Things you might (or might not) like to know...in no particular order

I've gotten two tickets in the last month...from the same officer. Not kidding. One was for running a stop sign. I've run that stop sign about 100 times. But not since the ticket. The other was for speeding. I speed all the time. But not since that ticket. I guess that means those tickets are doing their job.

I've never been to Disneyworld or Disneyland! (about to change, very soon)

We've only had one real cold/runny nose go thru our house this season…and it’s currently on it’s way out. And it hasn’t even been that bad--one of many reasons this winter has been so much more enjoyable.

Time is actually flying...for the first time, in a LONG time. I find myself saying “I don’t want my kids to grow up” and "where did this month go??" more and more. Last year that seemed like an impossibility.

I am enjoying my children more and more and more every day.

I'm actually NOT looking forward to sending my oldest off to Kindergarten next year!! Why couldn't they have taken her from about 1.5-4 years old??? Now that she and I are getting along so well, they’re gonna take my baby from me!! cute. real cute. Obviously the only solution is to homeschool. Anyone interested in homeschooling my kids?

I haven't sewn anything for a long, long time. That’s gonna change soon. I can feel it.

I feel like the post-Eliza "I-can't-do-anything-with-my-life-cause-i'm-always-overwhelmed" funk that i was in for a long, long time is officially on its way out the door.

Three is the perfect amount of kids...for a long, long time

My kids are now the ages of families that i looked at 3 years ago and thought "my kids will NEVER be that old."

Reid is the best husband and dad in the world. This is evidenced by the squeals and screams of delight heard in our house every evening at 6pm. myself included.

Eliza reminds me so much of Grace as a 17 month old...stubborn, mean to other kids, proud, feisty and just overall difficult—but times 100. The difference is that I’m not blaming myself for everything that she is. And THAT makes me a happier mom. I'm tyring to take the "that's just eliza" approach. And, whether it's right or not, it's so much more easy to deal with. What would I give to go back and re-do so much of Grace's 2nd year in life…and her 3rd…and part of her 4th with this attitude, rather than being overwhelmed with guilt and analyzing every misbehavior, trying to tie it back to some incorrect parenting tactic!! Thanks heavens for a merciful Father who can make up for my weakness in parenting!!! And thank heavens that Grace is turning into the most enjoyable and kind little girl in the world--in spite of me!!

Oprah aired an episode the other day that was right up my alley, featuring this movie that i HIGHLY recommend to anyone who eats regularly.

My girls decided to sell a bunch of their toys and books to raise funds for families in Haiti. They’re awesome, and again, their generosity amazed me.

As of Friday evening, every sock, ever wash cloth, every last bit of laundry in this house was cleaned AND put away. This truly never happens. And might not ever again.

Doing crafts, and artsy things, and projects with my kids is actually fun now. I’ve been dreaming of a day when Grace and I could open our FamilyFun magazine and pick out a project and do it together without any coercing, swear words or tears. that day is upon us.

Abby's still only going peepy on the potty 1-2 times a day...i really thought she'd make a little more progress on her own...apparently i need to actually DO something about this...

Although Abby's cute little way of saying just about everything has warmed the cockles of many hearts over the past couple of years...i've been told, by a very educated speech pathologist, that it's probably time to get her in for some speech-therapy. I guess other people need to understand her, too.

This winter has been, in every single way, so much better than last winter. So. Much. Better. Night-and-Day better. I really don’t know how we’re all alive after last winter.

I've been told, seriously over 100 times, by moms with kids anywhere from 4-25 years older than mine, "oh, I remember when my kids were that age. The days passed by so slowly. My husband couldn't arrive early enough from work. I'd go to the store, just to get out of the house. It still feels like just yesterday. It was hard, but I'd give anything to go back to the time when i had my kids around, i knew what they were doing, and I knew who was teaching them what."

And now I find myself looking at moms whose oldest is 2, maybe 3 years old, and thinking to myself "I remember when my kids were that age..the days passed by slowly...etc" I really do think that! Yes, i know my oldest is 4, so it's ridonculous, but I feel such a difference in our home today compared to this time last year or two years ago. The change has been in ME!! I'm so much more intact emotionally. Granted, i'm being quite optimistic right now, and we've had a good month, so this is a bit skewed. But even so, there's no denying that things are a little better here in our home. (my word, I make it sound like last year was the worst thing in the world!! it wasn't, it was just harder than i'd imagined, and not something i want to repeat. ever. that's all :)

Our little car that drove us from Provo, UT, to Boston, MA, to NYC many times, to Vermont, NH, and to Denver, CO is dying. She hasn't been well cared for, at all. She's only driven on Sundays and once or twice during the week. She's been good to us. But today Reid finally admitted that she's on her way out. And we have NO idea what to replace her with. We'd like something eco-friendly. We'd also like something that handled our snowy roads better than our mini-van. Is there something out there that gets 35mpg and has 4-wheel drive?? do i ask too much1?!?!

