Overheard...

Here's a conversation I overheard yesterday....

(Luke):  Peter, do you know the REAL meaning of Christmas?

(Peter):  Yep, it's about Jesus...it's his birthday.

(Luke):  You're kind of right.  There's and OLD saying...well actually I think I heard it on TV...it's better to give than to get.  Do you know what that means?

(Peter):  I have NO idea.


I was cracking up in the kitchen.  I'm so glad Luke has TV to teach him the "old" sayings and to provide such deep wisdom.   I'm stickin' with Peter on this one...Christmas is all about Jesus' birthday!

funny boys.

happy thanksgiving

Even more fun in the snow...

Today we had even more fun in the snow!  While there wasn't a lot of fluffy white, there was a slick layer of ice that was perfect for sledding down our hill.

Pure joy!

Our pink-powder-puff gets a ride on the sled.

Peter is our super enthusiastic sledder.

See what I mean?

Luke was loving it too....

Until he took a bad tumble.  Poor guy.

Love them.

Pure Joy!

Joy captured!

Above, I simply applied the Coffeeshop Lomo action.

SOOC

Let it snow...

Last week a huge wind storm, this week a snow storm...November is proving to be an exciting month.   We love the snow and hope that tomorrow will bring even more.

Baby Shower...

Gorgeous cupcakes, compliments of SuLee!

As I've said before, I have some of the greatest girlfriends in the world.  They love me, encourage me, pray for me, are honest, and are a ton of fun!  They threw me another baby shower.  We had lots of fun, ate yummy desserts, and had a memorable baby shower as a HUGE wind storm brewed outside. 

So, you might be wondering, what in the world do you possibly need when you are having your fourth child???  That is a valid question.  The truth is, I got rid of most of my boy stuff awhile ago...remember this little guy was a pretty big surprise for us.  I am borrowing a lot (I love me some hand-me-downs) and I'm filling in where needed.   But, I promise that when you hear what I got for my baby shower...it will make you reconsider having another baby and inviting MY friends to your shower.

There were lots of precious, adorable, teeny-weeny, sweet, yummy baby boy stuff...blankets, bottles, jammies, outfits, new born diapers, galore!  Along with that, here's a few other things I got:

• A new handbag-camera bag with an adorable ruffle strap for my new camera...handmade -compliments of the now-crafty Rachel
• A bottle of red wine and a chocolate truffle
• An Archipelago candle
• A gift certificate for a pedicure at my favorite pedi spot
• A brand new coffee pot

Wait...what?  A new coffee pot?   Okay, so I have to say a little more about the coffee pot...  Two of my friends went together and bought us a new coffee pot.  They've been to my house countless times and watched us go through (and experienced first hand) our convoluted coffee making routine that works around our semi-broken-still-kinda-works coffee maker.  They said enough is enough...come January, we'll have four children, 6 and under, in our house, and we will need a full functioning coffee pot.  Now, do they know me, or what?!?!

So along with blessing our new little baby, my friends are also working hard to make sure that he has a semi-sane, relaxed mommy!

See, I told you, you want to get pregnant and invite my friends to your shower, don't you?

The Friesins...

Our friends own a winery...a real honest to goodness winery...which is of course the reason why we are friends.  HA...just kidding.  Actually, we've be the best of friends with the Kludt/Williams family since we were all in diapers...or for almost 15 years...whatever.  Ben and April live in Lake Chelan and we went to visit last weekend.  It was a beautiful fall weekend, our kids played hard and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together.  We refer to them as the "friesins."  You know...friends that are like cousins.

Since we're talking wine, if you are ever in Chelan, you MUST visit their winery and restaurant.  Wapato Point Cellars and the Winemakers Grill....fabulous!  Make sure you taste the Reserve Syrah or Red Delicious...my two favorite reds!  And, while you're at it...you should also go to Lake Chelan Winery, which is owned by April's parents.

