It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...

I am a simple girl. Oh, Jason just laughed out loud at that one...he probably fell off his chair. O.k., let me clarify...I am a simple girl when it comes to my Christmas decorations. Like seriously, open a box of glittery ornaments and dump them in a bowl...THAT kind of simple.

Since tomorrow is December 1st (wowzers!), and we are not "decorate before Thanksgiving" kind of people...I figured I would get a start on things today. Lucy and I cleaned the family room from top to bottom while Macy was in school, then Macy helped me with the playroom when she got home this afternoon. Jason and I got up in the attic tonight and lugged my boxes down...let me rephrase that...he lugged...I supervised.

And then I dumped boxes of glittery ornaments in bowls, and that was that. Well, sort of. I usually put a pencil tree in our bedroom, but this year, I decided to put it in the family room as well...as our big tree is in the playroom that connects to the family room, since that is where the big front window is. I think I like my pencil tree in here. I loved the nightlight of the tree in our bedroom, but we will be able to enjoy it more this way.

And the gingerfoam houses got a few trees added to them...

By the way...if you do purchase these cute gingerfoam houses from WalMart...just toss the white base...it is a pain to get the houses to stay on...the houses will stand up by themselves.

And the girls' advent tree...a big favorite for them. When I start pulling things out each year, this is the first thing they ask for. It is a simple tree from Hallmark that I bought several years ago...the ornaments that attach to it are magnetic. They love it.

And I think this is my favorite...our handprint canvas that we made 2 years ago =)

These ornaments didn't even get a bowl...they just got dumped on my mantel.

The stockings were hung (by the gas logs sans chimney with care)...

Another favorite...and I do NOT know why...is this little tiny tree. I think it came from some stuff my Mom was throwing out one year. For some reason, I love this tree and smile every year when I pull it out of the boxes.

And my cookie-decorating Santa. He'll be watching me decorate a few cookies in the next few weeks, I am sure =)

There is more to come, I am not finished, but I am excited to have a few things done so far. Jason did bring home our old-timey-chopped-down-out-of-the-woods tree...I haven't seen it yet, but according to the girls, is is ginormously huge. I can't wait to get it in the house...

Thanksgiving Recap and Putting the "O" in Fabulos-O

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Living in the same town as both sides of the family is nice...we don't have to choose where to go...we get to go to both. It also means we eat waaaaay to much, but that's what Weight Watchers is for, right?

Little Miss Astor. She comes alive in these polka dot boots =)

Macy and cousin Avery...about as goofy as it gets...
Little Miss Astor again...she was loving the camera being on her.

My Mom had gotten out some of mine and my sister's (oh that was probably SO gramatically INcorrect...my teacher readers are probably giving me a big UGH right now) formal dresses for the girls to play in. Keep in mind, highschool formals. I almost tried one of them on myself but decided not to ruin my day...I think those dresses would have been too small for even one of my legs.

Uncle Brent took ALL of the kids (and Bippy) hunting...ALL in one stand. They were gone from the camphouse approximately 32 minutes when they showed back up...don't think it went as planned. And if you know my brother, don't tell him you saw a picture of his little boy on my blog...it sort of wigs him out.

Macy took up knitting...with her finger. I am serious when I tell you she knitted like 68 feet of yarn WITH HER FINGER. This ball is only about the half of it!

I never showed my teeth when I smiled as a little girl. All of my school pictures have me smiling when my lips tightly shut...just like Lucy has always smiled. For some reason she decided to shower her teeth in these pictures =)

Macy informed us over the weekend that she most definitely, without a doubt, put the "O" in Fabulos-O. Cracks me up.

Little sister chimed right in with big sister. And if her silly Mama could take a decent picture, this one would have turned out really funny...

She acts JUST like her Daddy =)

All through the week and weekend of Thanksgiving, I was constantly reminded of this verse. We are so very blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope each of you have the most wonderful Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for my family and all of my friends and bloggy friends. We will be staying home, but will be busy with lots of family fun, so I will see ya'll next week! Have a wonderful weekend!

Girls' Night and New Glasses

Hunting season is now in full swing. For Jason that is. For my girls and me, it means lots of girls' nights, eating Little Caesar's pizza, painting fingernails and "toetails" as Lucy says...doing whatever we want while Daddy is hunting...although it is not really that much different from when he is here =)

So Friday night, the girls and I were taking a stroll through Wal-Mart...I was in need of my 16 lbs of confectioner's sugar fix...and we stumbled upon this adorable foam gingerbread house...we call them "gingerfoam" houses...for five dollars each. One glance at those sparkly bright colors, and I snapped up 2 lickety split. We are NOT a family who does Christmas before Thanksgiving...my pumpkins will sit on my front porch and in my house until December 1st...however I thought these were too cute to pass up. And the perfect little craft for us to do on a girls' night.

These gingerfoam house were a little more complicated than they look (go get one and you'll understand!)...but they turned out so super cute!

Love having girls' nights with my girls...

Cutest girls in the cutest jammies =)

The gingerfoam houses were so much fun!

