Salt Dough Ornaments

We finally finished our salt dough ornaments.

I am amazed at the size of A's hand print.  Granted they have never been small for his age, but I was quickly reminded of how fast he is growing.  It may not be as small as it once was, but it is still just as precious to this momma

Treasures for sure!

New Year's Mantel

I had no intention of decorating for New Year's until my sweet friend starting pinning New Year's ideas on pinterest.  Needless to say, I felt inspired. 

I only spent $2.00!  I found the stars (which were painted in a folk art pattern) at a thrift store for $1.50, and I spent $.50 on the blue and silver ornaments.  A and I made the trees and garland out of old books that were in our give-away pile.

On my...look at that dust.

I don't like to clean just decorate!  It is a problem!

Christmas in Branson

We were gifted 4 tickets to Silver Dollar City.  What a blessing!

We surprised the kiddos by packing up and heading to Branson on Christmas morning.

We stayed the night at Grand Country Inn.  The majority of Christmas evening was spent at the water park.

We did drive through the Shepherd of the Hills light display (which is fabulous) and journeyed to the top of the look-out tower.

The next afternoon we headed to Silver Dollar City.

Of course our first stop was at the taffy shop!

We managed to secure front row seats to The Dickens' Christmas Carol!

This has become one of Sweet Scotty and my favorite Christmas traditions.

It was beautiful and all that we remembered.

Did I mention that it was super cold and raining?

We discovered several new things which just so happened to be indoors.

Grandfather's Mansion was one of our new discoveries.  It is a house with slanted floors.  The kiddos giggled through the house as I managed (barely) to stand.

We also journeyed into Marvel Cave for the very first time.

My God's creation is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

Andrew spent a large portion of the afternoon Irish dancing (??) in the streets.

I admire his lack of self-consciousness and freedom to get his groove on.

We watched as this man created an angel out of glass. 

We ended the evening watching the Parade of Lights and the dancing Christmas tree.

It was my very favorite Christmas!

You will shoot your eye out!

I am pretty confident that this overly cautious 2nd grader will not shoot his eye out.

He was REALLY stressed about shooting his new Red Rider BB Gun in the backyard.

He set the safely before I was allowed to take this photo.

I just found this super sweet note written by his teacher in his cluttered backpack.

I am so proud of him! 

(Is that too obvious?)

Merry Christmas Ma and Pa!

A Use What You Have/DIY Kind-Of Christmas

The kiddos and I made 2 dozen cardboard tube poinsettias to decorate our dining room. 

I love the finished product.
Here is the tutorial.

I gifted my mother and father family photos for Christmas.

We spent a few minutes in the field behind their house, and the photographer (Aunt Sherry) captured a few great shots. 

Here are a few of my favorites.

Just a few of my favorite people!

Olivia was a willing subject this afternoon.

I jumped at the opportunity to capture her precious face.

She is quickly changing into a young, independent lady.

I love her so very much.

(Is it too obvious?)

She was meticulous about throwing her reindeer food.

She is a girl who likes to take care of others especially if they have 4 legs!

I did manage to snap ONE photo of this adorable fella.
Did you notice he has a tooth poking through?

I have made a promise to myself to blog more often.

Merry Christmas!

Look who turned 8!

When I picked him up from school the day before his birthday, he informed me that he would be an official teenager in approximately 5 years and 12 hours.  However, he will ALWAYS be my sweet baby boy!