final creations from 0 8 .   December 31, 2008

they are for my garage girl assignments for suzy’s store:) they were created on december 30. they are probably close to my faves from this year…tfl.

patterned paper: Basic Grey bittersweet line
cardstock: Bazzill

punch: Fiskars

buttons: Noel Mignon kit
brads: Making Memories
ticket stubs: Noel Mignon kit
chipboard shapes: Sassafrass Lass
felt letters: American Craft

pattered paper: 7 Gypsies

transparency: Hambly
black letters: American Craft
black pen: American Craft

new years eve~   

while the earlier part of our day had two little girls very sad that we were only on a wait list for open play at a local bouncy house, after some homemade miso soup and sandwiches from daddy, and a nap for mari, our girls were in much better spirits. yes, we are in cali, but it was just too cold to play outside, so after taking down our tree and all xmas decor, we headed out for some burgers and splurged with milkshakes, too! now that we have more space in the family/dining room area with the tree gone, the girls were running around, and daddy had the idea that those who were helping with folding the laundry- they got to wear a piece of clean clothes on their head. mari hammed it up, and emi had a turban thing going on…and my dear husband simply put underwear on his head. gotta love those moments!
now that our girls are tucked in, we’ll be hanging out watching goofy movies and chillin.

for those out there partying- have a ball, be safe!

for those traveling- remember to wash your hands and be safe!

ok i sound like my mom. LOL

happy new years eve!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY . . .   December 30, 2008

to the BEST mom, ever!! Mine:)
love you!
have a wonderful day!

december in p h o t o s .   

my 7 gypsies photo carousel in progress . . . jan - dec tab folders have been created. next, i’ll be working on some pockets for the backs of those to put random thoughts in for the month, and will be creating some other mini layouts for photos to be attached later on to.

one of our views xmas morning at my parents.
still trying to get a photo of the two of them. maybe a new years card now? LOL
my beautiful emi girl.
don’t they look like they’ve been partying all night long. this was from dec 29. will be posting about yesterday all on its own.

hope you feel His blessings wrapped around you all through the day!

december 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.   

tuesday, december 23.
we had our sweet swim teacher over, as a mother’s helper for 1/2 day! we had two goals- 1. not lose touch with her and her wonderful rapport with our girls until swimming resumes in feb. 2. see about a potential sitter. wow! we love her! we got to talk more, and she is just a doll! i got some much needed cleaning and purging done with the girls’ clothes before xmas, and then we hit the ever popular pump it up for playtime. we all got exercise and had a great time! after lunch and mari’s nap, we played with some fun new toys we got to open up early…

wednesday, december 24.
xmas eve. we had emi’s friends over for a playdate in the morning and unfortunately, daddy had to work. that night, we went to a local pasta fave and then went to early service. for the first time in awhile, we didn’t host xmas eve dinner, which was so very strange. alot of our family either had to work late or were out of the country. the service was just beautiful, as all gifts from Him are.

thursday, december 25.
His birthday. so much to be thankful for. the girls’ really got into the presents this year, and one of my favorite moments was when emi opened up her gift from santa [one of the two she really wanted], she was overjoyed with emotion, she started to cry. is she mine or what???
after breakfast and cleaning a bit, we packed up and headed to my parents for the next few days, and it really felt like xmas there. after more presents were opened, we had some yummy lunch, and took wonderful naps. we woke up to the most awesome smells of a prime rib xmas feast! mom and i worked on making thank you cards and her annual calendars, x 28. oh yes, and she of course has to customize each one for each specific family, so it was a very intensive project that took us the next few days to organize and start assembling. thanks to the bind it all, it went quickly!

friday, december 26.
day after xmas. we had glorious sunshine. so blessed in the bay area. the girls played outside, with their new toys, i got some laundry in and another nap, as did daddy. that night, after some delish food from our fave chinese spot, brian went to a warrior game with dad, and us girls rocked the calendars some more!

saturday, december 27.
after a wonderful breakfast with my parents, we got all packed up and headed back home:) i love our time dearly with them, however…nothin quite like sleepin in your own bed! got caught up on more laundry, alot of unpacking, and got to finally go through the rest of the girls’ clothes, to make room for cute new stuff! sadly, that night a dear friend michelle’s husband lost his battle. God decided it was time to take him home, give him a new body, and just wrap His love around their family. so so very sad.

