Thank You

For choosing me.

For giving me a beautiful daughter. 

For being a man of God.

For always taking care of Emma Claire and I.

For turning on my heated blanket at night before I hop into bed.

For always being supportive of my dreams and goals.

For having a hard work ethic. 

For keeping me accountable.

For waking me up early for church on Sunday mornings.

For knowing I'm {almost} always right ;-)

For always listening to me. 

For creating family time when we need it most. 

 For talking to me. 

For being my best friend. 

In case you were wondering, this post was dedicated to a certain mr. of mine. ;-)

Blah Blogging

I don't know if it's the time of year, or that we have SO much going on, or that I'm running out of things to talk about...but lately I've been in a blogging slump. I think it mostly has to do with this busy busy season. I have too many other things to do during nap time or after Emma Claire has gone to bed than sit and blog. ;-) I know I'm not the only one who feels like this, right?!

So in light of my bah-humbug blogging attitude I still want to blog because this little place is my journal, and I love looking back on it so I can't stop just because we are busy. With all of that being said, here's a TOTALLY random blog post of some cute things going on in our lives this month.

Emma Claire is obsessed with books right now. We read close to twenty a day, several times a day. Little bookworm already. 

I bought her a couple vintage smocked Christmas outfits and I just adore them. This one was darling on. Lace and plaid, what's not to love? ;-)

I put this tree up in the dining room but have yet to decorate it. Fail. I'm not even sure if it will get done before Christmas. The plan was for it to be a burlap and salt dough tree. I LOVE the idea, not sure if it will actually happen though. It's still pretty. 

This is how snack time goes down every day at our house. Emma Claire LOVES it though. She has started teasing the dogs though. She will pretend to give them a bite and then take it back and yell in their face. She thinks it's hilarious. I do too. 

This is the dog's Santa hat. However, Emma Claire has claimed it as her own. It is in her toy bucket now and she will bring it to me no less than five times a day to put it on her. It cracks me up. She almost always pulls it right off but she loves it.

She has starting rolling around on the floor. She thinks it's pretty fun. 

We love hanging out with the twins. Emma Claire LOVES them ;-) ah, young love! Last week I did a family shoot for their Christmas cards and after we headed to the mall for dinner. The kiddos had fun running around the mall while we waited for our reservation. Their favorite store? Build-a-Bear. 

I am still {slowly} working on home decor projects. The other day I hung these frames in our master bedroom. I am thinking I want to do something different in them, possibly artwork, or maybe a bible verse in the middle and {DIY} art on the sides? 

Emma Claire's newest bath time obsession. Playing with this metal cover...I'm not even sure what the technical term for it is! She loves staring at herself in it, licking it, hitting it, and poking it.

 So there you have it. A completely random peek into our daily life. Emma Claire gets more fun by the day. We are just soaking up this stage with her. Although as I'm typing this she is protesting her nap, quite loudly. I put her down over an hour ago and she has been crying off and on, but mostly rolling around her crib squealing. I'm praying she isn't trying to potty. I always wrestle with the decision of going to check on her or just leaving her. Hopefully she will fall asleep soon!

Looking at Lights

Now y'all know I love smocking, big bows, and rompers. I also love vintage baby clothes. I found this darling longall on eBay a few weeks ago {for only $6! Score!} and just fell in love with it. The plaid, the santa and reindeer applique on the collar, the sweetness of it all. Now I know not everyone loves this style of clothing but I'm in no hurry to dress my baby like a teenager. 

I'm not going to lie...the fact that Momma got a smile just made my day. Usually she only smiles when getting her picture made with Daddy. After taking a few pictures we loaded up the car and headed to drive through a light display that is put on by the Virginia Regional Park Authority. The hubs and I had fun looking at the lights...a certain little lady fell asleep as we were driving through the park.

 At the end of the light trail was a little carnival. The temperature was in the low thirties so it was REALLY cold. But Emma Claire had SO much fun running around and looking at it all. I really do love this age, everything fascinates her.

By far my favorite picture of the night. Girlfriend did NOT want to leave the carnival. 

 We had lots of fun and I think this will most definitely be a family tradition of ours! I can't wait until Emma Claire actually stays away long enough to enjoy the lights! ;-) 

 

Life

First I feel like I need to address the tragedy that happened yesterday {December 14th, 2012}. A gunman open fired in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut yesterday morning and killed 26 people. Among those killed were children, teachers, and administrators. School is supposed to be one of the safest places for children. I just cannot fathom the evil that has to be dwelling inside of someone to commit an act of violence on such innocent children. Days like today make me even more thankful for my faith, my Jesus, and the knowledge that this earth is not my home. 

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

I feel like I'm a broken record saying this over and over but...I am so terrible at getting out my "real" camera lately so almost all of our life moments are captured on my phone. It's been a while since I've done a phone life update so here it goes. Here's a little of what we've been up to lately. 

Getting lots of fun packages in the mail. Emma Claire's favorite mail day was when we got our new fridge magnets.

Reading

Trying out new {not necessarily healthy} recipes ;-)

Going on walks

Being silly. Having jammie days. Wearing hats. Destroying the house. 

Decorating

Getting mommy and daddy to buy toys...she is a pro at this now!

Christmas Blog Swap Show and Tell!

We are so glad that you linked up for our Christmas Blog Swap!  We hope that you had fun exchanging gifts and hopefully meeting a new blogger/finding a new blog in the process.  

Now is your chance to link-up and show us what you received from your partner!  Be sure to include a link back to your partner's blog in your post so your readers can check out their blog and see what you sent your partner. :)

This link-up will be open until Christmas.  We hope this will give you enough time to link-up in the event that you have not yet received your gift..  If you have any questions/issues/concerns, please e-mail one of us.  

Thanks for playing along!  Link-up below via the linky tool and have fun checking out what everyone sent and received!  

Merry Christmas!!!

Allie from Living the Adventures

Beth from My Life More Abundant

Cait from The Blessed Life

Natalie from Extraordinary Love

-and-

Me! 

Deck The Halls

I've been posting some of my Christmas decor on instagram but I hadn't gotten out my "real" camera until last night. I snapped several pictures of my tree and decorations and I just thought I would share. 

This was my first year to do a "fancy" tree with mesh, ribbon, glittery accents, as well as a non traditional tree topper. All I have to say is...I LOVE IT. It's so "me" and I really think it's just so fun and festive. Perfect for our family.

Our tree topper this year...simple, southern, and a little sassy with the glittery picks behind the monogram. Perfection. 

An assortment of ornaments. They are all so special to us as a family. 

The top of my buffet is serving as somewhat of a mantle since we don't have a fireplace. I love how it turned out. Elegant and classic. The candlesticks were goodwill finds that got dressed up with some spray paint.

 This is the view from our staircase. So pretty at night.

These little trees were a black Friday find last year and I love them SO much! You see this wall from a distance when you walk in. 

My grandmother painted this happy little guy for me years ago. He is now camped out in my guest bathroom. Emma Clarie LOVES him and squeals and waves to him each time she sees him. 

And of course the most important thing to remember this time of year...

I have more decorating to do but this is the slowest I have ever been at decorating. I think it might have to do with a certain little lady that requires every bit of my attention. ;-) I hope to get my china cabinet decorated soon, as well as a few other little things. I have one more tree in my dining room I want to make ornaments for and decorate. Maybe it will be done by Christmas.

Linked up HERE! :-)