This wall was just begging to be photographed.
I confess that I did add the "Wapato Point Cellars."

Uma is April's grandma.  She's 97 and lovely.  April asked if I'd snap some pictures of their family together.  Here are a few of the pictures.  While you might not appreciate pictures of someone else's family, take a second and enjoy that these shots are SOOC (straight out of the camera).  I continue to LOVE my new camera!

4 generations of lovely women!  This is SOOC...the lighting and ladies were just perfect.

The whole Kludt/Williams family.  

The friesins.

Yes, our whole family was there, but I put my camera aside for most of the weekend, and just enjoyed being together.  On Saturday, Aaron and the littles had some quiet time, and Luke and I went for a walk by the lake.  It was great to have some time with my oldest son, just hanging out.  Here's what we did...

We walked and played on the beach.

Enjoyed the gorgeous colors.  The sky was gray in this direction,  but the sun was
peeking through the clouds over the lake.  It made everything glow. 

Then Luke collected drift wood....
(This picture captured one my favorite expressions that Luke makes.  A treasure!)

...we made boats... 

...and then we threw sticks for almost an hour.  He just kept collecting and throwing, collect and throwing, collecting and...you get the picture.  You can see just some of the 100+ sticks floating in the middle picture. 

Halloween and Harvest Catch Up....

We finished up October with a whole lot of Halloween and Harvest fun!   

I went to the pumpkin patch with Luke's class.  I'll save you the details of the story of the boy sitting two seats behind me on the bus (yes, I said bus) that threw up all over before we even left the school.   Anyway, besides that, we had a great day.  After record breaking amounts of rain that week, we had a beautiful sunny day!

Picking a perfect pumpkin.

Water pump ducky races.

We had a fun 3-day Halloween binge...including 2 harvest parties, and a record breaking, candy collecting time of trick-or-treating.  It felt like the kids were living in their costumes for three days...which they loved.  For the record, I was against the weapons...but I was  informed that they are just "blasters" which clearly makes them much friendlier.

Jengo Fett, Boba Fett, and a Kitty Cat (or Titty Tat as Natalie says)  

Cousins!  And, they're all smiling!  So, that makes this a great picture.

Sneak Peak...

We spent an incredible weekend in Chelan.  Here is just a sneak peek of a fun date I had with Luke.  Much more to come when I get a chance to sit down and focus.

Yesterday...I was a finisher!

Yesterday, I was a finisher...I started and FINISHED several projects.   This is a pretty big deal for me, as I have a long history of good ideas that never materialize.  I usually buy the materials needed, and then somewhere along the way of being a wife, mom to 3 small children, working part time, volunteering, etc etc etc.  I lose steam and the projects are long forgotten.   Frames with no pictures, shelves not installed, organization baskets with the tags still attached...you get the picture!

To be honest, I have a long history of failed "crafting" as well.  Let's see, there was candle making (HUGE failure), stamping, beading, card making, sewing, and the list could go on and on and on.  I am not crafty by nature, but have some desire to be creative.  It might just be that I am CHEAP a bargain hunter.  I look at things and think, "I could make that."  That phrase should always be followed with, "but I won't."

So, now that your expectations are rock bottom...look at what I made! A Book Page Wreath.   I saw this on a blog and thought it was so cool.  Seemed easy and cheap to mess up make...I made mine for $4.  I'm officially declaring a crafting success!

Truly, this was easy to make, and I only burned myself with the hot glue gun a few hundred times.  I found directions HERE and HERE...check them out if you want to make one of your own.  There are many things you could do to make it more personal....this would be really cool made with an old hymnal or music sheets if that's your interest.  Or use an old Bible (is that sacrilegious???) or children's stories.

Best of all, this was just one of the many projects I FINISHED...yep, done, completed, accomplished!


 PS...an excellent point made by my sister in her comment....maybe I should start focusing on some projects that involve getting ready for sweet baby #4 to arrive in  10 weeks or LESS.