Christmas Letters

I like to send Christmas cards and always include a Christmas letter with my cards. I've been doing this for years, even before I was married. My Christmas letter fills people in on what we did during the year. I usually write a paragraph for each person and add a picture of them, too. I really like my letters and hope the people I send them do, too. I don't do it to brag or anything like that, but like to tell people what we've done that year. I also like to include a personal hand-written message in the card I send the letter in.

I hope the people who receive my letters appreciate this seemingly lost art of communication. I do enjoy getting Christmas mail from people, but wish they would send a little more than just a picture of themselves or a card with no personal touch at all.

Mailbox Surprises

We have mailbox ornaments on our tree. One is mine and one is Ross', both from when we were kids. They are handmade and I think a neighbor gave me mine. I remember it being on our tree each Christmas when I was growing up. Although they're basically the same ornaments, Ross' was different in the fact that he would always find a surprise in his mailbox each day in December. His mom would put special treats or notes in it for him to find.

I thought this was such a neat idea and have started doing it with our girls this year. They love checking the mailboxes and are thrilled when they find something in them. So far all I've managed to put in it is candy, but that's exactly what they like, so score for me! I look forward to doing this in the years to come but plan to be a little more creative with my treats!

Elf On The Shelf

We have an Elf On The Shelf! I'm kind of surprised we have one, but am happy we have one. Last year we got the Elf On The Shelf book and Lucy really liked reading it. This year when we got the book out Lucy wanted to read it all the time and kept asking if we would get an elf. I was shopping one day and found a plush elf for only $10 and decided to go ahead and get it. (I did not want to spend $30 for the "real" elf....I'm cheap!) I'm so glad I got the elf because Lucy has absolutely loved it! The girls named her Sweetie Pie and she came to live with us on December 2. Lucy has had so much fun finding her each morning and talking to her throughout the day.

My main hesitation with getting an elf was that I didn't want the elf and Santa to be the main focus of Christmas, but really it hasn't been. The whole thing is still kind of lost on Molly and Lucy doesn't seem to be concerned about the Santa factor of the elf, but seems to sincerely love the elf and thinks of it as a friend  :) Lucy has such a sweet heart and loves to tell Sweetie Pie good morning, good night, and tell her what all she did during the day.

I've heard lots of parents complain about the elf and having to move it each night, etc. I know I'm only a few weeks into this whole process and some of those people have been doing it for years, but it's really not that hard! I think a lot of those parents make it hard by having the elf do elaborate things with props, etc., instead of just having it sit somewhere. In fact, one time when I had the elf sit on a table and pretend like she'd been coloring, Lucy got mad because she wants the elf to be up high. That makes my job pretty easy...just put it somewhere up high! And if I forget to move her one night, I really don't think Lucy or Molly would even care!

The Pioneer Woman

One Monday in October I took a day trip with two girlfriends to Pawhuska, OK, to eat at the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile and tour her lodge. It was the best day! We left at 6:30 in the morning and arrived in Pawhuska at about 10am. We all had a yummy breakfast, shopped around the merc for a bit, and then headed out to her lodge to tour it. The lodge is where she films all of her cooking shows, so it was so much fun to see the set. We went back to the merc and shopped around the town a bit and date a late lunch/early dinner around 3:30pm before heading home. It was such a fun day with fun friends!

Happy Birthday Sign

This happy birthday sign has been in our family for as long as I can remember! When we were growing up, Mom would always put it up at our house on someone's birthday, even her own. She has two of the signs and one would always be inside and the other outside on the fence or in later years on the porch. I was always kind of embarrassed when it was my birthday and it was outside because we had to take a picture with it and everyone on the bus would see it!

For my last birthday Mom and Stephanie brought decorations over to decorate for a little surprise party and this is one of the decorations Mom brought. I asked her if I could just keep it and she said ok. I like having this now because it's been around for so long and see so many birthday! I like the idea of continuing this tradition on with my family. :)

Sisters

This photo cracks me up! If you knew my girls you would definitely be able to tell me which girl colored which scarecrow. :) Molly on the left, Lucy on the right. It's so fitting of their personalities, too. Molly is just kind of fun, crazy, the life of the party. Lucy is calmer and  definitely stays in the lines with life. :)

Birthday Surprises For My 40th!

My 40th birthday was quite possibly my best birthday ever! It was a lot of fun with several surprises along the way! My first surprise was a trip to Tulsa, OK, the weekend before my birthday to visit our very good friends, Geoff and Susan. I met Susan in 2006 and we just hit it off right away. We don't see each other very often, but we text most everyday. We just get each other and it was so much fun to see them and their house! We went to dinner and then tried out a few slot machines at a casino. We didn't have much luck, but we did have a good time!

The next day Ross and I explored around Tulsa and found a really nice park where we had to take some "senior pictures," something we like to do every now and then! I was surprised again at home when I walked into our house and saw birthday decorations hung up all over and then Mom, Dad, Lucy, Molly, Stephanie, Nathan, Trevor, and Cody all came out from the living room where they were hiding to say surprise. I was completely surprised and I loved it! We went to dinner and then came back for cake and presents.

On my birthday, November 7, Ross and the girls gave me breakfast in bed, a family tradition. I went to my class and then some gym friends brought me a cake and cupcakes to celebrate my day. After that Molly and I met up with Mom and Stephanie for lunch at the Olive Garden and then we did a little shopping. Later that day when I checked my mailbox I found six birthday cards in it from people I would have never expected to receive a card from! It turns out, my friend, Sarah, had contacted several of my friends via email, without me knowing, and told them my 40th birthday was coming up and asked them to send me a card because she knows how much I like to receive mail! That was just the best surprise! And then another friend surprised me with some balloons and a card on my car that afternoon...such a great day all the way around!

We had dinner that night with Pam and her family and Natalie at a Chinese place we all like. We came home and opened a few more presents. My birthday was over, but the celebration continued on into Thanksgiving when Larry and Wanda gave me a bag full of 40 pieces of candy with bills wrapped around each piece. Again, such a surprise!

This was just the best day ever. I felt very loved and very special and it all made turning 40 easy!

Sharing a Guinness together! They both like Guinness and every since we met Geoff, in late 2007, we've had a joke about how much they love Guinness. In reality, each of them have a Guinness maybe about once every other month or so. It's just a fun joke between us. :) 

Gumma got to sit at the kids table because they all wanted to sit by her. :)