Christmas Memories 2013 Part 1

Before I go back in time, I wanted to share that this week our family eagerly awaits the arrival of our newest family member and my first niece...Avery Jo.  Family has flown in from out of state and everyone is on alert.  It's an exciting time!  I will be snapping some newborn pictures of her at some point and I look forward to sharing them with you all.  I'm also so proud of my sister-in-law, Jessica.  She's made it to the home stretch! 
   
Here are a few random Christmas memories in no particular order.  These shots are all snapped through the lens of my handy dandy iphone which is my primary camera 99% of the time.  As I have shared before, I print this blog into book form and keep it as a running family journal.  I think that is probably why I put so many pictures up...it's really the only way these memories will live on.  I certainly won't remember much of anything in the years to come.  Have I mentioned that I have the world's worst memory?  I really do.

Moving on...:)

(this picture below was taken while I was waiting for some clients to arrive for their Christmas session.  It was super chilly, so me and my little one snuggled on the bench together while Daddy cast a line in the lake:).  I love my little girl so much.

This is Daisy with her friend Isobel from preschool.  For about a month prior to their Christmas preschool performance the girls would sing the songs that they were learning to us when we picked them up.  It was SO cute.  They also loved running around the tree in the lobby:).  Christmas is such a fun and festive season.

We made lots of fun holiday crafts.  I actually got this one years ago from Oriental Trading company.  I saved them and was so happy to make this one with Daisy.  "Rejoice, for your savior has been born!  He will save the world from their sins.  He is Christ the Lord!"

I treated myself to a Christmas coffee mug, with polka dots of course (not shown in pic).  Coffee makes me happy.  Christmas makes me happy.  Cute mugs make me happy.  Happy.  Happy.  Happy.

Daisy decided that baby Jesus and all the animals were hungry one day, so she fed them a box of raisins.  I LOVED it and actually left the raisins there for a few days because it was just so dang cute and I didn't want anyone to be hungry after all.  This nativity was set up in our entry way and Daisy got to play with it to her hearts content.  She moved the characters around and would talk to them and tell them stories.  It melted my heart and was one of my favorite memories of this past holiday season.  And yes it is glass but, it's pretty sturdy and I really don't care if a piece gets broken at the hand of a child's curiosity.  Well worth it. 

She LOVED loved loved shopping in the Christmas aisles this year.  She touched every ornament and sparkly thing she saw and oood and aaad over them.  She marveled at the twinkly trees on display.  It never got old for her or for me.  One day at Target a older boy knocked over not one but, two trees on the display...me and Daisy were able to save him/help him and it was pretty funny actually.

She loved smelling the Christmas trees whenever we went to Lowes or Home Depot...girl after my own heart:).

We had more play dates than I can count...SO many...but, it was fun and well worth it.  This is Daisy with sweet Alivia.

I was SO SO So not on top of anything this year and that is a first lemme tell yah.  I don't like being stressed out so I have learned (in the past) to stay on top of things by doing things early.  Well, this year I just couldn't do things early and thus I did everything at the last minute like most every other person on the planet and whew...what a whirlwind December was.  Shopping at the last minute is not my thing but, we enjoyed some coffees and silly moments in between that made it all worth it:).

 In the process of shirt shopping for family members I will often try things on myself first.  All of the gals in my family are about same size more or less.  This particular outing was actually at Wal-Mart and the outfit didn't make the cut but, I was pretty impressed that I could actually pull an entire outfit together that I liked from Wal-Mart.  Well done WM! 

My kiddo peeled oranges for the first time and did a great job if I do say so.  It kept her busy for a good half hour.  I love when we find new activities that she enjoys( and that give me a break)...hey, just being honest. lol

This kid wears me out most days...only in the sense that she is 3.5 and so ridiculously full of energy and chats NON-STOP!!  On the other hand and more importantly...she cracks me up all day long each and every day.  She is so full of joy and passion and I literally see how wonderful life is...how fun it can be, how each moment is a precious gift and life is what you make it...yup, I see all that in the eyes of my child.  I am beyond blessed.  She gets a kick out of sticking her head under the driers.  Cracks me up every time.

oh and have I mentioned already that she had her very first dentist appointment in early December? She did AMAZING.  She really didn't say a word.  She just nodded her head and smiled a lot.  She is such a big girl and I'm so proud of her. 

 We visited the nativity again this year and it was a treat.  This is a tradition that I look forward to each December.  The church actually had the manger out this year and Daisy enjoyed talking to "baby Jesus." 

Daisy picked this container out at the 99 cent store and she put all of her jewelry inside.  She carried it around for days and even wanted to sleep with it in her bed.  It was pretty precious.  He painted red nails are pretty precious too if I do say so:).

