Insta-Friday 12-3 to 12-9

Insta-Friday over here. I know I say this every week, but this is so much fun. I love having an online journal of the small things that we do every week. It is so fun to go back and see how we spent our days.  

This little guy is a total ham.  He loves to pose.

Picking out our tree at good old Wally World. 

Not the typical place to get a tree, but since when are we typical.

The big boys putting up the tree in the house.

Silly boy, once again.

One of our Advent activities this week was play a board game.

Here we are in all our Monopoly glory.

Here is the beginning stages of a shirt my mom and I are making for a special group of boys.

How cute is it going to be?

Here's to another week filled with true joy!

Holiday Decor

Linking up with "Gussy."  Here is my favorite handmade Christmas decoration to date.  

I got the idea from pinterest, where else.

It was pretty simple to make.

I just rolled up some fabric into the rosette flowers, and then added the beading from a strand I got for like 50 cents at the thrift store a while ago.

I love the rustic feel of the actual wreath mixed with the whimsical rosettes and beading.

We have double doors on our house, so I made two.

It makes me happy everytime I drive up the driveway and know I will walk through those pretty doors.

Holiday Recipe

Obviously I have caught the holiday "bug." My last two posts have had the word "holiday" in the title. This time of year just makes me happy.  What can I say? What better way to celebrate the holiday spirit than with a holiday favorite recipe. I am in charge of brunch on Christmas day in my family. I make this monkey bread every year. It is a staple. It is easy. It is delicious. And did I say, delicious.  MONKEY BREAD: Ingredients:20 unbaked frozen dinner rolls1 cup brown sugar¼ cup instant vanilla pudding mix2 teaspoons ground cinnamon1/3 cup butter, melted
Procedure:Lightly grease a 10 inch bundt cake pan. Place frozen rolls into the pan and sprinkle with brown sugar, the pudding mix, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over the top. Cover with a clean, damp cloth and leave overnight at room temperature to rise.In the morning preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for 25 minutes until golden brown. Turn rolls out onto a serving plate and dig in. Now, I am aware that healthy is all the rage right now, but I will say that this recipe is worth every calorie and every fat gram. And it is to be served on Christmas morning . . . can you really worry about your waist size on that day? Me either. Enjoy! 

The Holiday Season 2011

One of my goals this holiday season has been to concentrate more on the little moments that come in between the hustle and bustle.   These are the memories I want forever stored in my brain. 

 I get so busy during the holidays (and I know I am not the only one). Just this week we have a Bible study Christmas tea, a party to make reindeer shirts at George's preschool where I am a helper, a youth group (where Tim serves on Wednesday nights) Christmas party, our church married group Christmas party, George's church Christmas program dress rehearsal and actual program, George's school Christmas program, and a women's craft exchange party.  Just typing that out makes me tired. And it isn't that I don't enjoy all those things, because I absolutely do. I just don't want to miss out on the little things when our calendar is full of so many big things. I want to savor the moments that we have our little family all together just hanging around the house in our pajamas. Those are my favorite moments of the holidays. That is where I see the most Jesus in my life. He has given me so many blessings. First and foremost being this little family that I call my own. These boys that are so special and have shown me more love than I could have ever imagined. They have taught me so much. Let the holiday season of 2011 be one of little moments for you too. It makes all the difference. Trust me.

Menu Plan 12-5 to 12-11

It's menu plan Monday, my friends. 

We have a lot going on like everyone else this time of year, so my menu plans are pretty much all over the place.

Monday - Leftovers galore from all our weekend meals

Tuesday - Steak and shrimp on the grill, baked potatoes, and salad

Wednesday - dinner @ church

Thursday - I am going to a ladies craft exchange, so Tim will take the boys out to eat and do some Christmas shopping

Friday - Pizza night

Saturday - Tim and I have our church Christmas party, and my sister will be feeding the boys while she babysits

Sunday - Pasta with the famous Bettelli sauce

So . . . in case you didn't notice, let me draw your attention to the fact that I really don't have to cook at all this week.

Tim will grill the meat Tuesday, and I will make baked potatoes (but that hardly counts as cooking).

And I do have to bring some dish to the craft exchange on Thursday, but I don't really count that either.

First time in a long time that I haven't truly cooked in seven days.

Seems like a good reason to look forward to the week for me:)

Here's to a break from the kitchen!



Slacker/Salting Roses

Well, this holiday season is kicking my butt. I am so busy, and I have forgotten to post quite a few times in the last few weeks. I am going to finish out my Salting Roses posts today, and then I am taking a break from Sunday posts until the new year. I will still post during the week, but weekends will be non-existent in blog land.Don't cry too much. Anyways, here are my final thoughts on the book: 

Overall, I would say I liked it.

It definitely wasn't my favorite book, but I did like the ending, which always helps when saying I like a book as a whole.

Gracie and Sam finally got together . . . even engaged, which was a nice surprise.

My cons are still the same as they were throughout the novel . . .

The character development stunk.

Artie died.

The romance was just too drawn out.

Other than that, it was an easy read and a cute story.

Sometimes, that is all you can ask for in a book, ya know?

New book club read coming in January . . . stay tuned.

Insta-Friday 12/1

It's Insta-Friday again. Love this idea. Linking up with all the peeps over at Life Rearranged.  

Here is the culmination of our Black Friday Extravaganza.

Tim fell asleep on a bench in the mall at about hour 13. 

Our whole family was in town for Thanksgiving, and this is my cousin Leo with my boys on a swing outside our church. 

He loves my boys, which makes me love him even more.

A teacher that Tim and I used to work with played Santa at a Chik-fil-A on Monday night.

You better believe we were there to sit on his lap.

Our Advent Calendar - Day 1. 

Read more about it here.

My afternoons this week have consisted of three things.

These delicious sweet, yet salty pretzel m&m's, the show Friday Night Lights, and Christmas crafts to decorate our home.

Pretty solid naptime activities if you ask me.

Hope you guys are having a great week!