Frosty The Snowman and Santa Claus

Rylie's new favorite movie is Frosty The Snowman and her new favorite person is Santa Claus! Rylie and I stopped by Barnes and Noble yesterday afternoon. We were looking at books when suddenly from across the store we heard a loud "HO HO HO". Rylie could barely contain herself and she started jumping up and down yelling and pointing "It's Santa, It's Santa!" We have talked a lot about Santa this year and I told her that he wasn't real. She said, "I know mom, he isn't real until he comes to life and brings us presents." So I am pretty convinced she thought it was Christmas! We walked over and she sat on his lap and told him she wanted a new bike. Later as we were getting ready to leave the store she ran over to the window and said "Hey, where is Santa's car?" I told her that his sleigh and reindeer were probably out front, or that Santa had already taken off on his sleigh! We continue to talk about the real meaning of Christmas, but I think it is still ok to enjoy a little bit of the fantasy as well.

Today, I woke up to a light dusting of snow, roads made of ice and to my wonderful husband who turned 33 today! Happy Birthday Baby! Rylie loved sledding with our neighbors, but Craig was not thrilled about being outside in the cold-can you tell???

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

Ok, so there is no snow and it is only the 2nd of December, but we decorated our tree today and put out a few Christmas decorations. I love putting out our nativity set every year (our friends Brenda and Amy gave it to us for our wedding), because it always reminds me of why we celebrate Christmas. Last year I don't think we took it down until June (I was very pregnant and working). It is very easy to forget that Christmas is all about Christ, with all the shopping, presents and Santa Claus mayhem. Rylie was very sweet today and we had a lot of fun decorating. She started off the morning by trying to wrap some sidewalk chalk in a scrap of wrapping paper. She said, "This is a present for baby Jesus to open on Christmas!" Then she went on to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus 5 or 6 times. As we decorated she kept asking me if it is "Prismas" yet and told me that she really wanted a Candyland to eat (candycane)! Ella is also into all the presents and decorating, but they end up in her mouth instead of on the tree! One more thing I have done to get into the Christmas spirit is I have been reading Karen Kingsbury's Christmas collection about giving back to others at Christmastime (The Red Glove Series). I am praying that someone that has never experienced Christ in their life will somehow see there need for Him this Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My friend Shaanti inspired me to blog the things that I am thankful for. I think sometimes we get so caught up in the preparation and planning that we forget to be thankful for all that God has done in our lives!!!
So here goes...
1. The opportunity to learn and grow closer to God. He has so many things to teach me! I am learning not to value earthly things or compare myself to others, to love my husband unconditionally and that God wants to use me the way I am right now.
2. My unbelievable husband that works so hard and takes on extra coaching and tutoring jobs so that I can be home with the girls. He does laundry, plays with the girls, reads 1,000 stories, goes shopping, cooks dinner and does home projects (and that is all after a long day at work)!
3. The two beautiful girls that wake me up every morning ready to go. They make me laugh at all the crazy things they come up with and amaze me as they develop and become little people!!
4. My family- they are always there, they listen and they help us with whatever we need (prayer, meals, kiddos, etc.)
5. Our friends that God has brought us this past year at our church and our Bible studies. There have been some people that God has really used in our lives this year to challenge us, encourage us in our marriage and help us stay in the Word.

Ella is into everything because she just started crawling!!!!

God provides us with all that we need, He will never leave us and He gives us peace no matter what the economy is doing and what hard times life brings us. That is something we can count on and be thankful for!

Proposed Marriage

Yes, our 3 year old told us that she has found the boy she is going to marry. She met Cole at the tender age of 6 months. He was still a little quiet and couldn't walk or run. Lately though Rylie has discovered how much fun he is and that he makes a great friend for going to the park, reading books and sharing dinner with at their own private table. He is hilarious, a true boy, and a hunter (just like her daddy)! Her reasons for wanting to marry him are that he is a boy, he is her friend (not her cousin or uncle), he is really nice and the most important qualification for marriage, he can talk really well! A date has not yet been set.

Fall Leaves

After a fun lunch at Qdoba with my good friend Catie, the girls and I went to the park for a photo shoot. There were about 100 people getting their pictures taken with tripods, professional photographers, puppets and props. I was there with my digital camera, a tired, crying baby girl and running Rylie (whose pants kept falling off)! I followed the pros around and watched for the good spots, but the spot I chose all on my own, actually produced the best pictures (smiles)! We were a little late for the Vandal blowout, but I was able to get a few cute shots! This is what I get for trying to be frugal this Christmas season!

Vandals vs. Broncos

I remember long ago when I attended the University of Idaho (1998-2003), that there was a great rivalry between the Broncos and the Vandals. The words to our fight song ringing through my ears and the loud screams from the crowd. Then I married a Broncos fan and the team fell apart. I don't want to say that it is because of this "unholy" union that the U of I's football team has gotten stomped on for the past few years. Who knows what has caused their down fall, but I have faith in them this weekend. Why can't they come back and take the Broncos? Are almost all of the Vandal's games unwinnable? Vandal fans, we must not worry about the fact that the Broncos are undefeated and they are ranked 9th in the BCS rankings. Don't stress over the fact that they have Kellen Moore and Coach Pete (my husband talks non stop about the Broncos and I sometimes listen to him). We must not worry about the fact that we have only won like two games in the last five years. We must ban together and support our Vandals and maybe someday there will be screams of victory again, instead of the agony of defeat! Go Vandals!

P.S. Craig painted our bonus room blue, in honor of the Broncos (not really), but we do each have our own little fan!!! Here are some other Broncos fans: The Laynes and the Stewarts!!!

Halloween Hoopla!

We are not huge fans of Halloween, at least not the evil part of Halloween. Rylie however did enjoy the dressing up, trick or treating, games and candy part of Halloween. Aunt Jamie's church was having a party so Rylie went with her cousins Jack and Sam for pumpkin rolling, cotton candy, face tattoos, coloring mini pumpkins and a hay ride (which was a truck and trailer covered in hay that drove through surrounding neighborhoods). Then we headed back to Jack and Sam's street for some trick or treating. Rylie did run into her twin (another Snow White) along the street and they were both so excited to see someone dressed the same. All they could do was stand and stare at each other. She is now gearing up for her next princess adventure next weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Skinner. They are taking all the grand kids to Disney on Ice!!!!

P.S. Ella is the cutest cowgirl I have ever seen!!!