We are leaving tomorrow for our Christmas festivities and vacation time!!

We've been keeping busy with work and getting things ready to go home.  Who knew it is so much work to get a house, two people, and a dog ready for a 10 day vacation?  Barkley is going to be boarded 3 days while we are in KC, but we really wanted him to come so that he can come to Oklahoma with us and meet his dog "cousins".  For some reason, he LOVES Labradors so I know he will have a great time.  (Plus, it's expensive enough boarding him for 3 nights, can you imagine 10?  And the poor thing would be so bored...)

So I graduated a year ago today!  Though I have to say that today was better than that one was.

I finally used my birthday present from Steven (spa gift card) today.  I got a massage and a manicure and they were both great! 

Today was our first snow of the winter!!

It was just a light, very light dusting... none of it stuck (just the way I like it) but it was still very nice to watch it falling down!  I don't work on Tuesday's, so I enjoyed some waffles and coffee while watching Barkley outside being curious about the snow.  (He was licking it off of our grill... surely that didn't taste good???)

We have our house all decorated up for Christmas!  The youth groups are coming over this week for our Christmas parties.  It seemed like we had SO MUCH Christmas decor (4 totes full) but with it all out, it's really not as much as we thought haha.  That's okay, we have a tree, stockings, and nativity, as well as our mantle decorated and lights outside.  All the basics!!

Nothing super new here... just wanted to check in before it got to be a month without posting again.  :)

My New Obsession

When my Grammy and Papa visited us in October, they were super generous to buy me a sewing machine.  This is quite possibly one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given!  I have loved looking up different projects, and watching things transform from a piece of fabric to something cute and useful. 

I have found it very theraputic to sew and it is a good prayer-time for me... when I am making things I like to pray for the person who will be using it.  I especially try to do this when I'm making a baby item, whether one I'm saving for us or will be using as a gift.  How special to think that one day our kids will be using something that their mama made while praying over them when they were still a twinkle in their daddy's eye.  :)

Here are some of the things I have made.  All beginners projects for sure, but I am learning more with every thing I make!

My first project- burp clothes!  The zebra one is the first thing I ever made!

Taggie Blanket- with plastic in the middle so it crinkles, and the different ribbons for texture

Peepee Teepee's....  :)

Onesies with ties on them!

My biggest accomplishment thus far- a pillowcase dress!

Oh boy, oh boy... almost a whole month since my last post!  I think that is a new record of laziness in the blog-world for me.  I will try to catch you up on the major events of our November, and then I have a couple other posts to hopefully make this week.

*My family came to visit us the middle of the month.  It was GREAT to have them here!  It was my dad's first time to see the house since we moved in and we loved showing him the things we did to it.  He even got in the game and helped with some lighting fixtures and installed a new (and MUCH more modern) ceiling fan/light for us!  We had a really good time just playing games, shopping, and hanging out at the house with them, and were so glad to spend some time with them as we weren't able to go home for Thanksgiving this year.

Barkley wanting to spend the night in Kyla's bed

*The Saturday my parents were here, Steven, Barkley, and I got dressed up for our Christmas pictures and my parents took several pictures of us on our front porch for our Christmas cards this year!  Barkley was wearing a Santa hat and he was less than thrilled... which is pretty apparent when you look at ANY of the pics but Steven and I both agreed on our favorite so we got that printed out.

one of my FAVORITE pics of Barkley... spoiler of Christmas pics lol

*We had our first Thanksgiving in O'Fallon.  It was my first Thanksgiving to not be in Oklahoma with my family, so even the days before, it didn't feel near as much like a holiday as it normally does.  I worked Thanksgiving day and then went straight to Dan and Susan's house where Steven already was.  We had Thanksgiving dinner with them and it was SOOOOOOOO good!  We still have tons of leftovers in our fridge.  While it was hard not being with family this Thanksgiving, Steven and I are very grateful to have become close with so many people here who were willing to open their homes to us.

* " The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."  This perfectly expresses our heart this year, as God has done SO much in and for us in 2011!  We couldn't be more grateful for what He has done, where He has brought us, and who He has put in our lives.  He is good!

Barkley and I bored in the car.  I told him to make a funny face but he psyched me out and smiled instead!

