Merry Christmas

Our family photo for 2011.  We took this right before church with the timer.  I was trying to get everyone to sit and hold still long enough for the picture to take...but Luke wasn't going to have it!  So we were almost going to give up...but I refused!
lol

So Joe grabbed Luke by the legs.  I had Kate stand next to Dad.  I set up the timer and put the camera down.  Emma hugged and entwined her legs around mine and "click".
Picture was done and so were we!  Very happy with the result for first time.  Such a miracle!!

I sure hope everyone had a great 2011.  We had a great year and have been so blessed.
We haven't moved!  That in itself is a miracle!
We are truly grateful for Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  We are grateful to be part of His church here on earth.  It's even better to see our children learn and grow in the Gospel.  At their age, they have so many questions about life and it's humbling to know that I am able to answer most of them because of the knowledge that I have been taught from the Gospel.  Our family has been so blessed with health, a job, being together, making friends and having a great support as we continue to pursue our dreams.

But overall, We are grateful for Christ's Sacrifice for us.  There is no greater gift than this.

We hope you had a great year and have a wonderful Merry Christmas!  I will be enjoying time with family this Holiday Break.  We are currently in TX!  We got in last night after a long day in cars and planes.  Glad we made it safe and sound and excited for the week ahead!  I hope you have a relaxing Christmas Break!!

Christmas 2011 pt.1

Last minute, we headed to TX for Christmas break.  All of Joe's family was going to be there and we would have been the only ones not...so we had to go!
I was really anxious about traveling with all three kids, dealing with a car seat and rental cars....but, as always, I expect much worse.  Things went really well.  The kids did great.  Definitely helped to have had new coloring books, a DVD player and lots of snacks!

We got into TX late on the 21st.  We were the first ones there.  Then next day, being so exhausted, I slept in until 11 am (TX time...which is 9 am WA time, which is still a big deal.  After kids, it's a miracle when that happens!)
We relaxed and waited for more family members to come.  Once everyone came, the kids played together, pretty well too.  The adults talked and watched movies, and just enjoyed being around one another.  Everyone was home, except his brother Peter, who is serving a mission in Panama right now.  And having 9 kids, all together, is a big deal!

Here are some pictures of the first part of our trip:

We took a lovely stroll one night to see some Christmas lights..not too many but the kids still loved it.

All the grandkids, attempting pictures...not successful...lol

I couldn't help throwing these three in here.  Look at Luke and Kate...

crafty christmas tree

So this is the first year that I have been making my gifts.  Main reason is lack of...oh what's it called?  

oh ya, money.

I also had a bit of time to finish up this little gem that has been sitting on my desk for months.

Love how it turned out!

Ok, i'm going to show you how to make this.  You may or may not have seen these types of trees around blogland but oh well, my turn!  This year's Super Saturday for my ward, we did something similar.

So supplies as follows:
-chipboard cone

-double-sided scrapbook paper 

-hot glue gun

-die-cut machine (personal preference is the ecraft by craftwell :) )

I used the ecraft  and cut out these tulip shapes...alot of them.

Here's a video of the ecraft in action in Tray mode.  That's how I was able to just "set it and forget it".

Ok so once you get your paper cut out, then get your hot glue gun ready.

Just glue a strip of hot glue on the cone, then add a few shapes at a time.

Here I go!  I love this shape because how it looks with the pointy "branches".  It's looks cute if you curl them up too.

TA-DA!!!
All done.  It didn't take me that long to glue on there, maybe 15 minutes.  I have a ton more tulips too so I might have to go grab another cone!

What holiday crafts have you made this year?


PS, if you couldn't tell, I love the eCraft machine.  Did you know they have a BLOG now?  You need to check it out!

naps are so precious...

Oh naps, how I miss thee.

This little boy just won't have them on a daily basis.  If i'm lucky, maybe 3 times a week.

So when I get distracted with the girls or even the simple task of using the bathroom, i'm always surprised what Luke has gotten himself into.

This particular day was the nutella.

My counter space isn't safe anymore.

He thinks he so funny!

I broke his little heart when I took him off the counter.

 
But he'll just do it again.

28 things about me.

Could you tell the month of November wore me out?
I am proud that I posted every single day.  But it took a lot out of me ;)

But i thought I would post today because, well, I'm a year older and wiser today.

