More fun

We've had some more December fun! Caroline loves helping me in the kitchen. I love finding little tasks for her to do. She takes her job very seriously!

My friend Bryn and I took the girls down to the Peabody hotel to see the ducks march. It was so fun to see how excited the girls got when the ducks got off the elevator. Then we watched some older kids from our church play Christmas songs on their violins. It was a beautiful morning and we girls loved every second.

We went to Zoo Lights again this year with a group of friends. It was cold, but we still had a great time. I think everyone's favorite part was the quick train ride through the petting zoo.

We want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! We pray that your hearts and homes will be filled with the joy and peace and hope that can only come from our Savior - the Christ child. He was born for each of us - what an incredible gift from God!

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
-Isaiah 9:6

Christmas village

We were invited to go to a Christmas village with some friends. It was great fun for the girls, but way too crowded and over-stimulating for the adults! The sacrifices we make for our small ones... Everyone's favorite part was the snow pit. It was madness in there. And I don't know what the snow was made out of, but it was almost impossible to get out of Caroline's hair! I'm still finding snow. I had good intentions of taking lots of pictures. But the kids were moving way too fast to stand still for a photo!

Fireside

Caroline got to have her bedtime story by the fire tonight. She loved it!

The past couple of weeks

So we hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year and I took no pictures the day of. I did remember to get some photos of my floral arrangements the next day. I really enjoyed decorating and being hostess for a day. I told Kevin I may not be the greatest housekeeper, but I can set a nice table!

A couple of table decor tips:

• Pick an easy "theme". Mine was lime green and brown. I love lime green and brown was the perfect fall contrasting color. Then I just looked for lime green and brown things - flowers, napkins, placemats, etc.
  
• Use scrapbook paper for your placemats. It's cheap, easy, customizable, and disposable. Think of all the options for birthdays and other holidays...
• Fresh citrus can freshen up and fill in any floral arrangement. I used little key limes cut in half. Lemons and oranges work well, too. You can either leave the fruit whole or cut it in half. Get some wooden picks from Michael's or Hobby Lobby. (Some picks also have wires on them so you can wire the fruit into your holiday wreath.) Jab the pointed end into your fruit and the other end into your arrangement or wreath. It will look pretty for about a week.

Just call me Martha!

Since Thanksgiving, we've been decorating (slowly) and gearing up for Christmas! We've got several fun things lined up. I just have to remember to take lots of pictures!