I love, love, love the week of Thanksgiving. Macy is out of school all week, and we just relax and have fun...oh...and we ALWAYS go to the eye doctor the week of Thanksgiving. Macy's eyes changed again (not a big surprise), so along with changing her lenses, she got to pick out new frames this time too.

She looks more grown up to me...but looks so precious in her new glasses.

And she picked out Vera Bradley frames just like mine.

So now we are twinkies =)

One Week From Thanksgiving

I love, love, love this time of year...it is my favorite (as if you didn't know that already)! I love Thanksgiving and Christmas...I think I love the await of the holidays as much or more than the actual days themselves. I am having a hard time realizing that Thanksgiving is ONE WEEK from today! That just doesn't seem possible! Tonight, we celebrated Thanksgiving at my Nana's care home. Every year, her care home hosts a big family Thanksgiving dinner. It is a very sweet time spent with my Nana and her caretakers and the others that live there with her.

Have I mentioned that my Nana is 99? Maybe once or twice? Ha!

Melanie, this is for you...I am finally getting around to posting pictures of my front porch decorated for fall. I hate to disappoint, but it is just about the exact same as last year. I did get more grapevine to add to what I already had around my door. I wanted it to be fuller, especially when I do my door (or my mother-in-law does my door...hint, hint) for Christmas.

I am loving my battery-operated "candles" from Dollar General. I think the little ones were $3 each and the big one was $5. Best $11 I have spent!

I took down my whimsical bottle-flower canvases and put my copper crosses back up. I just love them =)

The blue pumpkins are my fav-o-rites!

I have known I was getting close to my storage limit with blogger. Well, tonight it happened...as I was uploading these pictures, I got the message that my limit had been met. Google walked me through a very simple process to purchase more memory...tons of memory actually. So never fear, Mr. Hal, my blog is here to stay =)

Retirement, Quilting, and Jumping Rope

My week has been a wee bit crazy...and you know how I get when things get crazy. I decided today that Lucy and I needed a little break, so we stayed in and tended to things around the house. You know...things like coloring, dancing around in a tutu (Lucy, not me!), and making funfetti cookies for the UPS man. I got a real big laugh when, out of the blue, Lucy said to me, "You know I am considering retirement, Mommy." Considering retirement? At 5 (I almost typed 4...I still can't believe she is 5!) years old? Really? Retirement from WHAT?? I laughed until I about wet my pants, then texted Jason about it (oh yeah...Jason's texting these days...ultra fabulous!).

About the quilting...I know my friend Christine just got totally excited when I used the word "quilting" in my blog title. Christine is my bloggy friend that is determined to get me to get my brand-spanking-new sewing machine out of the box and become the seamstress that I know lives somewhere deep inside of me. She is so sweet to send me e-mails and leave me comments about how I really can figure it out...one day I am going to get her down here to Mississippi to teach me =) Now, I will have you know, that during my relaxing day today, I did some major online fabric shopping...only I won't be the seamstress...my Mom will be. Anyway, back to the quilt...it starts off like this...did I tell you that Jason and I had a date night this past Friday. O.k., I totally goobed Jason out with that one...he thinks "date night" sounds so mushy. But that is just what it was...a date night. My Mom had asked if the girls could spend the night, so we figured we would go out to eat and see a movie. Yes, I said see a movie. We were living on the edge, I tell you. I have been wanting to see "Life As We Know It" since I saw the first preview on t.v. I figured I would have to wait until it came out on video...then along comes date night (I know Jason is really wishing I would quit calling it that). I coerced Jason into going to the movie...we were going to the 7:35 showing because the 9:40 one seemed so late. Well, we get to the movie theater, and there is no "Life As We Know It" playing. What?? My phone said it would be playing!! I had gotten so excited about the movie that I didn't realize I had found showtimes for the Starkville movie theater. Great. Jason got me a "holiday spice" hot chocolate from Sonic and hoped I wouldn't utter the words "can we go to Starkville?" So, with our new-found time on our hands, we decided to do what else but stop by my parents' to see the girls. And to my total surprise, Macy was making this... How cool is that??!! See, Christine, I really did have a quilting story! Macy had put together patches of fabric from things my Mom has made her and Lucy and Carson and Cade. Isn't it so cute? She backed it with soft and fuzzy chenille. I am so very proud of her!
And yes, when we left my parents' house, my sweet husband drove me to Starkville to see my movie. Bless him. It was a great movie...he even enjoyed it =)
Well, now that the little miss is considering retirement, she has decided to take up jump-roping. So while I may have had a bit of a relaxing day, she has not. She has jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped...and is really getting the hang of it. I made the mistake of telling her I was once a champion jump-roper. Really I was. Only now, I had to make a believer out of her. So I jumped rope for her and Macy tonight. Speaking of wetting my pants. Oh my. Things change the older we get, don't they? I don't believe I am quite the champion jump-roper that I once was. I'll just sit back and watch my girls jump-rope from now on.

P.S. The Cookie Mama is doing a giveaway!