Yes, folks, it's my birthday.  And I'm 28.

Kind of a weird feeling being another year older.  And not to mention that Luke obviously missed the memo that it's my birthday today because he's been a big pain.  But what should I expect from a 2 year old boy?!

Well, here are 28 things you may or may not have known about me:

1.  Favorite color right now is purple.  In the past year alone, i bought 5 purple particles of clothing for my wardrobe.

2.  I love driving in my van.  Even if Joe is in there with me.  I just like feeling in control on where we are going.

3.  I love to have my kitchen clean before I go to bed....doesn't mean that happens but when it does, makes the next morning much easier.

4.  When I was born, I was brought home in a stocking from the hospital :)

5.  I was named after the movie, Krull.  It's a 80s sci-fi, fantasy movie about a Princess Lyssa.

6.  When I was 13, I went behind my parents backs and pierced my ears at the kiosk in the mall.  Apparently, they didn't want my ears pierced until I was 18...what?!

7.  I was married at age 20 and a Mom at age 21...so naive...;)

8.  I have never broken a bone.

9.  Favorite movies include Sixteen Candles, Wedding Singer, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Napoleon Dynamite.

10.  Used to be paranoid about my nose after a freshman in high school told my sister that I looked like a grasshopper...I was in 7th grade.

11.  I lived in Canada for 6 years of my life, until I was 7 then we moved back to UT.

12.  I was fluent in French at age 7.

13.  Lost that ability at age 8.

14.  Favorite show to watch currently is Phineas & Ferb.

15.  Didn't think it would be this hard to find 28 things about me.

16.  Favorite thing to do on a Saturday is just sit and de-junk and organize my craft room...because heaven knows it needs it!

17.  Joe's and I first date, we hiked the "Y"...cough zoobie cough....(not familiar with that term?  urban dictionary's first definition is the most accurate)

18.  Joe and I dated for 2 1/2 months before we were engaged.  Our "courting" is defined at FAST because we saw and hung out every single day, without fail.

19.  When I was 8 months pregnant with Luke and living in Las Vegas, My sisters and I went dancing downtown...seriously what were we thinking?!

20.  I spend WAY too much time on the computer, whether is editing photos or just online, I need some time management skills.

21.  Love going to thrift stores to see what I can find to redo.

22.  Just made a batch of cookies and could devour them all.

23.  I like to sleep on my side, preferably my right side.

24.  I have being pregnant because I hate having to go pee so. many. times!

25.  I have a big sweet tooth.

26.  I got a degree in English but wished I would have pursued photography straight out of high school.

27.  Love to snuggle on the couch and watch a good movie or TV show

28.  Probably the best year of my life was my 27th year and hope my 28th year surpasses it!

Eventful Day

Past 24 hours have been eventful around here.
First off, Emma lost her 3rd tooth!

These beauties came in the mail!  LOVE THEM!

Third...
Well I can't show you that yet.  It's a little project Joe and i have been doing (that means I've envisioned it and Joe did it)

Soon I will show you the end result soon!

Headband Holder

So i did this as a guest post over at Ruffled Sunshine but thought I would post it here too :)

Today, I am thankful for organization!

Can you imagine life without it?!  I can!  I've been there!

I am an infant hoarder with a love for garage sales and thrift store.  There is always something to be organized at my house!

Today, i'm tackling my headbands.  

I love to make these babies but how do you store them!?

Like this:

Fun huh?!  Well it's pretty simple but the end result goes a long way!

First you start with an oatmeal bin, some paper and a old candle holder:

Found this baby for a quarter at the local thrift store:

You add scrapbook paper around the oatmeal bin.  I taped it on.  It uses 2 pieces of paper to cover it all.
You can even add fun embellishments like so: (did that with my fun ecraft machine...have you heard of it?  if not, check it out!)

Then hot glue the bin onto the candle holder.

Inside, you can even store other things that can't be hung or stuck on something.

Wha-la!  How easy is this?  But I love how it looks.  Very feminine and useful :)

This has cleaned up my dresser so much.   I love it!

***People have asked about when their headbands are too wide.  Add some ridges or grooves on the oatmeal bin so the headbands get stuck.  Or add a plate underneath the bin and above the candle holder to hold any bigger headbands.

This post was featured on Dibsies "The Essential Guide to Keeping Kids Organized in the Home"