Prank #8

 

...and Barney goes DOWN!

Prank #6 and #7

 

 

Prank #5

 

Little Touches {home tour} 2012

I'll end my tour with some of the little touches around the house...

Last year, I spray-painted a bunch of pine cones white.  

One can never have enough pine cones and/or cinnamon sticks

 

 

My favorite Christmas scent:  Aromatique's Smells of Christmas potpourri

plenty of evergreen and pine trimmings around the house

I've enjoyed playing Christmas classics.

 

 

peak into the entryway at my keepsake tree

 

For more posts from the tour, click HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Check out the video tour HERE.

Prank #4

 

Photo of the Day

*****Warning:  Bragging rights!****
So excited that the photo my friend, Carol, took of Edy won photo of the day!  Check it out HERE.

By the way--two years ago, Carol took a photo of Edy and it won Steve's photo of the day, too!  Good job, Carol!  Plus, my Rosie has a very photogenic face.  Makes a momma proud!

Christmas Tree {home tour}

Like I explained in my home tour video, I changed my tree up a little bit this year.  This year,  I didn't use all of my red ornaments, instead I used burlap; burlap ribbon; white, clear,  & silver ornaments; and lots of pine cones.

Not sure if I like my tree as much as last years, but I do like it.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more posts from the tour, click HERE and HERE.

Timeline Cover

Mantel {home tour} 2012

My mantel isn't much different from last year's, except for the FIFTH stocking!!  Hopefully in a few weeks, we'll have a name on it.

 

 

 

 

 

For other post on the tour, click HERE

Prank #3

 

Bernard's At it Again

Today, Bernard's prank was completely original (is that even possible?).  Anywho, I didn't look on Pinterest for this particular idea.  I kinda like trying to come up with stuff on my own, but Pinterest has some GREAT ideas that I will definitely try out.

Sunbathing with Barbie

 

 

That's Your Christmas Card?

It's that time of year...the most wonderful time of the year!  One of my favorite things about the season is sending and receiving Christmas cards.  Although I don't like to spend too much money on my cards, I do try to do the best I can with the money I've allotted.  

A few days ago, my mom sent me an email of Christmas cards gone wrong.  Oh, so wrong!

poor kids.

I don't know if I'm laughing harder at he fact that all of these people have their eyes closed or if those sweaters are what's cracking me up.

no. comment.

 They really had this one planned out.

poor dog.

Again, no. comment. 

I bet that momma is so proud of her sewing abilities!

My heart breaks for these kids.

Oh, what fun it is to...make fun of Christmas cards!  Here's to hoping my kids appreciate my Christmas card taste for years to come.

Santa and Elf on the Shelf?

Last year, I wrote a post about our take on Santa so I won't get into all of that in this post.  Click HERE to read it.  We put a lot of thought into how we are to tackle the whole "Santa thing" with our kids.   I've posted this article before, but check out Santa, Strategically by Jen Wilkin--wonderful read that really solidified our thoughts on the matter.  I couldn't have said it better if I had tried.   If you are interested in our take on it,  contact me on FB or email me and I'd be happy to share.  Basically, we keep "Santa" on our own terms.

I delved into all of that Santa stuff as a segue into our latest fun holiday tradition.  We gave into the pressure purchased an Elf on the Shelf.  Last night, we read the story and let the kids name the elf.  With a little help from us, they lovingly named him Bernard.  I cannot stress how much AG loves make-believe, but she understands the difference between what's real and what's play.   She loves the "idea" of Bernard and his crazy antics while she's sleeping.  When she found him this morning, she laughed SO hard.  She said, "I bet Dad had fun doing that!"--although it was totally ME!  Again, I'm guessing we don't do the whole "elf on the shelf thing" like most, but it works for us--on our terms.  It's fun, it's family-oriented, it's make-believe, and it's not taking away from our kids' understanding of Jesus, his birth, the Cross, etc.

Throughout the month, I'll post Bernard's escapades.  Here's his first prank:

I need more Elf on the Shelf ideas.  Help!?!

Girls' Tree {home tour} 2012

It wouldn't be Christmas on my blog if I didn't share pics from around our home.  Let's start with the girls' room...

Yeppers!  I let them help.  How dare you doubt me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The girls have been going to bed each night under the soft glow of their tree and Christmas tunes playing softly in the background.  #spoiled!