hubbs thought they would be perfect for him to fish in, kayak in and stand in the water where the nutria are. {yuck!}

my sister & trent got b. a 'trip to the zoo'. he was so excited he kept asking if they were taking him "tomorrow". even when we got home he asked when we were going. k & t - we need to redeem this soon! :)

lil' miss got a tea set. that not only did she love playing with - but her big brother did too. all day long we had tea parties. 

the hubbs & his new chuck taylors. a little out of the box for him... but super cute!

the last present of the day came out after the rest were done. good thing too. because i teared up. 

my dad, a cpa by day, has a knack for drawing. and he has drawn both of the duplexes that we lived in when we first got married... had them framed and gave them to us as gifts. so special. 

and this christmas was no different... this is our old house. and although i truly don't miss it, it's still special. the first house we owned. where we brought lil' miss home. where i started to really cook. where we hosted parties. it will always hold a special place in our heart - just as the other houses. so i'm so glad we get to add this to our wall. thank you, dad.

whew.... christmas was days long for us. in a very good way.

happy new year, again. we have loads of fun things happening at this house. 

finishing up project life. organizing my pantry {before & after pics to come!}. finishing up our dining room. glue guns. spray paint. puff paint. sewing machines. 

love it all. can't wait to share!

the big day.

i am a CLASSIC non-sleeper on christmas eve. probably the only christmas eve that i slept well was when i was prego with the bug. this year was no different. we got done putting everything together around 10:30, vaccuumed and packed then it was off to bed for the hubbs & i. but starting at 1:13 i saw every hour on the hour. and i mean every hour.

2:13. 3:13. 4:13. 5:13. 6:13. 

6:30 our alarm went off and i popped out of bed. the hubbs, on the otherhand, not so much. he would have snoozed all day if it weren't for our little 3 year old yelling "i'm going tee tee!" 

luckily we saved him from seeing the loot from santa before we were in there to properly document. whew.

the bug had a radio flyer christmas. 

the lil' miss got a sweet little red-headed freckly-faced cabbage patch named brianna. i bought two others before the hubbs and i found this one last week. i still need to return the last one. 

she's in a cute little shopping cart that had a pink cozy coupe attached. i knew it had to be c's as soon as i saw it! 

after the hubbs took his sweet time getting coffee / breakfast / showering {who showers on christmas morning before presents?!} etc. we finally went in to tell b that it was time. 

after the santa fun and a few trips down the street we headed over to my in-laws' house for more presents, tamales, treats and family fun.

{i feel like we're missing someone in this picture. are we??? hmm......... *mel?*}

it was our first christmas without pops. he was there in spirit, for sure, and we love having the hope of seeing him again in heaven. my father-in-law read this really sweet poem that a friend sent him about it being pops's first christmas with jesus. it was such a great reminder.  

love this family.

christmas eve.

whew. i don't think i could even attempt to have enough coffee this morning.

i love christmas. and love all that it entails.

but when it's over, i am...... grateful. SO grateful. 

grateful for the slowness of the week between christmas and new year's. grateful for a vaccuum that finally will get all of the glitter, fake snow and needles off the floor. grateful for a fresh start.

this year is different than most. our christmas season was busy. probably not unlike most of your christmas seasons. christmas parties, family gatherings, traditions, friends, baking, eating, movie watching, story telling.... etc. etc. etc.

but while my christmas season is ending... now it's only giving way to an even busier january. and february. and now march.

but that's what we have chosen. and we're happy that we followed the path the the Lord so clearly set in front of us. well, happy may not be the right word some days. content is probably the best word. that peace that passes all understanding that the bible talks about? yeah. that's what it is.

either way.... i still can't undecorate, unglitter, unglam fast enough. and now my body aches. my feet are tired and my mind is swirling with the potential organization on the horizon. the returns to be made and the gift certificates to be used... how can i use them wisely? that's always the million dollar question for me.

so.... without further procastination on my part, here are pics from our sweet christmas eve. complete with waiting for santa, finding a present a bit early at mimi's house and candlelight.

enjoy.

some favorites.

what are you doing this tuesday night?

i took down our christmas tree. well.... not really.

i undecorated it like i normally do as SOON as possible after christmas is over. THEN i thought i was doing a nice thing by taking the lights off. {the hubbs normally swears up & down after he takes the lights off each year that we will NOT have a live tree next year...}

well, it was not. apparently i should have taken the tree outside first. duh. apparently needles aren't the best thing for the vaccuum cleaner. double duh.

either way, the christmas tree is gone. the needles are gone. and i'm not even attempting to load my 200 pics from this weekend on the computer.

instead i will share a few of my favorite things that santa & friends brought.

the bug got a radio flyer scooter & bicycle. classic. red. fun.

have you heard of design sponge? 

it's an awesome blog with tons of DIY stuff. my sister got me this awesome ORANGE coffee table book. it's like a hall of fame for their DIY. and flower arrangements. love.

oh - and santa brought me some sparkly toms. 

it's lovely to get a surprise that sparkles, isn't it?

one of my very favorites for this little plain jane blog.

a makeover from the fabulous fabulous k herself. 

i can't wait. 

what are your favorites??? are you undecorating yet? 

happy christmas.

around our house.

an undone christmas project.

hopefully it will get done!!!!!!

and........ cinnamon rolls!!! 

if you decide to take these on - which i HIGHLY recommend - after your kiddos go to sleep of course - just beware. i only used HALF of my dough yesterday. 

and i got SIX pans. SIX. 

so - be prepared to give some away. i'm delivering two of my pans today. give me a shout if you want one!! they're frozen so they'll keep for a long time... but we already ate one pan this morning. and they're kinda like pringles.... once you pop you can't stop.