happy birthday matty!

Today my baby brother turns 18. Who knew the day would come. I still feel like we should be little kids playing with our toys and me picking on him, but now he's way bigger than me so that had to stop a while ago. :)

It's weird how quickly time passes and how grown up he has become. This seems like yesterday :)

Now he is all grown up into a wonderful man and I could not be more proud of him. I love you matt! happy birthday!

the REASON for the season

As Christmas time is here, it's important to not lose sight of the true meaning of this special holiday. When Christ came down in the form of a baby to save us all. It's such a miracle that should be remembered more throughout the year than just Christmas-time.

Isaiah 9:6 "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be on His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

---> God's gift to us is greater than any gift that has ever taken place.

As we go about the busyness of our Christmas day with the food and the gifts and the family, let's not forget the true reason for the season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

.if you would like to read the story of Christmas and Christ's birth please click here.

It's a Wonderful Life this time of year

I absolutely love Christmas time and all that it entails. From baking cookies together, to doing our annual family puzzle, or watching Christmas movies, I just love the joy of the holidays. My family doesn't usually do anything to extravagant, but we just enjoy being able to spend time with each other and slow down from our normally hectic and busy lives to just be.

We do have some fun traditions that we do every year. These are some that we do on Christmas Eve:

1. Ever since I was little we have always gotten new pajamas on Christmas Eve so that way when we opened our gifts Christmas morning and had pictures taken, we had our new jammies on :)

2. We always go to Christmas Eve service at church.

3. After the service at church and after our pajamas have been opened and put on, we always watch "It's a Wonderful Life" before bed. It's my mom's favorite Christmas movie and over the years it has become mine too. :)

I just love being able to enjoy these things with my family during the holidays! It truly is a wonderful life. Does your family have any traditions? If so, what are they?

tis the season

Tis the season to get creative! I just love this time of year because of the happiness the holidays bring, the fun decorations to make and put out, and not to mention the fun food and gifts we get to make and give to others. These are some of my ideas for this year that I want to try out!

These ornaments are adorable! and so simple. you can make them yourself by clicking here!

I love love love baking this time of year. It's so fun to try new recipes too, and since I just love fudge I am going to try making a cranberry chocolate fudge. I'm expecting good things :) you can find this recipe by clicking here!

I love decorating with wreaths! My goal is to make a new one this year and there are so many fantastic ideas at marthastewart.com or you can check them out for yourself and find whichever one suits you by clicking here!

Candles are always a fabulous gift to give and to receive. These candles are so much fun! You can make them too by clicking here!

I hope you enjoyed looking through these as much as I do! Happy holidays :)