a little december recap!

so things have just been a tad bit busy around here.. I am still doing photo sessions... have my 3rd one for this week, tomorrow... and placing orders, and feeling just a bit like Santa as I deliver orders of prints and cards.. I am having SO much fun.. really... I can't believe how busy I have been in the last two months... but it is so much fun and I have met some really great people and played with some super adorable little ones =)..... more to come on the photography side.... but you'll have to wait on that...

lets get thru next weekend first.. lol

Besides my picture taking business, we have been doing fun festive things as we prepare for the day that the coolest baby was born!!

I wrapped up my Christmas Party for Lafayette Transitional Housing... it was amazing. I really felt blessed and I think my team of volunteer worker bees felt it too. We threw a fabulous party for 15 families... 29 kids.. gave bags full of groceries, and hats and scarves and mittens, and we played games, made an adorable little picture frame, sang songs, had a visit from Santa himself as he brought each kid some warm jammies and a toy off their wish list.

I was telling someone it was kinda like planning my wedding.... I worked so hard for many many weeks in advance, getting things in place just so, and then in a blink of a few hours, it was gone.

Well I know that the kids had a fantastic time, and I so appreciated all the folks from my amazing church community coming together to make it happen.

I really haven't seen a church community like this before.. its not about writing a check...

its about gettin down and dirty.. participating.. and doing what it takes.. and one might just find out that doing this kind of thing really, makes not only those who are the recipients, but those who are giving..helping, serving.. etc. feel blessed in an incredible way.

so THANK YOU !!!

(sorry for that little tangent.. lol)

We have had some play dates with our friends, cookie baking , girls nights out, a bit of shopping(but we have a LONG way to go)... driving around looking at lights, counting down the days til Christmas... lighting our advent candle, picking out toys for our adopt a kid, and a whole bunch of other stuff... here are some of the highlights of the last couple weeks-


we had our FIRSt real snow! I didn't even know it was supposed to.. it had been yucky rainy for the couple days previous.. and well, I drove Brigham down to the bus stop and came back in... ready to start the day by staying warm inside with my mug o' joe and checking emails... watching super why.... typical morning activities.. LOL, when I looked outside and saw these HUGE , amazing, GORGEOUS flakes coming down. it was so magical... nothing was really sticking yet, but I grabbed Tatum, threw clothes on her, tossed on her hat and coat (which is totally cute don't ya think?) and drug her outside in the (oh I forgot to mention that there were 55 mph freezing cold winds) ...

Well, there is nothing that this photographer mama won't do... (as long as it won't really put my kid in harms way..) and so I snapped about 10 pics super fast, all the while my poor baby is saying "mommy , its too whinny"..... and the other phrase " can I have froo snax?"..... and after this shot, I am pretty sure she deserved her "froo snax" Love this !!!
Our little Beckham turned 5 months old!! I totally re created this shot.. we have the same one taken by Picture People's studio of Brigham at this age.. same outfit.. blue background.. it . is. eery. how much they look alike. Beck is just a chubbier version of his big brother =)

...and we went to Hobby Dobby (as Tatum calls it) for the kids to pick out their ornament...

they went for their first pick. and after we saw them, we decided we could get best out of three... so each got to pick three of their favorites, and then we narrowed it down. I was pleased with their choices....(will debut them later =)

We just got the tree up on Monday, and started the decor last night... silly me, got some new ribbon, b/c the last had been used for the last few years.. so not realizing that I got the most expensive stuff they had.. went to unroll it and found that it was only 12 feet... and that it had lights in it.

yeah.. I am sure its all pretty and stuff, but for $12 a roll , I was going to need a lot of it, and I didn't really care about the lights. I can't believe I grabbed the wrong kind!

and so my wonderful husband went out to Menards and picked up new ribbon, oh, and new lights, b/c of course the ones we had were the wrong kind as well. not the male/female version.. so of course we couldn't get it to work the correct way !

and then we started with the ornaments, and I realized I needed more, so I took the littles today and we picked up some more at Hobby Dobby.
Next I have to get the ribbon up and figure out how in Sam Hill how to make a bow.. I totally

trailer park rigged one for life group tonight.

I am really hoping that if I do a little on the tree each day, it just might be ready for Christmas Eve... lol

Last Saturday my mom and I took Brigham to see the PMO Christmas Show at Purdue. He has gone the last two years with us, and just loves it. He is totally enamored with it. I have to say , this year's show was really terrific. It almost makes me want to get back into the singing sides of things.... we'll see... maybe after Beck turns one... The director had invited us to come down for a visit in the hospitality suite, and so before and after the show we got to enjoy these little chocolate dudes. Brigham couldn't get enough of them. I am so trying to find a mold that will make these. They are so stinkin' cute.


and so here we are hanging out before the show....

my mom and Brigham....

Um, yeah.. took these with my little p/s , so thus the reason you are seeing right up our noses. but I still think they are cute =)





my mom watched the kids last Friday night , so Andrew and I could have a date night... she made these little things with them.

they are heaven in a ball.

seriously, I have the ingredients and we are making them this weekend.

Oreo Snow balls.. melt in your mouth.. if anyone wants the recipe.. let me know. they . are. divine.

and we also attempted to see this guy last weekend. Tatum, was totally psyched for sitting on "ho, ho's lap", but as soon as she actually saw him, she went running as fast as she could. Brigham tried to have a conversation, but was told by the not- so- in -the- holiday- spirit -worker, that there was a minimum purchase order to sit on the big guy's lap.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

so we didn't get it. a friend told me of this cool train museum that has Santa visiting every night . for free. So I think we're going to fit that in next week.
I do need pictures after all. Because, although some of you may not remember... I am a scrap booker. and so I have to document every second of every event of my children's life.. and well, I have really been sucking at that lately.

I really am looking forward to New Year's Day... football on.. lots of snacks and a whole day of scrapping.

and then into January.. despite the fact that I already have some sessions on the books, I am going to focus on getting caught back up with my pages.

poor Beckham doesn't have a single page yet. =(





while we were at the mall, we decided to write our letters to Santa. We totally forgot to do that like we did last year.

Our postal workers walk thru our annual Christmas Parade and pick up the letters and then we get a letter back from the North Pole.

Since I was busy prepping for the Outreach party, and Andrew took the kids to the parade, it totally slipped our minds.





so luckily, Macy's was able to help us out.

and I just deleted the cute pic of Tatum mailing her letter.

OOPS.





We also dedicated Beckham at church on Sunday.. I'll get some pictures of that up. He did really well.

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and do you remember this list below?

well, we are kinda moving right along... pictures to come...

how are you coming on your list?

it is the eve before one week before the eve before Christmas Eve.

THE LIST:
Make a holiday craft
Watch Elf
Assemble/address holiday cards with music and cocoa
Wrap gifts by the tree
Read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
Have lunch with Santa
Bake/decorate cookies
Make pinecone elves
Take a drive and look at holiday lights
Donate toys to a family in need
Cut out paper snowflakes
Go ice skating
Deliver baked goods to friends
Make breakfast for dinner and eat in our pajamas
Take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage
Write down the 10 best memories from the past year
Attend a holiday concert
Take a family photo
Watch the snow fall
Share your favorite holiday memories with your kids
Go sledding
Have a candlelit dinner
Leave cookies/milk for Santa
Enjoy giving as much as receiving

Hope you are able to slow down a bit and enjoy the season(what is left of it anyway)