Oh, Christmas.

The treasure of Christmas was especially beautiful this year. 

Two blue eyes and a sweet baby face full of smiles completed 

the crescendo of happiness that comes in an annual melody of joy.

Oh, Christmas. Each year you get better and better.

Happy Christmas!

As 2011 comes to a close, I'm amazed at what this year has brought. So many blessings and beautiful moments. I can easily say that 2011 has been my favorite year of life so far, and I have high hopes for 2012 to be my next favorite. 

I wish I could send a Christmas card to every one of my blog readers!
May you have a perfectly Merry Christmas, each and every one of you!

(Oh, and I obviously have no idea where Hawaii is.
Kind of sad, considering it's one of my favorite places in the world.)

Some Thoughts. And an iPhone.

1. I convinced Timmy to give me one of my Christmas presents early. He got me an iPhone. All I really wanted for Christmas was an iPhone, and it's just as amazing as I thought it would be. I'm so spoiled! After he gave it to me he wanted to lock it up in our safe so that I couldn't play with it until Christmas. ... That did not happen.

 (Trying out my new iPhone camera.)

2. Here's a site that lists some amazing free font finds:

http://www.goinghometoroost.com/?s=free+fonts&x=0&y=0

3. We decided to get Rosemary three presents for Christmas. Something to read, something to wear, and something to play with. (It turned into quite a few somethingS to wear, because baby girl clothes are hard to resist.) This is a tradition we plan to continue. It represents the three gifts Jesus received and I think it's such a wonderful idea. (I can't take the credit for it, I've heard it several places this year.)

4. When I mentioned that we were planning Rosemary's first vacation, you didn't think we would be going anywhere other than Hawaii, did you?? From March 3-13 we will be soaking up sunshine on beautiful beaches. I can't wait for Rose to meet the Pacific Ocean! And the best part is that my parents are going to be coming with us! Dream vacation come true!

(Snuggle time with Dad.)

5. We bought bunnies for Christmas presents for some of our family this year. Gospel for Asia has an amazing "Christmas Catalog" where you can buy anything from bunnies to camels to water purifiers for an Asian family. We went with bunnies because not only are they adorable, they can feed an entire family and provide them with a stable income (from selling bunny babies). I designed some cute little cards to let our family members know about their special gift.

6. New favorite blog here:
http://www.travelingtriplets.com/

7. My brother in law, Caleb, is an amazing musician. He is giving us a CD of Christmas songs he recorded for Christmas. I know this because he told me and gave us a sneak preview last night. When he's famous, I want to be his graphic designer.

http://www.myspace.com/colormehonest

8. Apple Wellness is, finally, getting a real website. And it's going to be awesome. Stay tuned for this awesomeness to go live sometime in January.

9. My favorite time of day is morning. Rosemary looks so sweet with sleepy eyes.

 (Sleepy Rose.)

10. Rose is 25 inches long now and over 14 pounds. Everyone who sees her comments, "She's so BIG! I mean, HEALTHY!" Nobody can say that vegan babies aren't healthy. *smile*

1-2-3

One 

reindeer Rosie.

Two 

lovebirds kissing under the mistletoe.

Three 

stockings by the fireplace.

A Spoonful of Christmas.

Tim has been walking around all night singing,

"Oh, a spoonful of Christmas, 

a spoonful of Christmas…"

I really think he has his songs confused. But now we both have it stuck in our heads.

He also wrapped my Christmas present. 

I laughed when I saw him carry it into the living room,

and he pouted a little and showed me the mangled corners 

where he "tried to nibble it" just right.  

(Nibble? Didn't you use scissors?)

And then he decided to add some curly ribbon to make it look prettier.

A minute later I hear…

"OUCH!!!! I just cut my lip on the ribbon.

Don't laugh. It really hurts…"

We're definitely enjoying large spoonfuls of Christmas over here.

Scarves To Keep Them Warm

I always try to make all of my Christmas gifts every year. 

Usually I go with some sort of theme, and make the same thing

- in different versions - for everybody. 

This year, it was scarves. 

Everyone got scarves, plaid scarves specifically.  

 The boys got "manly" ones, and the girls got "sweet" ones. 

Timmy helped me pick out five different colors and plaid patterns, 

and Mom helped me make 17 plaid scarves. (Mom is the best.)
Each scarf took roughly 1 hour to make from start to finish,
which feels like a lot when you try to do it all at once (which we did),
but really, it isn't. And they all turned out so prettily!! 

Making scarves is pretty simple.  

(Remember when I posted the directions, here? I was being sneaky,
little did you know those would be my Christmas presents. Or did you?)
All it takes is a lot of cutting, ironing, pinning, and sewing. (Timmy actually did all of the final ironing, and he did a very good job at pressing the seams.)

 

Judging from everyone’s happy smiles,
my scarf presents were a delightful success! 

Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love scarves?

You will always meet Christmas on December 25th. 
 It is always there, in that same place. 
The question is not whether you will find Christmas,  
but where Christmas will find you.  
Christmas is all about Jesus, and because He never changes, 
neither does this.  

You come to Christmas once every 365 days, 

and in between meetings, Christmas is still there, 

wherever you may land. 

The promise of Christmas never leaves. 

It is something you can count on, 
no matter where life takes you. 
December will come, 

the 24 days leading up to it will pass, 

and Christmas will be waiting to greet you 

on the calendar square marked "25". 

December 25th is Christmas Day.
(But Jesus is Christmas
and He is always there.)

This year Christmas found us

happy,

loved,

and blessed.

Reveling in the things that matter most,

and welcoming new faces to our fold.

The only constant in this world or the next, 

is the love of God, 

and the promise that comes from 
 Christmas.  

Me: Our Christmas cards came in the mail today!! I can't wait to send them off...

Timmy: *looks at printed cards* Babe, you do realize that it looks like I am balding in this picture? Literally. Like there is a three inch strip of hair missing on my scalp.
Me: It's just the lighting.

Timmy: Oh my goodness, this is horrible...

(Timmy is not balding, for the record.)

Merry Christmas, friends. 

A Conversation: Nutcrackers

Me: I love nutcrackers.

Timmy: Can you crack nuts with them?

 Me: No. They're for decoration.

Timmy: … but aren't they kind of… creepy?

 hello, happy holiday cheer
my heart is glad when you are near
while fairy flakes are falling sweetly
you and I are snuggled neatly
by the fire, by the tree,
there's room for two - 

you and me.

Oh, Christmas Tree

 Lovely branches

waiting for ornaments

and pretty lights.

Happy December First!