sunday, december 28.
after church, daddy took the girl’s grocery shopping, and i hit the gym! i’m really into it again, and i’ll sign up for our free personal trainer session sometime in jan. i don’t remember much else that day, other than hugging my girls extra tight, and being on the phone alot with those who i love so dearly.

photos will be here shortly.

december. catch up.   December 28, 2008

literally no clue where i left off in my photo a day here. i’ll have to go back and read my blog in a minute.
xmas eve, was so different this year. my dh was working, and we usually host it for both families, but everyone was either working or out of the country. so, we attended the early church service, after going to a local pasta place. i was surprised at how crowded it was! emi had a friend over for a playdate in the morning, and her older sister came along, too. mari just loved running around acting like a big girl.
ok, i wish i had my camera working xmas. it is working, it is just the mem card is acting funny. and it wasn’t until after breakfast, while we were opening gifts and seeing the sheer joy on my girl’s faces that i felt the blessings He brings this time of year. i had just learned on xmas eve, that my dear friend’s husband had suffered from cardiac arrest. my brother and his gf are in costa rica, and xmas was just off. well, after seeing emi open her gift from santa, it brought it all back. she wanted 2 things: 1. to take tae kwon do lessons. 2. the wall.e movie santa delivered both, but seeing her excitement, and then the fact that she was so happy, she was going to cry [um, yeah, totally my kid!], it just melted my heart.
xmas was wonderful, we spent it at my parents, and after lunch and a much needed nap, we woke up to the wonderful smells only my mom’s kitchen can create, and just had a ball! the girls’ opened more presents, i started making my thank you cards- i made over 30 of them, and they are nearly all written, sealed, and addressed. i have a few more to make, and if i remember, i will photograph them and post them. the day after xmas, we spent lounging, playing outside in the glorious sun in my parent’s beautiful backyard, had an awesome lunch at our fave chinese food spot, and got another nap in:) my mom and i worked on creating her annual calendars for families and friends, however, this year was more time intensive because she chose to customize each one and we used the bind it all. we made 28 of them! we did 12 mini layouts per calendar, trimmed and then binded them. yes, 28. see where i get it from? LOL. my dh went to see a warriors game friday night with my dad, and us girls stayed up til 10:30pm working on thank yous and calendars. emi was tired! saturday, we had a wonderful breakfast, packed up and came home! and after unpacking, doing laundry, and vaccuming, emi and i headed out and ran some errands. i’ve got ideas for our extended family gifts for next year that will include emi’s artwork, and we scored on some ornaments at 70% off.
today, after church, i hit the gym! daddy took the girls grocery shopping, and played outside. he met his sis and bro for a late lunch, and us girls had our nap/down time.

anyway- my dh will work on recapturing some of my lost images…but for now, please enjoy this one:

gets me everytime. look at her, she is so happy playing in the dirt, yet such a lil girly girl with her lil doll, giving kisses to her fave animals, and all maternal. and at 2 yrs old, she is at 95% of her height and 50% of her weight, and full of sass. she almost has her ABCS down, and can now count from 1 - 10. and i can even understand about 90% of it. so very PROUD of my lil princess puff!!!

please pray   

for my dear friend, michelle and her sweet family. she lost her husband last night. i am so very saddened for them, i have no words, other than to ask you to please pray.
kristin had a beautiful post last night.
blessings,
erin

silent night.   December 24, 2008

is my absolute favorite xmas song. when we were at a playdate last week, we were all talking about our favorite songs. and my answer was tied- the first noel and silent night. mostly, because of josh groban’s xmas cd that i’ve been listening to in my mom’s car while she has been down the past few weeks. tonight, at xmas eve service, we had lit the candles from our pastor, and then each of us had one [mari broke hers and played with the wax, but it was all good], and we sang silent night while holding our candles. it was just beautiful.

wishing you and your family a very merry christmas!

