SANTA'S LITTLE HELPERS

Well, we are in full CHRISTMAS mode already.  Cards have been mailed, the decorating done, the cookies made.  Phew we have been busy little elves around here.  Now, I need to tackle the shopping.   *grumble* 

But, let's not focus on that right now.  Let's focus on the the photos I took of our long post-Thanksgiving weekend.  I just LOVE this time of year.  The house is sparkling inside and out.  The boys keep prancing around in their Santa and elf hats. 





They even gave each other a little brotherly love, these are RARE moments - let me tell you.  Christmas brings out the best in EVERYONE. 

















We are all on a bit of a sugar high from the loads of cookies we made the other day. Ahhh.... bliss ;D  I think we are going to have to re-make those babies a little closer to Christmas if Santa expects to get a few. 

And the best part is that my parents are in town, so we are squeezing in as much of this pre-Christmas fun as we can before they hit the road.









And after all that hard work, a little relaxing was in order. 

I hope you are finding the season as delightful as we are. 

Fa-La-La-La-Laaaa... La-La-La-LA!

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MY WEEKEND AWAY

Sometimes I think, I'm crazy.  (Okay, I know I am crazy! )
I take ONE get-away weekend a year, and each year I spend it working.  (And working hard, I might add.)

To most people sitting, stooped over a table, with pictures and paper and ribbon and stickers scattered about, doesn't sound like much fun.  I get it.  I do.   But, honestly, I always look forward to our scrapweekends (this is the 6th year that we have been doing this) but this year I was just a bit apprehensive. 

I am so far behind.  (You know, now that I take 30,000 pictures each year, all hope is lost for getting caught up scrapbooking.  EVER.)  And getting everything organized to bring is overwhelming, and my in-laws were both having medical problems and really needed my husband's help and I was having some serious guilt issues about just taking off.



Unable to cancel at such short notice, I threw a bunch of stuff together and hit the road.  I went and I am so glad I did.  There's something about sitting in your jammies all weekend, getting waited on hand and foot by our fantastic hostess, Mary Kim, eating the most delicious home-cooked meals, chatting - chatting- chatting (non-stop), getting all those good creative juices flowing,  meeting new friends and catching up with old ones, and having a stack of memories memorialized at the end of it all.  It's just plain good for the soul.


Melissa and Sarah, my scrapping partner's in crime.  
I invited Katie, a fellow blogger, that I had never even met.  She is such a brave soul, she took me up on my invite.  And I'm so glad she did.  We had a great time getting to know each other. 





For Sunday Brunch we always get fancy hats to wear.   Notice I'm trying to cover up my crazy hair and make-up free face - just one of the many perks of a girl's get-away weekend.   

I came home more tired than when I left (we stay up WAYYY too late when we are there) but I was happy and rejuvenated and STUFFED!  It doesn't get much better than that.

THE HUNT 11.27.11

Hello Hunters!
I missed you last week.  I hate missing the weekly hunt.  But, I was away scrapbooking and couldn't tear myself away because I was on a serious mission. 

So, here is what I found this week...........
1. WAITING

Waiting to be peeled.  Chase did most of the peeling this year.  SCORE. 

2.  FOLIAGE




3.  CANDID

Making Christmas cookies with Grandma.

4.  KNIFE, SPOON, or FORK

An amazing meal created by our hostess, Marykim, at The Paper Dollhouse. 

Setting the table for Thanksgiving.  The boys were so in awe of Grandma's antique silverware.

5.  RULE OF THIRDS

This is probably not the best example, but I did try to offset my focal point to follow the rule of thirds.  Of course, I don't always follow rules! 

I did get a few of the shots from last week's weeks hunt.  This is about as far as I got....

1.  MAINLY ONE COLOR


2.  AROUND THE HOUSE


3.  REFLECTION

4.  WRITING......
(Didn't happen... boo.)

5.  WATER


So, that was almost two week's worth. 
I am feeling a little more caught up now!

