Our Christmas

A couple of days before Christmas, Jeff and my brother, Brett, went up into the hills to find some snow. Isn't it beautiful? I wish we would get some in town, but, alas, we did not have a white Christmas. 

 We spent the day before Christmas with Jeff's side of the family, unfortunately I didn't get any photos, but we really enjoyed seeing his Grandparents, Mom, and Aunt & Uncle. Christmas Eve was at our house. I made two large pots of soup and lots of appetizers and a salad. It was all very yummy! Ella rocked on her giraffe that Santa brought last year. Santa almost added her to the naughty list, when, a couple days before Christmas, she decided to color with a Sharpie marker all over the hardwood floors, entertainment center, and brick on the fireplace while I was making hot cocoa and Jeff was out doing last-minute Christmas shopping. He decided to give her a pardon this year, being that she is only two. Thank goodness for Google-I was able to get out the Sharpie fast and quick from the wood-a little rubbing alcohol did the trick. The fireplace took more elbow grease, but I got that out too. 

 Nicholas was feeling joyful on Christmas Eve. He loves to be surrounded by family.

 The kids cuddled together on the sofa for a few photos...

 Then we decided to make them a bed by the fireplace. Ella is excited for Santa to come!

 We woke the kids early on Christmas morning so they could open their gifts before we went to Christmas mass. 

 After mass we went to my parents' house for a yummy brunch and more gift exchanging. Here are our munchkins all dressed up. 

 Ella's grandparents spoiled her with a new tricycle. She absolutely loves it!

 She did, however, have a bit of a crazy ride when she decided to take it down the stairs. We heard a bump-bump-bump and some crying and went running to see how she was. After a minute of crying, checking for bumps and bruises (and finding none) we determined her to be just fine, thank the good Lord! I swear that child is made of steel. 

 I didn't ask for much this Christmas, but I did finally get this print framed and cannot wait to hang it. 

 Jeff got me a new coffee maker. Our old one just wasn't cutting it. It only held 4-5 cups of coffee at a time so we were constantly brewing more. This new one holds 12 cups. Yippee!

 Nicholas got a cool remote control Corvette from Uncle Brett that he loves.

 Ella got this adorable puppy that barks and jumps around. Much better than a real dog, I'd say :)

 Jeff & Eric got Ronix boat jackets from Brett. Twinsies!

 My dad was playing with Ella and her new puppy on the stairs...

 Notice how Ella is wearing a raincoat and boots in most of these photos? These were a gift from my mom & dad and she LOVES them. She wears both almost constantly!

 The kids changed into their new Christmas pajamas after dinner.

This is how I found Ella the next morning...cuddled on the couch watching cartoons wearing her favorite new rain boots. 

A Little of This...A Little of That

Well, we have been laying low and enjoying the Advent season. It's hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas eve! I bought myself an early Christmas gift, a photo app that gives me numerous options to edit my photos. I used it on all the photos posted above. I have been spending quite a bit of time using it and it was only $2.00! Such a bargain! Some of the photos I have posted before, but are just a little bit different. 

I am so excited for Christmas eve with our family. I will be making several new recipes: crab chowder, chili lime shrimp cups, bacon roll-up crescents, and baked brie with figs. None of those dishes are very nutritional, but we have to allow ourselves some Christmas luxury, right?! 

We wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and a many, many blessings in the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2012 Christmas card photos & design by Lyndsey Yeomans of Jack & Lola Photography

An Outing: Christmas Lights

The joy and wonder of Christmas...as seen through the eyes of our two-year-old

 Last Saturday evening both kids were itching to get out of the house so Jeff and I were brainstorming on where we could take them that would not be brimming with germy people since Nicholas is just now back to baseline. We decided to load them up in the car, grab some dinner, and drive around locally to find some Christmas lights. 

 A friend told me about this house just a few minutes away from where we live that has a light show. We found it rather quickly and were amazed by the amazing light show set to music. We turned our radio dial to the corresponding station and watched as the lights danced to the beat of each song. 

 At one point, the homeowner came on the radio and said that he hoped all the Connecticut angels could see the light show from Heaven. He sounded choked up and I had tears streaming down my face as I cuddled my children close. 

 We all got out of the car to get a closer look and the kids thought it was pretty spectacular. 

 Then we drove a little closer to home to another neighborhood a friend had told me about. In that neighborhood, on both sides of the street, all the houses had light displays. We got out again and walked up and down both streets to admire the lights and decorations. 

This is a video of the first house. Enjoy!

This Week's Recap

 Nicholas is back to baseline and feeling just great again. He is happy, smiling, talking, and laughing up a storm! Both kids are itching to get out of the house, though, since they've been cooped up for weeks. So, in order to avoid people (who carry cold/flu germs) but get the kids out, we plan to load them up in our vehicle and drive round looking at Christmas lights tonight. I know they will both love it!

 Now that I have finished decorating, buying, and wrapping for Christmas, I spend most evenings by our fireplace admiring this lovely sight. White twinkle lights really do make everything that much prettier!

This is our silly girl wearing mommy's boots. I like to call her "Ella in Boots" since she reminds me of Puss with the mile-high boots up to her thigh. 