Some friends of ours put a little tree in each of their kiddos rooms at Christmas time and I always loved the idea.  Well, this year Daisy got her very own 4 ft Christmas tree to put all of her personal ornaments on.  She LOVED it and she got to plug it in (supervised of course) each night before she climbed in to bed.  I unplugged it each night when I went to bed.  She loved the twinkling lights in her room and I think this is my new favorite tradition with her.  Can't wait to bring it out next year and put the new ornaments on it:).

We watched the Christmas parade with our good friends again.  I think this was our 3rd year doing so.  It's always a pretty chilly night but, the older Daisy gets the more she loves it and it is becoming a tradition that I delight in as well.  Daisy especially loved all of the dancers and high school bands.  My favorite too:).

A movie theater held an awesome outdoor light show throughout most of December. We went with our friends and it was really neat!  They had snow machines set up everywhere and offered free train rides.  It felt like a magical night.  Daisy was in Heaven. 

Daisy had a lot of fun at her friend Isobel's house.  I loved that the music book was open to this sweet Christmas song while they pretended to play and sat dressed up like princesses.  So sweet. 

The week of Christmas Daisy was SO amped up and thus we were all a bit exhausted.  She wasn't napping and she was staying up super late because she couldn't unwind.  One day I got her to rest with me on the couch and she crashed hard.  She has never fallen asleep on the couch....at least not in 3 years! lol. 

Daisy had her first preschool production.  It MELTED me.  She did such a great job with all the hand motions and sang the lyrics at the top of her lungs.  She even took a bow at the end...she was the only kiddo to do that and I have no idea where she got the idea or how she knew the right timing.  Future broadway star in the making it would appear. lol  Here she is after with her four pack buddy Raelyn.  They are so cute together.

Daisy has become a fairly decent and mellow shopper.  It used to be impossible to take her anywhere but, she is definitely coming around.  At this particular store she shopped by herself for clothes for a half an hour and walked up to the mirror each time to see what things looked like....I didn't get anything done because I couldn't stop watching her and giggling.

I went to a random stylist one evening for a "trim" and she proceeded to hack off four inches.  She clearly had a long hair vendetta.  No big deal to anyone else of course but, I was SO bummed.  I love having extra long hair and especially didn't want my hair chopped right before the holidays...on the other hand my hair does grow rather quickly so I can deal with it.  I know it's not bad but I think everyone has a hair length preference and this just isn't mine is all.

 My hubby rocked our Christmas lights this year.   Here they are bokeh style.  I loved driving home at night and seeing our house all lit up:).   My friend Elissa gifted me with the supplies to make the star (a pinterest idea) for Christmas.  Joey ended up making most of it and we decided to hang it outside instead of keeping it indoors.  I'm glad we did.  The star was probably my favorite feature of our lights.  For me, a star symbolizes the bright star that shone above the stable where Jesus was born.  It's special.

We love driving around and looking at other people's Christmas lights all December long.  I think we went out 5 times a week...no joke.  This guy goes all out with musical lights.  It was pretty awesome.

We dressed up a bit for our chilly Christmas Eve service.  Our family was on our own Christmas Eve night and it ended up being a very peaceful celebration of Jesus and family. 
It was a blessed evening.  We went to sushi dinner after our candlelight service.  That was awesome and I wouldn't mind doing that again next year!

I love celebrating Jesus with my family at Christmas time.  It is so peaceful.  So refreshing. 

I have a second post of pictures that I will be sharing in the next day or two from my other camera.  So if you thought this post was long...stay tuned for another doozy. haha   

My Little Princess

My kiddo got two new princess costumes for Christmas: Bell and Ariel and I can't tell you how excited she was.  Thank you family for spoiling her with these dresses and so many other wonderful things!! She has been trading off which costume she wears every other day since then and she pretty much keeps them on as long as she can or until we leave the house.  I had no idea the princess phase would start so early and last so long and I hear it can go on and on for years.  That's okay...I just wasn't expecting to have so much princess memorabilia strewn all over the house...pink, pink, and more pink:).  

This particular dress actually has a small battery pack and several wires that lead to several twinkling lights and it plays a song!!  Wow, talk about awesomeness and interesting all at once:).  Pretty much every time she pushes the little magic button and her dress starts to loudly play the tune of "under the sea," I find myself compulsively belting out the lyrics in the accent and voice of Sebastian.  I just can't help it.  My kiddo thinks I'm weird.  She's right, but, I'm comfortable in my weirdness so it's all good. 

I took these pictures of my kiddo in her new Ariel dress to capture "a day in the life of Daisy"...and this is it! lol   I just adored the genuine expressions that she gave me.  You wanna know how I get kids to make natural silly, sweet and smiley faces?  I ask them questions that are usually  incorrect so that they can correct me.  They love that.  So these were taken after I asked Daisy some questions along the lines of "Bell is the princess that lives in the ocean, right?"  To which she replied (with an excited I'm smarter than my mommy face), "Nooooo silllyyy.  Ariel lives in the ocean!"  "Is Snow White the princess with the really long, long hair?"  etc. etc.  Works like a charm:).  

