Christmas 2018

Well, Christmas 2018 was 6 months ago, and Christmas 2019 is just 6 months away.  I guess it means I should recap last Christmas finally!

On Christmas Eve we went to service at our church, and then we went and had a sleepover with Memaw.  It was Sarah's first time to spend the night there, and it was very special.

Robert had some vacation time left to use up so he was able to mostly work four day weeks in December which was really nice!

We went to an alumni event at Drury with my parents and enjoyed a Christmas breakfast, crafts, music, and a visit from Santa.  This Santa was rather short, and Sarah said, "That's not the real Santa.  It must be his brother."

Sarah and the other pre-k kids at church did a great rendition of Little Drummer Boy!

Sarah got to participate in a Nutcracker ballet clinic and had a blast!

Decorating was so much fun this year!

We enjoyed a weekend trip with my parents!

Sarah loves Sweet Milk aka eggnog and building gingerbread houses.

Sarah had a darling concert at school.  Dad, Robert, and I were able to attend.  They sang a few songs, and Santa even made an appearance.

We even spied Santa at Sky Zone!

We went to KC for a weekend with Robert's family and a pit stop to visit Jim.  Taylor was at work. :(

On Christmas morning Sarah was thrilled to open presents of course.  This is also when Jim and Taylor told Sarah that Taylor is pregnant.  Sarah found it hard to believe since Taylor's tummy didn't look very pregnant yet, but now she can't wait to meet baby Will and enjoys feeling for his kicks.

Christmas Presents

We’ve had a week or so to enjoy some of our new Christmas presents,  so I wanted to tell you about some of our favorite unique gifts.

Sarah got these plastic serrated knives:

She loves helping us in the kitchen but can’t be trusted with real knives yet, of course. Since these are serrated they really can hit things like bananas and lettuce. She loves really getting to help, and we like knowing they’re safe for her to use.

This was our family game this year:

When I was searching for a game for us to buy I just wanted something f that Sarah could understand and something that wouldn’t drive Robert and me nuts. This game is great! We all like it! You roll a large soft cube with colors on it and draw a corresponding colored card. The different cards are categories like finding colored objects around the house (find something red, make an expression (make a surprised face), count (pat your head seven times), animal noises (bark like a dog). It teaches colors, taking turns, counting, and creativity. And there isn’t a loser. Everyone wins! Perfect for a two year old!

This is kind of an unusual concept - Dry brushing:

Have you ever heard of it. It’s supposed to increase circulation/blood flow. I’m not sure if it works, but I do know that I love getting scratched and this feels great on my arms, legs, and back!

Robert likes frying things, but we don’t like how unhealthy it is, and I don’t like the smell. Enter the Air Fryer:
 
I’m pretty sure Robert has used it every day since Christmas. It makes great French fries and sweet potato fries. It also made good chicken.  For enough fries for the three of us Robert uses about 2 Tablespoons of oil, but after they're cooked at least a tablespoon of oil is left on the pan, so we're consuming less than a tablespoon of oil total between the three of us.  Pretty healthy!  Robert likes that he can start it up and leave it alone while doing something else in the kitchen.  It doesn't require frequent stirring.

Himalayan salt massage stones:
 
I love getting a good massage, and these stones are great!  We made the purchase at Bed Bath & Beyond, but Amazon sells the same item.  They get fully heated in 1-2 hours, but you can leave it on as long as you want.  It's heated with a very small light bulb so it doesn't waste much electricity.  I'm not sure about the negative ion air purifying stuff that it says it does, but I do know that they feel great, and it's actually really pretty when it's plugged in.

Pressure cooker:

We've used this once so far to cook a whole chicken.  Robert couldn't believe how fast it cooked.  I'm excited to use it on a regular basis, and I know Pinterest has a million recipes for it.  Have you used one?  What are some of your favorite recipes?

We also got annual family memberships to the zoo and discovery center, which are great activity options!

What were some of your favorite Christmas presents this year?

2017 Recap

2017 is coming to a close, so I wanted to take a minute to think about this year:

In March Robert's dad, Ray, and Ray's two sisters were able to visit from Alabama.  It was fun to have all three of them here, and it was extra special since this was one of Aunt Leah's last big trips before moving to Asia.  It was also the first time for Aunt Tammy and Aunt Leah to visit us since we'd moved back to Missouri.