Although i really like not having cable t.v., I'd really, really like a DVR.

I have, in every place that i've lived, found the best friends in the world. This is one of God's greatest gifts to me. i need good friends.

Abby, every morning, holds her shoes up to the bottom of her feet (like the way you would check to see if they're gonna fit or not) and says "mom, is this the right foot?" It makes me smile every morning.

I don't like to use. Punctuation correctly. Or cApitalIzation

Grace puts "-able" at the end of just about any word she wants to be an adjective. For example, "this truck isn't for girls, it's too boyable." or "Abby, don't touch that, it's glassable." Sometimes she even puts it at the end of existing adjectives, like "this movie is boringable" and "I love this shirt, it’s so blueable!"

I am not a cleaner. I never have been. I don't think i ever will be. Cleaning makes me grumpy. The end result gives me little-to-no satisfaction. Messes don’t bother me. I only clean when I know someone’s coming over. I see no reason to clean otherwise.

Grace still only wears dresses or skirts. If she gets in trouble, she "loses the privilege of wearing a dress" and it's the only thing i've ever found that she cares enough about to use as behaviour leverage. She chooses her outfits. and let me just tell you--they are awesome. I've learned to "let go of the control" with this issue. She feels so cute every day, and loves her clothes. That's something i never felt.

I sometimes think that with enough practice I could replace Kristen Wig on SNL.

Grace and Abby spend large percentages of the day pretending to be someone else. This became quite regular a few months ago. Ninety percent of the time, Grace is "Piggytale," Abby is "Mana," and Eliza is "Lily." Every now and then some new names get tossed in the bunch, like Alice, Liana, Molly and Sally. If ever Grace and Abby are having a small tiff, i can start calling them Piggytale and Mana and they usually slip right into character and forget what they were fighting about. When Eliza wakes up, and I need a minute before i can get to her, sometimes I ask the girls to go play with her up in her crib. If ever they're not interested I try again by enthusiastically saying "Oh, Lily's awake"--at which point they decide that she's interesting enough to go play with. It's awesome. I cannot write well enough to do this justice.

In the past few years I've become very emotional during movies. Some examples of movies/shows that have had me all teary this month include The Office montage they did a couple weeks ago, Avatar, a documentary about marathon runners, and Barbie and the Three Musketeers. It's embarrassing, and beyond my control. It’s incontinence of the eyeballs. Am I alone in this? I'd feel better if i knew that someone else out there teared up regularly at American Idol auditions.

My very own Garth and Kat

Abby loves her big sister. The feeling is quite mutual. (they also fight a lot, but that's beside the point...at least this point) This morning, like many, many other occasions, Grace was making-up a song and Abby was singing along--as well as she could, considering she didn't know the next note or word that was going to leave Grace's mouth.

I love listening to moments like these.

Which is probably why I loved this clip so, so, SO much. I've watched it probably 8 times, and i laugh harder each time. (and, unlike many SNL clips, this one is appropriate for all ages...even Grace was laughing...although i don't think she really knew why...)



http://www.hulu.com/watch/116558/saturday-night-live-update-fred-and-kristen


And if you're like me, and can't get enough of it, you'll probably enjoy the dress-rehearsal version, too.



http://www.hulu.com/watch/121885/saturday-night-live-update-garth-and-kat-dress-version

The big reveal

I really only know of two people who are anxious to see these pictures and they're both related to me. But i'm sharing them here for the sake of all fellow kitchen re-doers. I can't tell you how many websites I searched through trying to find ideas....so maybe, just maybe there's someone out there searching terms such as "Tropical Brown Granite" or "2 5/8 inch crown molding on cabinets" or "removing soffit in kitchen" or "travertine backsplash with subway tile accent" or "under-cabinet and over-cabinet lighting" and they're going to find this and be inspired...or un-inspired--either way!

