Christmas spirit

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

They say that giving is better than getting...as a kid I wasn't sure this was true, but as I have grown older and hopefully more mature, I have come to experience the overwhelming excitement when you hand someone a gift that you have thought about and worked on hard for so long. You are...or at least I am giddy!!! Well today I get to give only because the Lord has graciously provided. I get the joy of taking 2 little girls, (although they are not so little anymore) who are very dear to me shopping for some new clothes! I am sooo excited! I have longed to do this for a long time and now I finally get to. In the past I have been blessed by the generosity of others and now it is my turn! Although I cannot give as much as I would want to, I am still thankful. I pray that this is a fruitful adventure and that the Lord blesses us with lots of good deals and fun finds.

Israel, I hope that as you grow, you will see that giving as Christ gave is so much more fulfilling that receiving. I hope that you see that first in daddy and I. We love you!

Where has time gone?

Today my son is 6 months old! Joel and I can't believe it! We marvel at how fast time has gone, when at the same time it feels like we have always had him. We honestly cannot remember what we did with our time before he came. Some how we filled it up, but I know we are spending our time in a much more worthwhile way now. Izzy is our little precious! He is changing and growing so fast and we are enjoying every minute of it. We look forward to many many more years with him. We love you Izzy!

We'll love you forever
We'll like you for always
As long as we're living
Our baby you'll be!

Okay, Here it is! I finally got my dress from White Black! It is absolutely gorgeous! Well, I think so. Here are some pictures.

This is the full length picture:

 Here is a closer picture of the bust...I wanted to show you the special extra fabric that makes it so beautiful!

I was able to get it on sale so I bought these pieces of Jewelry...also on sale, but i am not sure if I am going to keep them. I cannot make decide if I want to get another article of clothing, or keep this necklace and bracelet. I do feel so pretty in them. What do you think I should do?

Anyway...I can't wait to wear these beautiful things! Thank you honey for taking that picture and winning us this opportunity!

Helpful tip

If you are like me, then you love candles and the soft, soothing, romantic feel they put off. But when the candle gets so low you can't burn it anymore, yet there is still some wax down there keeping you from putting another candle in, what do you do??? Well, this is what I would recommend.

For the candle normal candle holders
- Bring a small amount of water to a boil
- Set the candle holders in it and let the wax melt
- Immediately pour the wax into a plastic/foam cup and then immediately wash out the rest of the wax with really hot water and a sponge.
- I would recommend wearing gloves because the hot water can burn!! (learned from experience)
- Let dry

For fancy candle holders that look like wine classes (like my descriptions?)
- Use a knife to loosen the remaining wax and dump in a paper towel
- Pour a little bit of vodka into each candle holder and then use a steal scrubby and water to scrub out. you are left with a shiny clean residue free candle holder!!! 

Christmas Time is Here!

It is December 3rd, my decorations are up, our tree is lite and sharing its wonderful pine tree smell with us, Eggnog is in the refrigerator, candy count downs are full (2 should be missing) and I am happy! I love this time of year. We try to do something Christmasy every day or night to keep us looking forward to Christmas all month long. It has been fun so far and I can't wait for the rest of the month to unfold. Our schedules pick up pretty fast hear in a couple days. But for now, we are just enjoying setting the mood, trying to get over our colds (all three of us were hit) and finishing up teaching for the semester! Well I need to go change a dirty diaper so...mommy duty calls!

Changes!

Israel is growing so fast! He is starting to sit up and is rolling over more and more...it is pretty fun! We have been trying to feed him some rice cereal for awhile, but he just doesn't like it. Last night we were at some friends house, and they were feeding their little girl some veggies (baby food form of course) and said that she didn't like the rice cereal either. So we tried some carrots with Israel and he like them! That night he slept till 7:00 in the morning when he has been normally waking up at 5:00. It was a very welcomed change.

This year, we decided to spread out our Christmas shopping and do a little bit in November and then some in December. It has been so nice! It makes me feel so organized and on top of things.

Ever since we had Izzy, I just haven't been able to get my act together as far as meal planning and shopping and fixing. So we were directed to a program called e-mealz and you pay 15.00 per 3 months, and pick a grocery store and then they generate a meal plan and grocery list for you! We decided to try it and I love it! The meals have been great...some we might not do again just because they weren't our favorite, but it has been so nice to not have to think about that and to just cook it. I like that part.

So, those are just a few of the goings on and the changes we have been seeing, all of which are very good. Are you having a good Fall?

Give-A-Way

No, it is not mine, but f you go to my friend's blog then you will see an adorable give-a-way for a stay at home mom!