Daisy, as long as I'm living my princess you'll be.  Love you with all my heart little one.   

and just in case you forgot what sebastian sounds like singing under the sea...or rather, what I sound like several times a day...enjoy! :()

What I am Listening to Lately

I don't listen to rap often unless the singer is Lecrae.  He has been one of my favorite artists for quite a few years because, his lyrics are strong, powerful, thought provoking, righteous, honorable, edifying....and awesome.  His passion for Jesus is SO inspiring and his songs encourage my weary soul.  This song has been out for over a year now but, I could listen to it every day.  LOVE. I don't care who you are or what your sins are...Jesus loves you wildly and HE died for you....we've done nothing to deserve that kind of sacrifice but, he died to redeem, set free and forgive us of our sins and I can't tell you how grateful I am that he loves a wreck like me unconditionally.  Infinite.  Holy. Perfect love. 

Lecrae - Tell the World (one of the stanzas from this song)

I can't offer you nothin, but your care and kindness keep comin
And your love is so unconditional, I get butterflies in my stomach
I got the old me in the rearview, gotta new me, gotta clear view
I was so dead, I couldn't hear you
Too deep in sin to come near you
But you drew me in, and cleaned me up
And take me home and beamed me up
Before you do, just let me tell the truth
And let these folks know that I done seeing your love
And it's everlastin, infinite
It goes on and on, you can't measure it
Can't quench your love, they can't separate us from the love of God
It's no estimate
My face look the same, my frame done rearranged
But I changed, I promise I aint the same
Your love is so deep, you suffered and took pain
And died on the cross to gimme a new name
Aint nothin like I seen before
I gotta beam to glow
Was low, down, and dirty but you cleaned me Lord
You looked after me, you keep rockin me
Imma tell the world and aint nobody stoppin me

Mandisa is awesome. She is so positive and uplifting and this song, "Overcomer," is a favorite in our household. We played it several times a day for a while there. My kiddo knows hand motions to the chorus and we dance around the house with this song blasting.  It never ceases to put a smile on all of our faces:). If you ever have a bad day, week or a bad decade...don't ever forget that you are an overcomer in Jesus.  Hang on, keep fighting, keep pressing on or better yet, blast this song and dance around your house while belting out the lyrics with a fake microphone (or a kitchen spoon will do) in your hand.  It helps!  I promise:).  

Every time this song comes on the radio I'm drawn in.  I lived many seasons in my childhood especially and teen years where I was just a Christian because it was all that I knew.   It was easy to believe when life was easy but, when the heat turned up and I mean REALLY turned up...I struggled to hold on.  I lived seasons where I was so broken that I didn't know if God even cared anymore.  I've loved Jesus SO passionately at times and then completely surprised myself by doubting Him tremendously in others BUT, at my darkest hour in my loneliest valley, He always showed up to love on me in such a powerful way.  I can't tell you how beautiful His love feels when He joins you in the trenches and shelters you from the storm and lets you rest in his arms.   He is my only hope and He is my stay.  I NEED him..my one defense, my righteousness.  Hallelujah. 

And I'll wrap it up with this fun and happy song, "My Beloved," sung by David Crowder...I mean take a second to look at that crowd will yah...just look at all the people packed into the arena just to sing, dance and worship Jesus!!   Y'all this is just a microscopic, but beautiful glimpse of Heaven.  Someday, all believers, are going to gather together by the millions/billions to sing, dance and worship Jesus and He is going to be there in the flesh (if we are flesh in heaven?? but you get my drift)!!  We will be completely free, uninhibited, unrestrained by sin or division of any kind.  Folks in Heaven there will be no more pain of any kind.  No more sorrow.  No more struggle.  No more loneliness.  It's gonna be so, so, so awesome.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Twinkly Light Christmas Tree Tutorial

I already posted a picture (and a tutorial) similar to this a couple of years ago but, it has now become a tradition of mine, to get a twinkly light, nighttime picture of my tree each year.  I'm sure you already know how this effect is captured but, in case you have missed it or if you are eager to try it out yourself...Basically you need a super long shutter speed and a very small aperture (which means a large f-number).  The settings can vary but, I chose an aperture of f16, my ISO was low, below 200 (though last year I had it at 800) and my shutter speed was so slow  that I literally got bored waiting for it to fire.  In all reality it was only a handful of seconds but, in the world of portrait photography that is a very long time. lol  Because the shutter speed is so slow you will want to use either a tripod or other very steady surface to prevent hand shake, which will blur your image.  For this shot I actually set my camera on our kitchen counter/bar because my tripod is broken and then set the timer at 10 seconds.  Whalah.  

Yeah for another thing that I can check off of my holiday to do list!