Last night Jeff & I enjoyed a night out for his company Christmas party. We drove into the city and enjoyed great food, nice conversation, and a couple of adult beverages. 

Yesterday afternoon I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn of the horrible school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Honestly, I cannot imagine the horror and panic those primary school children, teachers, and staff went through. It's an unthinkable occurrence and my heart breaks for those families who will be burying their children this week. May God's grace and love shine upon them and give them strength and healing as they grieve their devastating losses. We lit candles last night as a small tribute to those children and teachers who now reside in Heaven.

Nation-Wide Awareness for SMA!

The wonderfully inspirational Strong family had the opportunity to bring much-needed awareness to Spinal Muscular Atrophy on a national level last Saturday night. Read all about their experience here: 

THE GWENDOLYN STRONG FOUNDATION

Everything In Between

The reason I blog so often is because I love to create Blurb books from our posts. It's a collection of our history that I plan to pass on to our children. The most important part of these books are the photos I take along with the memory of what was going on at that time. So, in an effort to catch up and add some memories of the past couple of weeks, here is one long, very random post that bounces all over the map. 

 This is a beautiful photo I took a few weeks back on our way home from Christmas shopping. I probably shouldn't have been snapping pictures while driving, but it was just too lovely to not take advantage of and there were no cars around me at the time. I just love fall in the Pacific Northwest (especially when its not raining)!

 My sweet mother took Ella over to her house a couple of days last week so I could care for Nicholas without a precocious two-year-old underfoot. She completely enjoyed her time with Gramme and zonked out both evenings when she returned home. 

 Nicholas is still requiring some oxygen and his bi-pap during the day. Now its only 2-4 hours during the day plus all night (nighttime is always normal for him) instead of around the clock oxygen and bi-pap. So he is not back to baseline yet, but he's definitely heading in the right direction which makes me one happy mama! He has the best disposition, offering a smile even when he feels crummy. 

 Ella had a slight fever and runny nose last week. It wasn't anything major and she bounced back in a couple of days, thank goodness. 

 I gave Ella her winter hat last week since the temperature dropped dramatically and she was outside a lot with Daddy and Gramme. I had planned to give it to her for Christmas, but when you need to be warm, you need to be warm, right? Now she loves it and wants to wear it all the time. 

 Just a few days ago I was reflecting on how much our baby girl has grown and changed in these last several weeks. She speaks much clearer now and is quite easy to understand. She also repeats absolutely everything we say, so we have to watch what we say and have taken up spelling words we don't want her to repeat. She has also become so cuddly and compassionate. She loves to crawl up on our laps and snuggle with us and has wanted to fall asleep with one of us in our bed every night. We then move her to her toddler bed in her room where she usually sleeps peacefully for the remainder of the night and only gets up when she hears Jeff getting ready for work in the morning. Then she crawls back into our bed and sleeps with me. I have loved her at every age, but I honestly think two is my favorite so far. 

 Here's Mr. Nicholas feeling just fine and off oxygen and bi-pap, thank you very much. His occupational therapist, Miss Pam, came over last Thursday morning to do some school work with him since he isn't going back to preschool until late January or February. Pam is the sweetest and Nicholas absolutely adores her!

 Ella's new buddy is Nicholas's giant Curious George. It's almost as big as her. A few nights ago she was driving all over the house with George on the front of her plasma car and she could not stop laughing. She got a kick out of racing around with her monkey friend. 

 Last night Ella must have decided George needed some manicuring, so she got out the nail clippers and trimmed his fur and toe nails. She cracks me up!

 Yesterday during bath time, Ella learned how to float in the water and was so proud of herself. 

 Today she spent most of the afternoon "reading" her books. She loves to look at the pictures and tell her own made-up story. 

 Each year I buy only one new addition to our Christmas decorations. Usually it's a new tree ornament, but we have so many now, almost too many to put on our tree since we've been getting four feet ones the last couple of years. This year I picked up this cute red berry tree and sparkly snowflake place mat and I am using them as a centerpiece for our dining table. 

 I bought Nicholas a cozy Sherpa blanket for Christmas, but like Ella's winter hat, I felt he needed it early. Now that he's been venturing out of his bedroom into the living room, I thought a cozy warm blanket would make our boy happy, and I was right. He loves it softness and the coziness of it and likes me to rub it on his hands and feet and cheeks. 

I feel like one lucky lady to be a mother to these adorable, loving children. When I was young and imagined what my life might be like in my 30's I never could have imagined that I would be so abundantly blessed.

Decking the Gustafson Halls

 I was so excited to start decorating our house yesterday since I finally felt good enough to get my butt out of bed after being sick all weekend. I started with our fireplace mantle and really liked it, but it seemed to be missing something, so we bought lights to wrap around the garland today and now it's perfect!

 The Santa Advent calendar has been great to have because Ella likes to move the little candy cane from pocket to pocket and doesn't get into other decorations. 

 We got our tree this evening. Jeff and Ella went to get it and it's just beautiful!

 I wrapped most of our Christmas gifts a couple nights ago. I still have a few gifts to buy, but I am mostly done, which is a good feeling. Now we can sit back, relax, and enjoy all the festivities of the Christmas season.