green ladies

i tried to get a picture of my girls with their matching green wool coats; and hooray i succeeded!
just in time for brynn to decide to lick her sister.

it's finished!

FINALLY!

i started this little thing in november thinking that it would be a quick weekend project. no, not quite. it involved A LOT of hand sewing that i didn't even consider. however, i love love love the outcome. i have wanted to make an advent calendar since i've been married and just haven't seen the one that i love. i found this one on inchmark. my mom gave me the red and white buttons that are about 25 years old, which made me so happy to add another memory to the calendar. so now that it's february i'll take it down out of my living room and be excited when i see it at christmas!

happy human rights day

last night evan and i watched 'the rosa parks story.' i'm thankful to many people in the world who have made a difference because they stand up for what they believe in. i found this picture of mother teresa and to me it captures her completely. and martin luther king jr. a happy, optimistic kind man.

Brynn turned 1!

I know it was just about two months ago, but the littlest lady had a big day! I wanted to make something fun for the ladies on their birthdays (birthdays at our house are a BIG deal) so I made up this little banner. I just used felt and scraps of fabric, and it went pretty fast while I watched reruns of the brady bunch. :) Brynn's birthday was a Monday and the Sunday night before I remembered that we had basically no good food to eat-boo. So we ate out for lunch and dinner and it was fantastic. Who wouldn't want to have tres leches at a mexican restaurant when you turn 1? The big hit of the night was the-shopping-cart-that-can-run-over-an-adult-with-no-problem. It's industrial, and the little lady is in heaven.

Moo

The tiniest headlamp lover there ever was.

a mullet by brynn

*notice the ear peeking through-looks like an elf ear. she's also sporting an underbite in the picture. rock on.

little update

We finally took down the Christmas tree today! It was time, the branches were drooping, and the lovely pine smell was no longer there. I loved having our tree up this year, and am always sad to take it down. I love having oranges on the tree and ornaments from my childhood to look at.

When I was little I remember an advent calendar, and have wanted to make one for some time. I found this idea on inchmark.com and it was the exact calendar I was thinking of. The felt colors are not exactly what I wanted, but I do love the way it turned out. I STILL don't have numbers on it, and so maybe for next year I'll get them done! It's been hanging up in my living room for the last week. :)

This is Brynn tonight, she just figured out how to blow the train whistle Grandpa Rawlinson gave us. She was so proud-she was about to smack Dad's head in joy! The lady had to have a little trim over Christmas because she had a very large mullet going on.

Maya Moo on her first day of Primary. She was so not happy to be awake for 9am church, but loved to be going to Primary.

happy december

i don't know why it takes me a month between posts....wait, i do know why. our desktop computer can't upload my pics and i have to wait until evan brings his laptop, who we call lappy home. and i never remember to post pics, or by the time i do, i'd rather get some sleep!

hope you are all enjoying december!

we are enjoying a white december thus far! it snowed about six inches this week and if it weren't in the negatives we'd be out enjoying it. instead we look out our windows in the car or from our house and admire the glorious white stuff.

we have a pot of goodness simmering on the stove. it's a winter must at our house. it simmers all day long and adds the most amazing smell to our house. try it:

4 cups water
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1 t nutmeg
1 t whole cloves
1 t allspice
orange peel

you can add what spices you like...i like to get it bubbling then turn it to low for the rest of the day. add water as needed.

hope you enjoy it!

10 years

10 years ago this month that we started dating.
So happy my life is with him.
Love waking up to his face each morning.
Love our life together.
Love his desire for adventure.
Love his happy optimistic attitude.
Love him.

Brynn

My most favorite picture as of late of this little lady. She has a mouthful of teeth now, stands and even walks a little. She is a people person, lights up when her Dad is in the room, hates to have things taken away from her-and lets her sister know this, says 'ma ma ma' and 'da da da' with gusto, and LOVES LOVES LOVES animals of ANY kind. I want to remember this stage forever. Love it.