*This Thanksgiving/Christmas talk has made me realize how this year, more than ever before, I am just so thankful for family and grateful for the time we'll get to spend with them this Christmas.  For a while there, it was looking like I was going to only get 3 days off work for Christmas, and I was so devastated that not only was I not seeing my family for Thanksgiving, I was only going to see half of  them for Christmas and it would be very brief.  God is good though, and He provided a way for me to get ten days off so Steven and I are going to be able to see each of our families!  As a kid, Christmas was always more about getting presents for me, and even the past few years it has just kind of been "what we do" to go to Oklahoma and spend time with family.  But this year it's totally different in that I am just excited for that time of fellowship with loved ones.  Being away from home does that to you, I guess.

*Steven and I made our first Thanksgiving turkey together!  Delmar Gardens gives a turkey to all of their staff, and we were saving mine for Friday when Steven's mom was planning on coming.  She didn't end up being able to come, so we cooked it Saturday and I gotta admit it was pretty darn good!  We reheated all of our Thanksgiving Day leftovers to eat with it, and even Barkley liked it as he jumped to the counter and ingested a bone.  He suffered the consequences that night though, and woke us up twice needing to go outside.  All day the next day he was been feeling bad, too.

*Last night at youth, we had a big answer to prayer!  One of our kids, Wolf, has been coming faithfully since September, when a girl in our youth group invited him to come.  He said he was just coming to make friends and play the games, but didn't have interest in the religion part of it because he wasn't sure that there was a God.  Steven and I have been praying for him for a long time, and he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior!  He said that he just started really listening to Steven's lessons two weeks ago, and since then God has been getting a hold of his heart.  He even made a status update about it when he got home on facebook, which is really encouraging to see such boldness from him!

Well, that's it for now... hopefully I'll be back soon :)

Hey hey!

It has been a very busy week!  We just got back from Sunday night youth group, and I am ready to crash for a while!  Thursday and Friday I worked, then spent the rest of the days getting snacks prepared for the Costume party.  Saturday was the party, spent all morning/afternoon working on snacks and the party started at 7.  Here are some pics...

1st and 2nd place "Best Costume" trophies.  I bought the skeletons at the dollar store, spray-painted them, and glued them on these light-up displays (also from the dollar store!)

Frankenstein Rice Krispie Treats

Witch Pretzels

Frankenstein Pudding Cups

Apple "mouths" with almond sliver "teeth"

Close-up

Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Monster!!

Santa Clause and Mayhem (from the insurance commercials... also the 2nd place winner!)

Sydney, Ellen, Madison, and Molly

Frankenstein's monster and the Chick-Fil-A cow :)

1st place winner- one of the bad guys from Lord of the Rings! (can't remember the name, lol)

right now i am.....
 
watching:  my computer screen.  :)
                 
eating:  nothing.

drinking:  Dr. Pepper.
             
wearing:   Gap hoodie, Silver jeans, and barefoot (but my feet are freeeeezing!)       

avoiding:  washing dishes. (but at least I made dinner!)


feeling:  relaxed... tired... thankful.

missing:  our friends in KC and Springfield.

thankful:  my house and how God has provided for us this week.  Our upcoming Christmas Break.  :) 

weather:  chilly!
                

praying:  for my friend and her hubby.


needing:  to eat healthier.


thinking:  about our upcoming Costume Party and the snacks I need to prepare for it.


dreaming: about what lies ahead.

loving:  my new sewing machine!!  And seeing what I can do with it.  :)

God is soooooo good!

We don't have to pay to get my car fixed!  Miraculously, the day before we were taking it in to get it done, the check engine light went off just for enough time for us to get it inspected again.  This time it passed, and then a few hours later the light was back on!  But we passed and won't have to worry about the darn knock sensor for another two years.  This was TOTALLY a God thing!

NEXT God-thing... I found out a week ago that I was only able to get 3 days off for Christmas.  Basically Delmar Gardens has a policy that NO ONE can take off in December.  I talked to my boss, and signed up to work Thanksgiving Day to show I am willing to help out, but there was no way around it.  This had me REALLY down because we have been saving Steven's one Sunday off all year, for Christmas so we could spend a lot of time with family.  I was mostly upset because I only have a temporary position, so it's not like I have a job there for much after Christmas, anyway.  Well, tonight I talked to a couple of my co-workers and they are willing to take 3 of my shifts, allowing me 10 days in KC and Oklahoma. This is also a total answer to prayer!