I'm not really sure why i decided that 2 weeks before having my third child was a good time to start our little kitchen remodel. In my head i thought "if I don't do this now, it'll take until Christmas of '09 to to it." And you know what? it still did. The ceiling, countertops, lighting and backsplash were all done before the end of '08. But the finishing touches--crown molding, cabinet molding and trim, end angle/cabinet, and new appliances--well those didn't get done until last month!! And, if we're being totally honest, there are still a couple things that need to be painted and stained...so technically it's still not totally done.

But, I'm posting these pictures anyway. It could be another year before I paint the nail holes on the molding :)

Before we bought the house, the kitchen/dining room was blue:



We painted it green, and this is what it looked like for 2+ years:

Notice the lowered ceiling in the kitchen. Getting rid of it was the best thing we've ever done...next to getting rid of the countertops that literally gave me a headache when I was pregnant with Abby.

While we still have "popcorn" ceilings in the rest of our house, we got rid of it in the dining room!! along with that lovely fan! Some lucky freecycler got it :)

DURING: (the only one i got!)

AFTER:

Isn't it amazing what a little top and bottom molding/trim can do for cabinets? I hated these cabinets when we first moved in...but they were good quality, in good shape, so I couldn't justify getting new ones--and now I'm really in love with them and am so glad I kept them!

I feel so spoiled every time I walk into my kitchen. It is perfect for me, and I don't ever ever want to leave it or our perfect little house!! But i really could use some help with decorating. What, if anything, should I put on top of my cupboards? and what should I put on my new shelves?

Christmas '09--part 2

Now that Christmas is officially over, and my extremely dead tree is officially down (as of 8:45 this morning), it's probably time to officially wrap up the season by writing about and posting some pics of our time with our family.

On the morning of December 15th, Reid received news that his Grandma, Alta Mae Allred, had passed away. This came as a surprise to everyone. But Alta had lived a wonderful life and had enjoyed relatively good health in her last years. She was spunky and sassy and made us laugh often...like when we decided to name Eliza Mae after her. Upon hearing this news she said, "Oh, I don't know why my mother gave me that name...I never did care for it much." Her funeral was in Salt Lake City. We were already planning on spending the holidays in UT, so we just started our travels 4 days earlier (which resulted in us missing the huge storm we would have been in otherwise...which had been my biggest fear since last Christmas). Of course I'd put a million things off until the last minute, so getting out of here was a bit crazy, but once we were packed and on the road, we knew that nearly all our Christmas preparations were done, and we could just focus on the funeral and our time with family.

Which we did.

The funeral was beautiful. Reid's dad gave a wonderful talk about Jesus' teachings, about Life Eternal, about life here on earth, and its relative brevity on the grand scale of things. He told wonderful stories, which made us laugh...and cry. There was such a peaceful feeling at the funeral. I don't think that anyone in that room wondered whether Grandma was in a happier place, reunited with her sweetheart.

All but one of Reid's cousins were there. And Reid's sister, Alisa, was able to come all the way from Maryland--without kids! The cousins had so much fun catching up and reminiscing. It was truly a joyous occasion, as Grandma would have wanted it to be.

After spending a few days with Reid's family in SLC, we drove down to Provo to spend a week at my parents house. All but one of my siblings were there, and we had such a great time.

Just a few of the highlights of our time with my family

-playing games, night after night after night--We played the Bowl Game, Pete & KateLand, Scum, Scene-it Classics (might I add that it was 7 of us against my dad, and he STILL won!) and other games i can't even remember. It was so nice to just put the girls to bed and enjoy so many kid-free evenings. (I'm completely convinced we would almost never do this if we lived close to family. Am i wrong?? anybody?)

-the Nativity on Christmas Eve--with Grace as the angel, Abby as the star, Eliza as Baby Jesus, and Kristie and Jared as Mary and Joseph. The rest of us were wise men or shepherds. And, as always, my dad was the narrator. I'm telling you, when that man gets choked up it is truly impossible to keep it together. It was as wonderful as it was when I was a kid. And even better because Grace and Abby were so excited to be a part of it.

-watching the girls open their gifts--Grace was pretty excited about her reversible Erika/Annaliese dress...but maybe not as excited as Santa was when he found it!! Abby liked everything she opened, especially all the games and puzzles. And Eliza was content to just go from person to person, mooching more sugar than she'd ever seen in all her days. But, just like last year, the gifts that really took the spotlight were all the donations that people made in my parents' behalf. It's so fun to know that a family in Logan, UT was able to buy Christmas for their kids, a japanese internment museum got a generous donation, and other similar contributions--all in my parents' name.