We continued to work on home improvement projects.  The list is never done when you're a homeowner, right?  We did a lot of yard work this fall in hopes that we'll have grass in the spring.  I think there's a good chance we're going to have success!  We have a couple of small projects left, and then there's that elusive kitchen remodel that'll probably never happen but is fun to imagine. :)

I joined Robert's sister, mom, and grandma for our fifth annual girls trip in May.  We went to Arkansas this year and had a great time!  Sarah and Robert enjoyed their time together back at home, too.

Also in May, Robert and I got to go to Louisville for a week to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary.  Sarah spent time at our house with my parents and Robert's mom, and this was the longest time I'd ever been away from her.  We had an awesome week staying with our friends Anna and Forrest from our seminary days in NC.  We did lots of sightseeing, game playing, eating, talking, and laughing.  It was a wonderful week!

We went to Alabama at the start of July.  Sarah LOVED the beach this year!  We enjoyed getting to celebrate the 4th of July with Robert's family!

Sarah turned two in August.  Can I say that this is my favorite age so far?  I genuinely think that she went through the "Terrible Two's" from about 18-24 months old, and her being two has actually been easier compared to that (although 18-24 months was a pretty cute time, too!).  She loves doing art activities, putting on concerts, seeing friends, Minnie Mouse, anything girly, and Mittens.

Robert had a jam-packed summer as always: Serve Springfield, VBS, summer camp, mission trip to Kentucky, and a mission trip to Asia.  In January he will have been working at South Gate Baptist Church for three years as the student minister.  I'm still a stay-at-home mom and enjoy teaching the 2-3 year old Sunday School class, serving in MOPS, and serving alongside Robert in student ministry.

Merry Christmas!  We hope you had a great year!

Sarah's First Christmas

What a fun first Christmas for Sarah!  I know she won't remember this Christmas, and I'm definitely looking forward to the coming years when Sarah really gets into it, but this year was still a lot of fun!  We kicked off the festivities with a Christmas Eve service at church.  There wasn't any childcare.  Sarah made it through one song, and then as Pastor John was saying, "Listen to the silence," Sarah let out a scream, and John continued with, "Except for maybe a baby."  That was our cue to exit.  I was thankful yet again to be able to just go to Robert's office to care for Sarah a bit.  We hung out, changed a diaper, and walked around for a bit.  We weren't the only ones out in the halls!  I really wanted to make it back in time to hear Robert sing a song he wrote.  I slipped in at the back, and Sarah fell asleep while her Daddy sang.  It was such a sweet moment.  I was able to make it back to my seat in order to partake in the Lord's Supper.  Sarah was cashed out and majorly slumped over after the service, so of course that was a hit with everybody.  

Sarah seriously loves Lamb Chop.

It's Christmas morning!!!  We started our day like normal with a bottle and cereal at 8:00.  Sarah enjoyed looking at the tree and watching the fire.  We didn't really go all out for her presents since 1. She won't remember and 2. We just bought a house, so...I re-wrapped a few baby shower presents Sarah received that we hadn't used yet: high chair, bouncer, convertible car seat.  We bought her a couple of new things: size 3 diapers, long sleeved onesies, and an ornament.

Overwhelmed as a bring out the high chair

Smiling at Daddy.  She loves him so much!

For me?

Love that little toothless grin

Carrying on the Christmas wrapping paper tradition

After opened presents at our house we hit the road to go to my parents' house.  While we waited for Jim & Taylor and Memaw & Pepaw to arrive Robert carried on the dad tradition of putting together toys.  This one was very easy!

Once everyone arrived we enjoyed brunch together - grits, egg casserole, potato casserole, eclairs, and coffee.  It was delish!  Pepaw read the Christmas story from Luke before we opened presents.

Sarah was spoiled big time in the present department!  She slept in my mom's arms for about 80% of the event, so it was a good time in her book.  We dispersed for a bit to nap and relax and joined back up with Memaw and Pepaw for chicken gumbo dinner.  Santa Baby made another appearance at dinner.