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IT'S FRIDAY

Okay, I know, I have been slacking here in Blogland.

You know your slacking when even your hubby (who isn't all that into this blogging stuff) says,  "Um, Honey, your blog has been pretty lame lately!"  
He calls it like he sees it, folks.  I love that about him.  Most of the time, anyway.  Just don't ask him how the new recipe you tried turned out. 

Anywhoo, I'll attempt to make this fun and exciting and NOT lame.  But I'm not making any promises.

So, how was your Thanksgiving?  Did you survive?  I really would have loved to do the pre and post Thanksgiving weekend weigh-in.  Just out of morbid curiosity.  Probably best that I didn't. 


So, even though it is Friday, let's pretend that it is still Thursday so I can jot down all the things that came to mind that I was grateful for this year.

-My family.  You can't NOT start there, right? 
But honestly, they ROCK.  All of 'em.  And they're pretty darn cute too. 

-The fact that my in-laws made it to Thanksgiving dinner even though they have both been having lots of health issues. 

-My health and the health of my loved ones.  Totally have been taking for granted what a blessing good health is!

-My sister who came and washed lots and lots of dishes

-The fact that my parents got to join us this year for Thanksgiving.  We haven't had a family Thanksgiving with my parents in probably 5 years.  It's so good to all be together.

-My hubby, who let me sneak away last weekend (all weekend) to go scrapbooking with friends.   (Still need to get that posted!)


-Happiness.  I can't imagine living life without being Happy.  I have my down moments, don't get me wrong, but the happy ones still tip the scales.  :D

-An abundance of so much.  How fortunate we are to have warm homes and full bellies and so many extras beyond that. 

-Chocolate!  If you LOOOOVE chocolate, try these guys. 


-Laughter.  It's just plain good for the soul.

-Dirty faces. 


-Technology.  I have to say, I do love me some technology.  It was pretty darn cool that we got to FaceTime chat with my brother and his family on Thanksgiving day.  The boys were tickled to see their cousins!

Okay, that was still lam-ish... but I am rushing to get this up. 
I'll try to do better next time, Sweetie!

Enjoy your weekend.

I AM THANKFUL FOR???

Chase's top 8 things that he is grateful for.....


1.  The World
2.  the Gravitey (So we don't float away, Mom!)
3.  My Mom & Dad
4.  God
5.  Trees
6.  Bees  (Because they make flowers.)
7.  Houses
8.  T.V.  (Because it keeps me entertained.)

Oh, to be 6 again! 

While waiting for Dylan to get out of preschool yesterday, I noticed the list of what each kid was most grateful for in his class.  Dylan's #1 one thing:  My Brother.   Awww.... my heart just about melted right there.  You'll notice that Dylan's name doesn't appear anywhere on Chase's list.    Poor guy.  I guess it comes with the "little brother" territory. 

Anyway, I wanted to send out a quick HOLLA and tell you that I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday.  I love this time of year, it gives me the chance to EAT LOTS AND LOTS OF FOOD SHOP TILL WE DROP reflect on our many, many blessings.     I heard something the other day that stuck, and bears repeating:  What if you woke up tomorrow and only had that for which you were thankful for today. 
I love that. 

Well, at the very least, we would have gravity.  And bee's and T.V. too. 
I think we'd be in fine shape!  HA.

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A CAMERA DATE AT CUNEO

Sometimes a date with your camera is just what you need.
To find some inspiration, some MoJo, some "ME" time.

I mentioned in the last post that Teresa (from Tiaras & Tantrums) and I met up on Sunday to tour this old mansion and grounds.  It was such an incredible place.   We had a blast.  It was fun to get together with someone who is just as trigger happy as me! 

Here are a few photos of what we found during our tour there.



























I took so many more photos, but didn't get to editing them all.  
Thanks for stopping by to take a peek.

(Any Chicagoan's out there that are interested in joining us for "camera dates" let me know.  We will hopefully be doing to his again soon!)

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