-watching the girls have such a great time with their aunts, uncles and cousins. This is basically what we did the entire time. I've got awesome siblings (and in-laws!) who help out so much with the girls. Grace got at least 3 make-overs. Abby got to play all sorts of games. And Eliza was always able to find someone to feed her something.

-using my extremely amateur skills with my fancy-schmancy camera to take these pics of family members

Here's jared, my cute brother, and Kristie, his even cuter wife

My sister Melanie and her cute family

And here's the whole family, minus Cynthia and Tom (who spent the holidays in a hotel due to a house fire!!! but that's a whole other story...)

-and especially watching my girls just adore and be adored by my parents. I love their sweet relationships. I love how quickly they warm up to each other, and how both my girls and my parents enjoy the simple moments they get to spend together.

After 7 wonderful days at my parents' house we drove up to SLC to spend a week at Tom and Jana's. Well, it was actually only going to be 4-5 days...but we used the "storms" as an excuse to hang out and play a little longer.

We had a "second Christmas" with Reid's family. This started with the traditional spaghetti and meatballs Christmas Eve dinner--which is always so delicious, and a tradition we might just carry on in our family....if Reid will make the meatballs :) For breakfast we had the Allred family egg McMuffins--which are actually really, really good! And then it was time to open gifts--round two!! The girls loved every minute of it. Grace got a skirt that she wore every day for the next 6 days--thanks, Grandma!! And Abby got a shirt that Grace wore for the next 6 days...again, thanks Grandma!!

And Eliza got to ride on Gabe's little toys. These two were pretty cute together. (Eliza's the girl...the one on the right :) )

We spent one evening walking around the historic and beautiful Temple Square, looking at all the lights and international nativities they had--and freezing our little tushies off! It was crazy cold, but definitely worth it.Reid's mom brought a bunch of arts and crafts for the girls to do while we were there. She's so mindful of things like this. Thank you, Marie!! The girls had such a great time. I kept worrying that they'd get homesick and just be ready to leave. But honestly, they never reached that point this trip. They could have stayed another week. And we could have, too! And we maybe even considered it...but we were pretty sure Tom and Jana were ready to get their bedroom and house back!!

Thank you, Tom and Jana, for letting us all crash your place for so long, and for all the talks, the games and fun!!

I also got to catch up with some of my childhood friends and some of our law school friends. I could write an entire post about how much I love these friends, and how fun it is to see them, and to see our kids play together...but i probably never will...

The whole trip home Reid and I kept commenting to each other about how magical our time in UT had been, and how if we lived an hour from family we'd most likely NEVER take 2 weeks off to go be with them 100% of the time. And we'd probably only see them for Sunday dinner once a month. And we'd probably never put our kids down at their places, knowing that ours was only 60 minutes away. And we'd miss out on vacations and quality times like this. And, we'd have to live in UT. (don't get me wrong, all ye Utah-ites...it's awesome and beautiful but just not the right...umm...match for me :)

And for the first time since I've lived here in Colorado I realized that I really, truly don't want to live anywhere else, including closer to family. I'm ready to call Denver my home indefinitely. It's close enough to my family that I can get there in a day. It's far enough that when I'm away from here, I'm completely away. It's an awesome city for about a billion other reasons. And it's just perfect for me.

And that was my Christmas present to myself.

Christmas '09 Part 1

I could have blogged every single day of December and still not have had enough time to write down how wonderful this Christmas season was. I have a million pictures to post, stories to write down, and things i don't ever want to forget.

I'm starting with this post--an entry i've debated posting for several reasons....but ultimately decided that it might just be the best thing we did this Christmas and I want to talk about it. So, post I will!!

This year the girls were so excited about everything Christmas--trees, count-down chains, their play-nativities (thanks, again, grandma!!), listening to Christmas music 8 hours a day, talking TO and about Santa, and pretending to be Mary and baby Jesus, or Joseph, or camels--all while dressed in Cinderella and Little Bo Peep dresses.

And they (luckily) shared in my excitement for the families we tried to help this Christmas, especially this little sweet little family, where the majority of our efforts were focused: The father of this family made $675 in the month of October. The mom stays home with their 2 and 4 year olds. They live in a room (yes, ONE room) in the back of a tiny apartment that's behind a small house near downtown. Their wish list consisted of: shoes, clothes, coats, sheets and a pan to cook in. That was it. When I tried to get her to mention some sort of toys or dolls or trucks or anything else her kids might like, it was like pulling teeth. She got so uncomfortable--like she'd never asked for anything like that before....or received it. And finally, when she did mention other things, the first request was diapers. Diapers. For Christmas.

