The Spirit of Christmas

So our Christmas decorating has begun. Christmas cards are almost ready to be sent out, and we've got the Christmas music on but until very recently I was just not feeling it.  It was too darn warm outside and that's thrown off my rhythm.  We took a quick trip to the zoo tonight for Brigham and I was a little disgruntled b/c of several things and on top of that, a cold front came in and suddenly I was freezing and contracting and having to walk in wet in flipflops blah. I didn't pout or anything but my insides were certainly frowning. Matt got everyone singing Christmas Carols on the way home and it really lifted my downs. It was wonderful, one of my favorite things. But the best part of my season this year came when we got home. Eli said "I don't really pick my favorite songs by the words or the tune. I like the ones that make me feel the spirit." I asked him which ones made him feel the spirit and he said "The last song that we sang[Oh Come All Ye Faithful] really made me feel good."

I will be thinking of that all season. My boys aren't very emotionally descriptive. I don't think they've ever said anything like that but that statement was a compass for me. They're headed in the right direction. My son knows what the spirit feels like and it makes him happy. Christmas songs made him feel the spirit and he was able to share that with his brothers and sister and myself. That's the only gift I'll need this year.

Thanksgiving at the Stonely's

She wants to be 5. Not 7, not 4 anymore but 5. She made her cupcakes herself to her absolute delight. She only liked dessert, "chicken"(turkey), and sort of the frog-eye salad at dinner, she had a perfectly happy day and feels oh so lucky that she had a birthday on Thanksgiving. Her only complaint was that she couldn't have her friend Aspen at her "party". Next year my dear, next year.
This year she got to celebrate with our good friends The Stonely's who were so generous to have us over amidst their wood floor installment! It was a nice time. I'm doing better, I actually got a couple of pictures, unfortunately, they aren't really that great. This is the memorable "now it is finally time to have dessert" announcement to the 10 men/boys in the house. They almost imploded waiting.  There was also lots of flag football/football type games, wrestling going on in the backyard and Stecher/Stonely adults were pretty much just happy to sit and eat real food sans enfants and not decorate rooms, cook, or put in flooring!  Here's to completed, or nearly completed projects and the gratitude we have for strong bodies, houses and the means to make them into homes to raise children in!Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Alena's room revealed! Surprise and Happy Birthday!

I apologize that all the pictures are bunched. They weren't showing up after I posted so I deleted and readded and didn't get a chance to rearrange so you'll have to search for what I'm referring to. Sorry!
Here's Alena's room.  I'm so happy with it. It's really my first decorating project since I started trying to learn to do it and I think that I pleased my client:) It was all done with her in mind. Her favorite part is the fairy bower and then I think her lamp. She's very happy though.
 Everything in the room we had to do/buy/make/refinish in some form or another. Matt's dresser that he made for her is beautiful. I hope the pictures look better at your house. I'm not sure why they look so bad on my computer tonight.


 She looks pretty excited here:) You can see the boys' contributions to her birthday. Eli (and Luke helped a bit as did Samuel) made that little doll house for her. You can't see it but it's fully furnished with books, games, curtains, people and even fold down stairs etc. It's pretty amazing. They also made her birthday poster that's clipped to her art display wire. I left many of the frames on her wall blank so she could fill them with her art work. She's constantly trying to decorate with her art so here's a great opportunity for her.

I know she'll also love those cushions. They're soft and perfect for snuggling, setting table in the fairy bower or whatever. I sure love my little ray of sunshine. She deserves all this and more. She's always trying to beautify our home in so many ways and I'm thrilled that we gave her a space of her own that is fancy and pink and femine. The Lord surely must've sent her that way for a good reason. We needed her!