baseball practice

Baseball Gear: one oven mitt, one frying pan, one bouncy ball, and a big coat if available.  Lots of baseball happening in our house.

Advent Stories: Halloween vs. Christmas

I gathered holiday stories from the Deseret Industries and borrowed a few more from my mom.  I wrapped them all up in just one sheet of tissue paper.  The kids will be able to pick a story to read each night during the month about the upcoming holiday.  October is still lacking but I'm thinking of writing a few of my own stories that will have their names or things they are familiar with to make it fun for them.  I'm still deciding about November because I don't think I'll be able to find enough stories for each night that I can afford.  We'll have to mix it up a little bit.  And in December, we have more than enough books for Christmas.  Because we haven't read most of them we might choose not to keep them all for next year, and I'll just have to replace a few each year until we have a collection of stories we love.  I tried to keep the count pretty even between Santa type stories vs. stories about Jesus.  I'm excited to see if this tradition sticks with us.  Either way, it'll sure be fun this time around!

What a weekend!

I enjoyed the weekend so very much!  I may not have prioritized the things I could have done but I still feel like I was pretty productive!  On Thursday, I put on clothes before 9 a.m. and shopped all day.  Santa is done!  I'm so excited to be able to enjoy each holiday for the rest of the year without worrying and rushing around, fighting the crowds.  I did some research and went out with a list.  That's the first time I really knew what gifts I was really going out for.  I hope the kids will be have fun with them (minus the socks and underwear).

Here is a sneak peek of our family pictures we had done on Friday.  Thanks KW!  I'm excited to see them the rest of them because we sure have some cute kids!

Saturday, I enjoyed listening to conference.  I especially enjoyed hearing Elder Carl B. Cook speak and reminding us to look up.  I've been a little down recently, looking for a way to be more positive and faithful and the "look up" reminder was just what I needed.  My very helpful mother watched the kids all day.  Abbi and Noah wore their new Halloween shirts to celebrate that October finally came!  I used to do that to, every year, but I'll need to invest in a Halloween shirt for me I guess.  We appreciate her so much.  Abbi loved spending the day there and Noah sang, hammered, and got hooked on football.

While the boys went off to Priesthood session, the girls/children/Cody had a Pinterest night.  It was so fun!  The Zupas was delicious, the crafts were fun to try, and the company was the best!

Tiffani made cute frames and this wreath!

Amber made this awesome felt flower wreath!  We thought it would take her forever but she showed us.

I made a spooky frame and Abbi drew a picture of Jake as a pirate and me as a witch.

Sunday = a great sleep in day.  Jake made us a delicious breakfast and we enjoyed listening to conference.  Abbi and I decorated the house for Halloween.  Unfortunately, when she went to bed tonight she said she was scared of jack 'o lanterns.  I hope I haven't scarred the poor girl.  After we decorated, I made myself another Pinterest craft for myself, hoping a visual reminder will help me be more realistic during my pity parties.

plain canvas, small wood letters, elmer's glue

spray painted in a light brown ... this isn't where it will hang forever

  GOOD ENOUGH is this great post by Wendy, reminding me about what a good mom my Grandma Betty was.  This mildly hidden RENAME IT is the advice my friend Amanda's mom, Lynda.  I sat in her kitchen, practically begging her to tell me how to lower the expectations I have for myself.  Everything Lynda does is done well and I wanted to know how she learned to deal with it when things don't turn out how she plans.  She told me that she just "renames it."  Excellent advice.

We celebrated my dad's #63 birthday today.  In lieu of gifts, he asked for his children to write him a letter.  I made mine a formal evaluation giving him a 4.67 out of 5.  He could have scored higher if he was more timely around lunch time and turned on his hearing devices during conversations.  I love my dad so much.  He and my mom really have pulled/pushed/helped/led/encouraged/supported me through the last year.

And because this post needs more length, I want to throw honorable mentions out to my husband and puppies.  I love them all for different reasons.  Except the puppies....I kind of love them the same and for the same reasons.

camouflage with the blanket I gave them