The days that we spent collecting donated items (from so many, many generous and helpful people!!), shopping for the family, wrapping presents and sorting piles were some of the best days of the whole year. Grace was so interested and invested in helping this family. I think it really made a difference that this year there was a 4-year-old little girl that we were helping. (and the fact that Grace is a whole year older) She felt, and truly was, more involved. She really has gained an understanding of the fact that having a home, a room that she only has to share with two siblings, food whenever she wants it and clothes to choose from means that she lives more comfortably than most kids in the world. And the more we talked about this family, the more she said things like "mom, we should just invite this family to live with us, since our home is always warm and we have lots of food" or "mom, after Christmas, who's going to buy these things for them?" She even asked me on Christmas morning, mid-gift opening, if Adanari and her family were opening their presents right then. That girl really thinks about things, and people and their situations. Her thoughtfulness is never-ending. She truly amazes me. If half the world had a fourth of Grace's love....i'm tellin' you...

But, as mentioned, we were not alone in giving to this family. And there's no way I could have done it alone. We had so many wonderful contributions and donations from friends, neighbors and people i barely even know. I found, once again, that people want to give and want to help this time of year, but sometimes just don't know how, or where or just don't have the time. But, since I did 99% of my kids' Christmas shopping at garage sales during the summer (i know, i'm ridiculous...) I have a little more time in December than others. AND, since i'm really good at taking most everything to its extreme, it seems that taking on overwhelming projects that consume my life for a few weeks fits perfectly with my plan of brain-washing the "true meaning of Christmas" into my kids' minds :)

So, after loading up all the goods, here's our van, full to the brim: The night we delivered the gifts to this family was such a sweet and memorable one. Grace and Abby were a little shy. The mom and dad didn't know how to thank us. You could especially tell that the dad was appreciative, yet unsure what to say. And the kids were just adorable and wanted to rip open all of their gifts immediately. We didn't stay long. Just long enough for Grace and Abby to really see what was going on, and the difference all their work was going to make.

I cannot describe the peace and calm I felt as we drove away from their house. Partly, i'm sure, because I was relieved that it was done. And partly because I was then able to focus on the next matter at hand--packing for our trip the next day. But mostly I felt all the worries I'd been having--worries that my own children's Christmas traditions and memories that i should have been focusing on were being smothered by this massive undertaking--just disappear. And I knew that Grace, who will have many, many wonderful Christmas memories of her days as a little girl, will fondly remember this one for the rest of her life. (that might just be because i'm gonna talk about it for the next 8 months, show her photos, quiz her, etc...)

It's hard for me to find the balance with things like this. I want my girls to understand that Christmas is about so much more than ripping open a few gifts under a tree. I want them to understand what it means to "care for the poor and needy" and I want them to get excited about helping others and associating this time of year with service....but I also really want them to have fond memories of getting that one doll that they'd been eyeing all year, and opening presents they never thought, in a million years that they'd get. And I can't say that I've found that balance yet. Again, extremes are my forte...not balances... :)

A couple weeks ago, as we were driving in the car and rocking out to some Christmas tunes, Grace told me that her favorite part of Christmas was giving to the families who needed help this Christmas.

I couldn't agree more, Gracie.

I just hope you didn't say that because all your garage-sale purchased gifts were lame. :)

randomness...

We just got back last night from a 16 day trip to UT to spend the holidays with family. It was absolutely wonderful. And we got in zero car accidents, went to the ER zero times, had zero fevers (mild colds, yes, but no fevers!!), zero vomiting, and infinite amounts of fun with our families.

And I have pictures to prove it...but they're on my camera...which is a whole 10 feet away from me but would take over 10 minutes to plug, sort thru and upload...so, that's gonna have to happen some other day cause it's late!! It's almost midnight and i'm up baking a cake for my sweet Abby whose turning three tomorrow. Seeing as how i just got back and my house is a wreck, it didn't make much sense to try to pull together some last-minute birthday gathering for her....yet somehow that's exactly what i've done. Really, it'll be more of a glorified play date, with cake and ice cream. But it'll mean the world to Abby--who happens to mean the world to me. And it'll force me to clean up this place!!!