*silent night, holy night*

silent night. holy night.
all is calm, all is bright.
round yon virgin mother and child.
holy infant, so tender and mild.
sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.

silent night. holy night.
shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from heaven afar,
heavenly hosts sing , alleluia.
Christ, the savior is born.
Christ, the savior is born.

silent night. holy night.
son of God, love’s pure light.
radiant beams from thy holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

silent night. holy night.
all is calm, all is bright.
round yon virgin mother and child.
holy infant, so tender and mild.
sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.

and a very special prayer goes out to our dear friends and her family.

merry christmas eve!

merry xmas eve!   

quite a different one for us this year. we had a playdate over this morning. emi had a ball! mari just thought it was cool to be in her sister’s room, while emi’s friend and her friend’s sister were all hanging out in there. i had a nice visit with her mom, and then we all had lunch. yes, sounds like a typical day for our household, after cleaning, and doing more laundry, however… it being xmas eve and no family over and daddy working, it is quite different for us. mari will be waking up soon, and i have a prime rib to get going! more later on . . .

december 19, 20, 21, 22.   December 23, 2008

photos will be here soon.
for now, i’ll just recap, as my heart is so very full right now.

december 19.
mari and i cleaned out her drawers, and donated 2 bags to the battered women’s shelter and gave one bag to nicole. nicole’s new baby gets all of my favorite gap/gymboree outfits that were handed down from emiko. we then headed out to our mommy and me gym class! she was very excited to see her dear friend addie and they were so cute running all around together! it was a 1/2 day for emi and she was so very excited to have winter break! we three girls came home, had a nice lunch together, and then miss mari took her nap. emi kept me occupied by telling me knock knock jokes and playing teacher, and then we started watching a movie. she is so good about having quiet time when mari naps.
that night, i headed out to suzy’s for an ornament exchange crop! having all my assignments done, and having decided to not send out xmas cards, but made thank you xmas cards instead, and will be sending out new years cards once we have our photo shoot done [had to cancel due to rain], i was left with working on and actually completing my 7 gypsies carousel. and oh my goodness, [i still have to photograph it] but i just love it!!! once suzy gets more in, i’m going to make one for each of the girls’ rooms, i LOVE them that much! and i came home with the sweetest lil santa ornament that bounces all around. he is so jolly, mari is just going to love him! i almost had an overnight with addie, but hannah got there before i packed up, so we were all good.

december 20.
my dear friend gave birth to her second daughter. she is just beautiful. big hugs and many prayers for you and your sweet family!
emi had her last bball practice for this year, and santa made a special appearance! mari was just lucky that daddy wasn’t needed for helping with coaching, since this wasn’t a planned practice, so she got to run around with him and act like a big kid. after bball practice and their lil xmas party, mari and i crashed for oh about 3 hours!!! my dh and dd went out xmas shopping, and then had some pizza and saw “the tale of desperaux”. and LOVED it! so happy they had their date. after dinner, i went to the hospital to visit the new lil one. oh, the newborn smell, sweet lil cooes, tiny nose, perfect pink lips…totally made me want another one. that is up to Him. and given our last experience, i know that is totally in His hands. then, miss janice and i headed to the movies and saw Will Smith’s latest. omgosh, intense and sad, but good!!! i’ll be taking my dh to that one on our next date night. and hopefully follow it up with a double header ending in something funny like YES MAN. LOL.

december 21.
after bible study, sunday school, and 2nd service, i wasn’t feeling too well. we headed home, and i was in bed until dinner time. had some soup, then watched part of the holiday and then back to bed. stomach flu of some kind. totally missed playing with the fam, but clearly needed the rest.

december 22.
mom came down to hang out and help, if i still had my low grade fever. thankfully, after 2am it went away. we played, did more laundry, and had lunch together:) then, mari and i napped while mom and emi went to the movies, and had treats afterwards. since my dh wasn’t feeling too well when he got home, i made his famous lasagna, and after dinner, emi and i took it over to nicole and family. along with raspberry stuffed french toast, lava cake, salad and bread. while we were visiting, emi looks at me with her hand open and smiles…she lost her 5th tooth! nicole’s mom is so sweet, she makes a big deal about it, tells her about the good tooth hall of fame, gets her a baggie and we’re headed home! she was so excited to come home and tell daddy. we called my mom on the way home. and then, i had an impromptu girls’ night and la fondue. it had been well over 2 months since i’d been, a big treat it was and lots of laughs. one of the moments i will remember, is when i shared how when i was holding nicole’s baby, i wanted another one. suzy looked over at me with this sweet look, smiled, and said “you have two beautiful girls.” thank you suzy!!! you knew just what to do. love you girl!

that’s it for now. we’re having the girl’s swim teacher come over tomorrow as a mother’s helper to 1. not lose contact with her until we start again in feb. 2. see if she could be a potential sitter.