Christmas is coming!

I helped the kids make Christmas sugar cookies. Hazel especially loved it!

Charlotte especially loved the left over cream cheese frosting :)

It's been really warm here! We've been playing outside a lot.  

Jared finished his last final on Dec 13th. It's been so awesome to have him on a break!!! I made him take several pictures of his study materials from his first semester. I only posted a few of them. The first picture below is his syllabus from his physiology course. The second picture is the amount of flashcards he wrote for that class. The third picture shows how much there was on each flashcard! Crazy! Ha ha! It was a hard first semester. Whew. But, he got straight A's! Go Jared!

Thanksgiving Pictures

Yikes! Thought I should probably post our thanksgiving pics before Christmas! These first pics are of the kids helping me make pumpkin muffins...Brodey's favorite. It's a whole-wheat recipe with applesauce and pumpkin. Yum!

We set up a tent in the bonus room and let the kiddos have a couple of sleepovers in there during the school break. We played a few board games together, in there too!

Here's a glimpse of our Thanksgiving Day....it was our first Thanksgiving to be spent on our own, away from our extended family. The Thanksgiving Spirit really touched my heart during the Holiday. From my blessings as a wife and mother to the miracles and the answers to prayers our family has received this year. It is overwhelming...my heart has never felt so full, then when I sat down to eat this year, surrounded by my own three children, and husband. It was a day that will forever mark my memories. So much to be grateful for. 

We played our own "turkey bowl" outside in the yard with the kiddos!

Took warm baths afterwards and dressed up for our fancy thanksgiving dinner!

Charlie is showing you her belly button and her hair that is finally long enough to tie in a top not!

This is my new favorite tradition! It was wonderful to count our blessings together. Everyone contributed to our "Count Your Blessings" poster.

Just so you know I hung the Christmas lights all by my onsie! I went to the hardware store, bought a ladder, and just added some "getter-done' attitude...ha ha! JARED IS ALWAYS STUDYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I've been learning how to do a lot of honey-do projects on my own; I've learned to putty walls, use the power drill, hang many forms of decorations, including curtains, frames, and shelves, I also unplug drains and toilets, carry large pieces of furniture, tie things down to the top of our van, cook outside on the grill, and kill bugs. Who know I had it me?!!!!

Charlotte's 1 Year Birthday!

I thought I posted these pictures last week, but realized that they had only been saved as a draft. Weird. Sorry, for the delay!

She loved her chocolate cake! Nobody get in her way!

I took these pictures of Charlotte in my own backyard, with my own camera! The lighting outside was perfect that morning, so we rushed out to catch it. I looked like a goon, in my sweats, and bed-head-hair...and of course I met my new neighbor for the first time looking so lovely. But, I think it was worth it!

Oh, I'm loving this chubby, happy girl. We call her "The Mae"...cause she is so full of sunshine!