We really enjoyed our time with everybody, and we headed back home after dinner and games.  We went to sleep happy and content and ready for Ray and Terri to arrive the next morning.  Sarah seriously loves the tummy time car that Aunt Taylor and Uncle Jim gave her!

Ray and Terri arrive on Saturday night after Sarah was already asleep.  We chatted for a bit and hit the hay.  Robert was able to preach on Sunday since John was on vacation.  The church also had a pancake and sausage breakfast.  Yum!  We celebrated Christmas that afternoon, and Sarah enjoyed hearing two stories from Papa and Babi about kittens - her favorite subject.  One of the books was a Christmas present from my parents.  It was a touch a feel kitten book.  Does it get any better than that?

Ray and Terri helped us with some house projects while they were here - painting furniture, working on a step to our garage, organizing the garage, and working on our cars.  We enjoyed their visit here.  It was Terri's first time through Arkansas and Missouri.  She even got to go sledding in Kansas with Jason and Bethany!

We headed to KC on New Years Eve so we could see Serina and Mark, Grandma and Grandpa (June and Gary), Bethany and Jason, and Robert's cousin and family.  Serina made sure we weren't short on delicious food!  Appetizers for NYE, Mi Ranchito, lasagna.  Sarah slept in the guest room with us, and it went pretty well.  She's had a snotty nose from teething, and she woke up a bit early each day breathing in and out snot bubbles.  She's silly!  Moose was very interested in Sarah, and she actually seemed semi-interested in him.  They did pretty well together!  We got to see Robert's great friend Harrison and met his fiance.  They're a great pair!

This was seriously Moose every time Sarah was awake

While we were in KC Sarah had the funniest play date in the history of mankind.  Robert's cousin Todd and his wife, Ryan, had a baby on my birthday (September 8), about 5 weeks after Sarah was born.  Sarah and Estelle met briefly at their great grandpa's 80th birthday party, but this was their first real play date.  It was awesome!  They examined each other a lot.  I think it was so mind-blowing for them.  They even held hands on their own!

Okay okay okay, Sarah is Robert's twin.  There - I said it!

 Is there anything better than grandma snuggles?

What a fun Christmas and New Year!  Hope 2016 is off to a good start for you!

Christmas Parties

On December 1 we had Robert's work Christmas party.  It was a lot of fun.  Sarah enjoyed wearing her first Christmas outfit from Grandpa.

The party was held at a church member's house.  We all met at the church so we could caravan out to her house, about 45 minutes away.  The homeowner is a former architecture professor, and her house proves it!  Every room had a different theme: unicorns, peacocks, castle.  Dinner was delicious, and we enjoyed smothered steak, ham, hash brown casserole, sweet potato casserole, corn, rolls, veggies, and way too much dessert.  After dinner we played Dirty Santa, and we were able to come home with some new toys for Sarah - story book, rubber duck pool toy, and Jenga for Robert.  It was great to enjoy being with his co-workers and families outside of church!

I had my MOPS Christmas party on the 3rd.  Robert needed to go to a middle school orchestra concert for some of our students, so I had to take Sarah with me even though it was supposed to be ladies only.  She's one of the girls, right?  It was just my table group so there were maybe seven of us there.  We enjoyed dinner together, a game, and a gift exchange.  The other ladies were helpful with Sarah and held her while I ate, but Sarah was just on edge the whole evening.  She's such an easy going baby, and I am very thankful that these nights aren't her norm.  I had to leave the party early because that's just what Sarah needed.  Once I got her home she ate and went to sleep.  Maybe it's just me, but when I was pregnant I knew that becoming a mom would be very sacrificial - losing out on sleep, staying in more, doing things on Sarah's schedule - but I'm continually reminded of how many more sacrifices are needed than I ever dreamed about like leaving a Christmas party early, not eating when I want to eat if Sarah needs me, and saying Shh Shh Shh for 10 minutes straight to make Sarah fall asleep.

