Life in Pictures - January 2015

pictorial essay

Because life moves far too swiftly for me to keep up on blogging every moment and breath we take, here's a quick glimpse of our month via a collage from my iPhone camera roll. 

 

 

Things I'm Loving

In honor of this being my 500th post - woohoo! - here's a totally random list of stuff I'm digging right now:

B. Kershisnik - "She Will Find What Is Lost" (Lithograph)

I saw this piece on someone's Instagram this week and immediately fell in love.  Art is such a powerful vehicle for emotion and this particular print is no exception.  This image of angelic help being given to a woman evoked such a sense of peace and comfort in me, it nearly brought me to tears.

Super-Fast & Easy Mayonaise

Word has it that this is the best homemade mayo recipe in all the land.  I'm totally going to try it, as it sounds fabulous, as well as easy.  And it's Whole30-compliant, for anyone that's knee-deep in the world of Paleo.   Recipe courtesy of Foolproof Homemade.

Heart Pillow Craft

I LOVE THIS PILLOW COVER.  It's simple, but classic so we could technically keep it around all year, not just for Valentine's Day.  In all of the free time I have (bahaha), I'm going to make this.   Photo & idea courtesy of UCreate.

Cool Name, Fabulous Skirt

Has anyone else seen this crazy, gorgeous skirt from Shabby Apple?  The Waltzing Matilda: you are adorable, you are covered in polka-dots, you have the sweetest name, you will be mine... someday.

Wrapping up the Magic of Christmas

This face?  It's what it's all about.

If this elated (albeit blurry) expression doesn't scream 'Christmas morning', I don't know what does.  As a kid, I came remember the incredible excitement and anticipation as we waited for Santa to come.  As I got older, Christmas was a fun holiday but it lacked that pure joy... and that magic.  

Since Benjamin and Emme have come along, the magic is back - but in a bigger and better way than I could have ever anticipated.  We filled our days leading up to the 25th with fun activities like decorating gingerbread houses, writing letters to Santa, making Christmas crafts, the beloved chocolate advent calendars, and lots of time spent with friends and family.  

I didn't do everything I wanted to, but I could feel the anticipation building and loved every minute of it.  I especially loved watching Benjamin.  This is the first year that he really gets 'it', and not just Santa.   Although Santa and the gifts were a big part of the magic for him, he was equally excited about celebrating Jesus's birthday.   Early in the month, we had a Family Home Evening lesson on Christmas being Christ's birthday, and how we should look for gifts to give Him throughout the month.   Periodically, over those few weeks, Benjamin would say, "I just gave a gift to Jesus by..." - and would fill in the blank with something good or kind he had done.  It made my heart happy in that Christmas morning kind of way. 

After hosting my family's Christmas party, a caroling party with 40 of our friends and neighbors, and a Christmas Eve party with Dave's family, we ushered the celebrations and people out and gathered our little family together.  The kids were soon bathed and dressed in their new Christmas PJs, and finally tucked into bed.  In a bit of rare insight, I had wrapped the majority of the presents weeks before which left some time for Dave and I to enjoy Christmas Eve together - and get to bed at a reasonable time for once.  The cutest thing that happened shortly thereafter was when Benjamin came running into our room crying.  Like many kiddos, he was so excited for Santa to come that he couldn't fall asleep.  It was 10:30 and he was worried that Santa had skipped our house because he was still awake.  We assured him that wasn't the case and then quietly tucked him back into bed.

The morning came - and the magic erupted all over our living room.  We kept our gifts to a minimum and kept things fairly simple.  It was joyous, it was so good, and it the most magical Christmas morning we've ever had.   Here's a look: