before...

i move on to all things new... new resolutions, new tulips in new vases, a new outlook on the new year, new paint colors,... i need to wrap up 2008 with some holiday scrapbook pages.

sadly, we will untrim our tree this weekend, pack up our beloved ornaments, twinkle lights, wreath, old photos,...don't wanna do it, but we gotta. can't wait until next year and loving all of the wonderful memories from this one!!!!

ringing in the new year!

about 10 minutes before the ball dropped, my friend jenn asked each of us to name one bad and and one good of 2008. simple enough. i started with my good...

"my good things this past year have been having a healthy family both near and far, appreciating true friendships, and the happiness i get from peyton and beckham." simply stated, but honest.

"my bad thing this year...is...was...you know, i can not think of ONE thing to share right now. i got nothing. i am just so happy right now!"

of course, i have some bad i could share. i could come up with a pretty hefty list if i really thought about it for awhile, but truth be told, at that moment NOT one thing entered my mind. could have been the wine or champagne, good company, not sure but it wasn't coming. i heard someone say the economy, job security...so true. it has been a rough economy. extremely cruel to some and my heart goes out to them while at the same time hoping and praying that we/friends and family close to us will be okay through all of this because...you never know what is going to happen in the future so living in the moment is so important.

so, minutes before the ball dropped i realized how wonderful this year has been.

loving these babies like there's no tomorrow, making & spending valuable time with my husband, nurturing friendships with friends and family, doing things that i love, enjoying the small things, not sweating the small stuff, knowing that family is first and foremost, becoming a more confident mother ("because i said so, that's why!" my new favorite thing to say to when i don't need to explain myself because hey, i'm the mom here!), making goals and actually making good on some of them:), learning from others new beginnings, meeting new people and learning from them, seeing new places, taking loads of pictures, learning how to make them look even better, my new tripod, the song playing as you read this, appreciating clutter-free spaces, actually doing it and not just thinking about it, being me, trying new recipes while not worrying about the end result-this is a big one!, loving my Michigan friends and appreciating how well we know each other because we were there together, beckhams little face and not being able to wait to kiss it good morning so i run upstairs and maul him, letting peyton stay up later than she should just because she wanted to and because i love to cuddle with her little warm self under the covers, being inspired, enjoying my ipod so much, liking really cold beer with 5 lime wedges and knowing exactly where to find it and who to call to go with me bc they get it, new running shoes, preparing for celebrations of life and holiday, making and sharing my homemade pasta sauce, doing, creating, loving, liking, dealing, little evie, lil babies i love so much they could be mine, peyton adoring/loving her lil cousins sooo much, jenn and i watching peyton and sophie together- still marveling together that they are our little girls and how lucky we are, my grandparents, knowing that i am a little corny at times and not caring because that is me and i love it about myself...

all of these things and much more bring me so much happiness. i don't always know happy i am with the sometimes mundane things that we all have in life, but when i stop to smell the flowers...i know. this is it. our life together. 2008 held many special memories for us, so i bid it farewell with respect and a little nostalgia, and look forward to the new year. i know 2009 will be a really good year! i feel it.

a few snapshots from our cozy new years eve!!!

i think i actually heard lily say, "cheese!" for this picture!

one of the cutest things i have ever watched beckham do. he's a watcher and a learner!

my new favorite book...Life is Good. couldn't put it down. it says things like, "it doesn't matter what you say, but how you make someone feel." and "stick together!"

my cute hubby making calls to family!

buy it!

wishing good things to come your way this new year.

xoxoxoxoxo

christwish 2008

each year, my family celebrates christmas a bit earlier than most everyone else. we do this because every year around this time, we pack our scarves, coats, burt's bees lip balms, and christmas gifts to make the short plane ride home to michigan!

so a few days before we made out jaunt to freezing cold (got around 7inches of snow today, it is 9 degrees right, and beautifully white) michigan-we celebrated christwish. santa makes a special trip to out house on chriswish, where stuffs the the kid's stocking full of dinosaurs, m&m's, candy canes, a new box of crayons, painting supplies, new travel toys, a few bucks, whoopee cushions (hey, they love them), lipgloss, pencil bags, an orange (tradition)...lots of fun !!!stuff

right after i read the kids , the night before christmas for the 100th time this year, it was more special tonight. peyton's worried little face that we don't have a chimney.

"how will he get in the house, mommy?"

"sweetheart, santa can do anything. i pinky promise, he will come tonight when you are sleeping!"

(excited face) "well, can i stay up and wait for santa?"

"nope."

this went on for a while and then i realized she was stalling. tonight was sweet and exciting and i never ever want to forget the looks on their little innocent faces...!

tonight was made up of exactly what i am pretty sure many parents of older children wish they could get back. this reality hits me hard tonight, like it does more and more often now, but especially with big events like this one.

jeff and i ran around, getting things ready...perfect. we became santa's elves, singing along together to the christmas tunes playing in the background, scurrying like mice wrapping, bowing, making, planning, dreaming...

for the first time, we did a...follow the string gift, for the BIG gift!

we made sure santa knew we had been learning all about him and how he does things to make christmas so special.

we made santa cookies, milk, a note to read...

oooh's and aaahhhh's followed by, "look, SANTA came!!!" beckham just lauhghed because he doens't really get it yet, but his sister was excited, so why not join in!!!!

my favorite shot of the morning! look at peyton's face over unwrapping the gift she wanted the MOST...rollerskates. gido's face is so happy for her too and i'm just gettin' my picture taken...clueless!!!

beckham's new rollerskates! he loves to do whatever peyton does, so this was an important gift!

thank you, gido!

christmas morning loves!

last surprise...following the string...

a new market! it turns into a lemonade stand as well. i know we will get so much use from this. i have been sooo excited to play with them. although, the produce in our house costs a lot of money, my last banana purchase was 40 million dollars, FOR ONE BANANA!!!! it is so worth it to see them play and learn counting money, interacting, pretending! i could listen to it all day long.

one christmas down and one more to go!!!! we have a couple of days until our next celebration, and until then we will be baking cookies, making food, buliding snowmen, making snow angles, sledding, seeing family, dressing up,...just plain having fun. knowing how lucky we are and being reminded of it every single day!!!

we know that some people are not as fortunate. i try to make peyton understand how lucky she is to have a warm house to live in, good food to eat, and a family who loves her more than anything in the whole world. we say our prayers everynight, we pray for other people, other children.

*tonight, when we were saying our prayers together, she asked me if she could give one of her presents to a, "children without any toys." bestill my heart. she is a sweet little girl that has reminded me not to only pray for others, but to do for others less fortunate. so we will together, do something meaningful for someone else this holiday season.*

merry christmas to all and to all a goodnight.

xoxoxoxo

today i will be happier than a bird with a french fry...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=18721894

today will be a really good day! i love knowing that we will have a great time, make memories, seeing my babies laugh, seeing my husband laugh. knowing i will laugh.

after a super busy week and super busy day...tonight we spent time with dear, dear friends. friends that are family to me. i'm filled up. filled up with babies, giggles, smelly confessions, really good food, christmas spirit done right, good and funny scoop. i am ready to start a new day...love more, be more, do more! that is the kind of people they are. makin' others want to be better. i love them.

my kids were a challenge tonight. i was tired. jeff is tired. i thought when we eventually did get home, i would quickly change the kids into their chrsitmas jammies, tell a quick story, and hurry them to bed. i thought i would do that...but i didn't. instead, i sat and talked to peyton. told her how much i loved her, how proud her father and i are of her. overcoming a doggy fear, paying compliments to others, and giving out hugs. these are the things that i will remember from tonight.

tomorrow is our Christmas celebration that we have coined...Chriswish! we do this each year before we head north to michigan. it gives us a chance to spend some time together with just us as a family. we make cookies for santa, bc he knows we won't be home for christmas day, he makes a special visit here each year before christmas to drop off gifts for peyton and beckham.

jeff and i have wrapped, bowed-up packages, spread out (to make it look like more gifts), put-together, tip-toed, whispered, made a follow-the-string- gift and talked up Chriswish for weeks! it will all be worth it when we get to see their little innocent faces in the morning. i will post pics from this event later.

meanwhile, here are some pictures i took of peyton on a "Girl's Day Out!" just the two of us for lunch, a photo op, and girl talk. i love this girl so much!!!

who do i think i am??? huh? Huh? cute huh?