But, in spite of the hour, I want to write down what i'm feeling. I love my sweet girls and their sweet dad. This Christmas was awesome. we spent so much time talking about Jesus' birth, life and death. I've been praying for, and gaining a greater understanding of Him and of His many roles in my life. And I feel so much love for Him. And I love sharing what I feel and know with my daughters. And i love seeing it change them (in ways that I still don't allow it to change me). Grace is so full of charity and love for others, and loves to do what is right. Abby is so full of peace-making and happiness and brightens the lives of all around her. Eliza wants to be just like her big sisters--i couldn't ask for better role models for my Eliza. And I get to watch all of this, every day, and enjoy it, and learn from it.
I am, in many ways, more aware today than ever of my weaknesses, my quirks, the things about me that bug you and everyone else that reads this blog. But I am also more aware than ever of the power of change that comes thru the Savior. And I truly can see that I'm being changed. That doesn't mean i'm no longer an overly opinionated control-freak with zero tact. No, my friends, that part still remains. But the things in my heart, the way i see people and life and possessions and myself--those things are changing. Almost daily it seems. And I know it's because i've taken more time to pray for it. to actually ask for it. To literally start and finish a prayer wherein I've straight-up begged for a changed me. And it's working. And i apparently not only want myself to remember this 10 years from now, but for everyone else on the www to be able to know about it, too. i do love blogs.

On a side not, we had a little lesson tonight about "sass" (yes, you read that correctly). When Grace asked what our Family Night lesson was going to be about, and I told her it was going to be about sassing, she said "I don't want to learn how sass more, if I sass any more it's going to be coming out my bum!!" Needless to say, we're going through a sass-and-potty-talk phase.

Anyway, the cake's now out of the oven, it's even later, and i need to go to bed. I'll have a billion pictures to post over the next few days. but I feel caught up just having shared what's been on my mind.

All of my children are taking a nap right now, which never happens, since Grace doesn't nap anymore, and Abby's down to about 30% of the time...but it just so happens that they got to bed really late last night because we were picking up my DREAM oven from a dude on craigslist who also decided to throw in his microwave which is awesome because it also just so happens that at about 7pm last night the dudes who've been working on my kitchen the past week finally finished and as soon as that microwave and oven are installed and my dishes are clean i'll do some serious "after" pictures of what has become my new favorite place to be!!!! (i hope you read that as fast as i wrote it...who has time for punctuation? not me!! ...well, except for exclamation points!) It'll take a while to dig through my old photos to find the "before" pics...since it was about 16 months ago that this started!!! I'm a little embarrassed about how longs it's taken...could it be a coincidence that Eliza is also about 16 months old? probably.

But the REAL reason i can sit down and even type ANYTHING right now is because the project that has taken over my life for the past 3 weeks (+22 months) is finally finished!! Eliza's Christmas stocking is currently being washed, so i have no pics...yet.

I feel like a new woman. Like a person who finishes things. It's nice.

For now, i need to post some pics of our awesome Thanksgiving with Reid's fam, my kids who i've been enjoying more the past few months than the entire year prior, Abby's absolutely adorable performance at her dance recital, our Christmas tree that makes me happier than any other dying plant in my life, and Grace sitting on Santa's lap!!!!

Abby was so stinkin' cute in her dance/tap recital. And i was that mom who's sitting in the audience, slightly going thru the motions of the dance routine in the off-chance that Abby were to look to me for guidance.

I took Grace and Abby to go see Santa at our mall. Now, my children have never done anything but cry, or rather scream at the sight of Santa...so you can only imagine how surprised/happy/proud/hyper I was to see them both climb up there on his lap! AND they told him exactly what they'd told me they were going to ask for. He was very kind and patient with Grace's slow, deliberate delivery of her request and Abby's completely incomprehensible babblings. When we got in the car to leave Grace said, "oh no, mom, i forgot to ask Santa to get toys for the little kids without homes!!" how sweet she is...

We had so much fun on our 60 degree Thanksgiving Day. So much of the day was spent outside in our backyard. Reid and Tom smoked our turkey, which turned out amazing. Everything else turned out awesome, too. And we loved having everyone around for the long weekend!! Thanks, ladies, for going to the gym with me on t-day morning...and sorry that following three days were so miserable :) and sorry, also, that I've completely decided that i hate Black Friday and will never do it again!! not even at second-hand and consignment stores!!

Grace has been really into Christmas this year. And i'm LOVIN' it! She loved decorating the tree. We even made a few ornaments...including my favorites--the dried grapefruit. There's something magical about Christmas trees. Esecially when you get to decorate them with sweet 4 year olds. I really do love this tree. I only hope it doesn't feel jealous sharing my attention with my finished kitchen :)