Last night was our final Christmas party - South Gate Youth.  It was so fun!  It was hosted by one of our seniors' family.  We had probably about 20 students and 30 people total.  We had a yummy dinner of spaghetti, salad, and bread and enjoyed Christmas treats after that.  We had a white elephant gift exchange.  Highlights included toilet paper, a plunger, and a paper clip.  The students are absolutely hilarious and very entertaining.  We also watched Charlie Brown's Christmas and played a game.  Sarah came dressed as Santa Claus.  Her outfit only lasted for a little bit, but it seemed to be a hit!  Sarah enjoyed being loved on by everybody, and I was very thankful for their voluntary care for Sarah while I enjoyed being with the students.

The Christmas parties are over, and we have done absolutely no decorating.  Last year, we didn't decorate for Christmas since we knew we'd be moving shortly after Christmas.  This year we're moving from our apartment into our new house at Christmas.  I'm not sure if we'll end up doing any decorating.  I think we can at least manage to put out our stockings.  It seems weird to not really decorate two years in a row, but it's also kind of a good reminder that Christmas isn't about the decorations or traditions at all.  Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, our Savior, who was born so that He could die to save us from our sins and provide eternal life and relationship with our LORD.  Sarah doesn't care about our decorations or lack thereof.  I don't need to put unnecessary pressure on myself to have our house settled and decorated for Christmas.  There will be many many more years to come where I can do that.  But even during the chaos of moving and having a baby we can celebrate and remember the birth of the Prince of Peace.

The Holiday Season

Robert and I are officially the new job couple.  I'm up and running at my new job.  There is a lot to learn.  Am I the only one who thinks, "I'M NEVER GOING TO LEARN ALL OF THIS!" every time you have to learn something new?  It's so ridiculous because I always learn it, but alas.  I feel like I irritate everybody with my constant questions, but it's better to learn everything and receive clarification early on I suppose.  Robert is at his first day of training right now.  He is the newest assistant at American Pride.  We are very very excited about this position!  He will continue to work about 20 hours a week.

Have I mentioned lately just how much I love our Sunday School class?  Our teachers are so wonderful!  Jason is great at bringing the Word and instructing us, and Andrea makes me feel so special and important.  I love our monthly socials, too.  In November we had a Thanksgiving brunch.  Yum-o!  This Saturday we're all having a yard sale.  It'll probably be cold, but I know it will be fun!  And it's always nice to have friends to do a garage sale with, because I always feel like I have stuff to get rid of but not enough to warrant my own garage sale.

I can't remember if I ever mentioned that Robert officially got accepted into the ADVANCED MDiv program.  He is so smart and such a hard worker!  This will allow him to complete seminary in a total of 2 1/2 years instead of 3 years.  Thumbs up for saving a semester's worth of tuition!  I'm not totally looking forward to packing up and moving in the dead of winter, but it doesn't ever get too insanely cold here, and we'll get to move before Christmas which means this is our last Christmas here! It's kinda crazy/fun/scary to think that at this time next year we could be packing up to move to the other side of the country/state/world.  I'm still rooting for Bolivar, but I know God will take care of it all.

We spent Thanksgiving in Alabama with Robert's dad's side of the family.  Robert had just been there in June, but I hadn't been since two years ago at Thanksgiving.  Too long!  We enjoyed some time at the beach, yummy food, and catching up with his relatives.  We celebrated Christmas with Robert's dad.  I'm all for multiple Christmas celebrations. :)  It's definitely a new concept for me though.  I'm used to just having one big celebration with my parents, brother, and grandparents.  This year we did Christmas in Alabama during Thanksgiving.  In mid December Robert and I will have our own Christmas, and then we will head to the Midwest to do Christmas for real with my family, and then we'll do a New Years Christmas with R's mom's side of the fam.  Fun fun fun!

Robert's awesome new cell phone that he got for Alabama Christmas!  And I'm loving my new tablet!

Enjoying some time at the bird sanctuary at Dauphin Island

Aunt Tammy and Uncle Paul had an awesome bonfire while we were in town!

It was seriously freezing the whole time we were in town

 When we got home we finished decorating for Christmas by purchasing our tree for the year.  We got a real tree last year and continued the tradition this year.  Last year I had thought that we should get a real tree that way we could just dispose of it at the end of the year instead of trying to find a place to store an artificial tree.  While that is a very good reason to get a tree, I've learned that I just like having a real tree in general.  It's really not nearly as much maintenance as I had expected.

I love our tree!  What are some of your personal favorite ornaments?