Life Moves Quickly

These are in my laundry room and I LOVE THEM!


Especially when I hang out with these cuties all week:


Ava is one of those darlings who, when very quiet and secretive, is usually found doing this:


Do you remember, as a child, what it was like to get to be on your parents' bed? There was something safe, cozy, special about it for me. It's nothing less for my daughters. Ava loves being "up on a bed" with Lucy!


And look what Miss Lucy is doing! She loves cereal! In fact, she cried when it was gone this morning. Silly girl!

The Way to Her Heart

is through a basket of toys just for her to empty and chew on!

What She Wore

Miss Ava has fantastic personal style!

Then it got even better:

(She was playing in the mirror, her favorite!)

7 Month Matchup

{ava}

{lucy}

Sick Day

Ava threw up for real. Last night. All over me.

Poor kiddo.

Then she ran a fever.

So this morning was spent doing a lot of this while watching a lot of Thomas:

Thankfully she was feeling well enough later in the day and pulled out some funny antics for me.

Bear was doing a good job smiling for mommy.

And in other news, Miss Lucy is really, really mobile.

While she's been rolling over for about 3 months now, she figured out today that she can roll across the floor, scoot around, roll some more, and then grab that favorite toy to chew on.

And she really does want to touch everything.

Isn't she just too cute?!

Tree!

Our first real tree! Yay!

It is a White Pine.

I love the long needles (okay, not the fact that my quite mobile baby could try eating them or that it's impossible to keep them all vacuumed, but it is beautiful) and the real-ness of it.

I raided Target clearance last year after Christmas, and am pleased with the red and silver decorations.

I'm pretty sure I've dreamed of this tree forever.

I remember one year being sternly told that I could leave or be quiet, because I was so bossy about the tree that no one else was having any fun.

So let me say, it is a blast getting to decorate a tree however I want and having a sweet Hubby who loves it!

And wouldn't you know, miss backward-in-her-walker Lucy decided she could go forward simply to pull the ribbon partway off and chew on it.

I seriously love that little girl.

Seven Months Old

It's hard to tell how big Miss Lucy is compared to bear. He just can't seem to stay upright!

Sinks and Greenery

I have porcelain sinks.
They look disgusting really fast.
See? I think the weird gray stain is grape juice.
Baking soda and a scouring later:

Much better!
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I know this will come as a shock, but I changed up the decor. *fake loud gasp*
I wanted greenery.
We have 3 giant evergreen bushes.
I'm really good at breaking off branches.
I love the result.

(sorry for the blurry pictures)

Remember the cranberry garland? So pretty but rather sparse.

I just happened to have a big branch in my yard, all cleaned up, that just didn't work elsewhere. Did I mention I have greenery?

Well, I put a few things together,

tied it up with twine,

tied on the berries,

and hung it up with some lights going through it.

It's cute.
I like it.

Still Here

Well, Hello!
The last two weeks just flew by. Thanksgiving was enjoyed with our family and friends. I used to wonder what was so great about being an adult during Holidays. You had to cook, clean, and make polite conversation. As a child I considered family dinners somewhat miraculous. I played, and then there was food! This year I had so much fun joining my mom in the final touches of a Thanksgiving meal. She did most of the work, but I still enjoyed those last bits of preparation.

I feel as though God is teaching us more and more about His sufficient grace.
You see, just two weeks after Scott broke his arm we were traveling for two weddings and our truck broke down. We were less than half an hour away from my grandparents, and they took us in and let us use their van to get to a wedding the next morning while our truck was repaired. (We are officially glad to have AAA who sent a tow.) We enjoyed two nights with them and a day with Scott's family, so really it was a bonus to our trip. Different then planned, but no reason for complaint.
Then our washer and dryer broke. We saw it coming, and pretty much drained every bit of life out of the old machines. We are thankful they lasted so long, a year and a half for us and came with the house! Scott gets discounts through work, so again, we are thankful for new machines ordered and coming next week.
Life is entirely in one's perspective.
I stress. I fret. I complain. And then it all comes back to Him, to the One who cares and holds and comforts and provides.
I have this posted where I can read it often: "Every time fear freezes and worry writhes, every time I surrender to stress, aren't I advertising the unreliability of God?...But if I'm grateful to the Bridge Builder for the crossing of a million strong bridges, thankful for a million faithful moments, my life speaks my beliefs and I trust Him again." [Ann Voskamp]
Thanksgiving was truly about giving thanks this year.
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Christmas is one month away, and I love coming to December (or maybe a couple days before...) and decorating for Christmas. Seriously, I decorate early as possible for holidays. I love the festivity!
I had to take pictures, although it will probably change (I know myself well...) and we haven't put up our big tree yet.
So come in! Here is what greets you as you walk in the door:

The entryway:
(I decorate with a mix of country, vintage and modern. Kind of like my whole house.)

Left of the door:

This angel was Ava's first ornament, made from a vintage handkerchief. It's just darling.

This art print came from HERE.

I like mixing glitter and silver in with cranberries and pinecones. And white. I love white.

side table:

back corner in the living room:

More glitter with cranberry:

Joy art found HERE:

Then the dining area:
(we close off the unheated sunroom most of winter, so our table comes further inside.)

Our Jesse Tree:

We do have our little artificial tree up downstairs. Ava LOVES it! It has colored lights and a lot of fun to look at ornaments. I'll have my fancy tree, and a tree that Ava can enjoy. (I'm one of those moms right now I think...)

Let me leave you with this:
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For His name alone is exalted;
His glory is above the earth and heaven.
{Psalm 148:13}