A few of my favorite things........
Trees and Thanksgiving,
pictures and pies.
Doggies and daddies,
and kids piled high.
Games and cards,
food and fun.
These are a few of my favorite things!
We had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving this year
with (almost)ALL of my brothers, sisters, in-laws and cousins!
(We miss you Kelli and family!)
Cousin Sophie is getting so big and she did great
"hangin' with the big girls"
It was a whirlwind of activity at times, but I am so
grateful to have such a wonderful and loving family!
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| My three girls and cousin Sophie |
After Thanksgiving, the Rousehouse family tradition
is to drag out all the Christmas decorations, put up the
tree, and decorate the house.
This year the girls and I decorated the tree while Dave hung up
the outside lights. The girls get a new ornament from us
and from their Godfather and great Grandma every year,
plus all the ornaments they made in preschool/school over the years,
so they are starting to get quite a collection.
It was so funny. Every time I'd pull an ornament out
Aves would say, "is it mine??"
"No, it's Claire's"
The next one, "is it mine??"
"No, it's Claire's"
Poor kid just didn't understand that Claire has
6 years of collecting to her 3 years.
Finally, we started to get to some of hers, which she
loved so much, she didn't want to put on the tree.
I had to take a picture of her holding each one before
she'd put it on the tree.
Besides the couple of ornaments that Jack ran off with,
and the couple that Aves just couldn't part with,
we got the tree decorated. We also took our annual
'tree decorating' photos for our Christmas card.
I love that I'm so much more relaxed about 'the Christmas photo' than
I used to be. In the early years, I'd take the girls to the photographer,
sweating and swearing to keep them clean and beautiful. I'd bribe them with
Goldfish and suckers to smile, stop crying, stand still, etc. I'd be sweating,
angry and overwhelmed by the time it was done, and the pictures
(while perfect) never seemed to really show the kids I knew and loved.
Finally, one year I just didn't do it. I don't think it was a conscience decision
so much as I simply forgot to schedule the appointment.
So there I am, just a few short weeks before Christmas with no picture card.
I remember sitting in front of my computer
trying to figure out what to do. Dave said, "just use the pictures you
took of the girls decorating the tree". That's crazy I thought.
They aren't dressed up, they don't match or coordinate, I'm
not sure Ella even brushed her hair!
Well, I ended up doing it, and the rest is history!
Now, you get to see my girls in all their glory.
Happy, comfy, unkept and celebrating the true
joy of Christmas!
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| The Rousehouse! |
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| Claire carefully decorating the top half |
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| Ella, part decorating, part entertaining! |
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| We had to get a picture with Jack too! |
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| 3 angels. What a blessing! |
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| Ahh, yes. My angels! |
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| Avery takes decorating very seriously! |
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| Dad gets to do the final touch, the tree topper! Notice Ella's wardrobe change halfway through! :) |
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| My beautiful family! |
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| Claire and her dog, Jack |
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| Tree is done, girls are happy, mom ready for bed! |
One of the girls favorite traditions this time of year is the
Johnson Family Christmas Tree Hunt.
They head out each year with Grandpa and Grandma and
Aunt Jamie and Uncle Kyle to help them pick out and
cut down Christmas Trees. The girls love it! And it works
great for me because I don't have to deal with the cold
or the needles, but my girls still get that great holiday experience!
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| The Crew! Do you think the trees are too big?? |
As we all know, I love this time of year!
We also know that I occasionally struggle with control
issues, high expectations and unrealistic demands on
myself and others. So, as always, I say some extra prayers
this time of year that I remember why I love the holidays
and how much I have to be grateful for!
Family, traditions, cold nights and warm blankets.
Food, gifts and giving.
The Grace of a very loving God that blesses
me with another year beyond any I deserve.
Happy Thanksgiving!
