From the Holy Land

Isn't it breathtaking.  It is made of Olive wood.  I have been in serious need of a nativity scene and so this year I finally broke down and bought the Little People version for the kids to play with (by the way, Tiger has been trying to take the angel with him everywhere.  He feels that angels like to go to Home Depot as well).  I thought that was pretty cool until my parents gave this to me.  Gorgeous!  They bought one for each of us kids when they were in Israel last year and they kept it a secret this whole time.  Little stinkers.  Thank you, thank you, thank you Mom and Dad. I love it!! (Please ignore the fact that I have a shepherd sitting next to Joseph instead of Mary).

It was a birthday miracle

Yesterday was my dear mother's birthday and we celebrated by eating turkey.  For my mom's birthday, she really wanted a set of the really big scriptures and since it is very hard to find a decent looking scripture bag for those over sized scriptures, my sister and I decided to make my mom her very own bag.  I have to admit that I was very nervous about the success of this project because whenever I undertake a new fabric project I always have questions and my mom is always there to tell me what to do, but in this case I couldn't run to her for help.  Also, picking out fabric is not really a strength of mine due to the fact that I have no vision.  Unless the fabrics are grouped specifically together in a set, I become very overwhelmed because I am not good at putting different combos together.  Again, this is an area where my mother usually comes in handy and since I couldn't ask her, I was very glad that my dear sister was helping with this project.  She is very good at putting colors and patterns together and she has great vision.  So, with the two of us working together we were successful and the end result turned out rather smashing.  Plus, I had a lot of fun working with my sister.  It is nice to know that I now have two people I can go to with my fabric crafting needs.

Mr. Nutcracker decided that this looked like a good place to hang for a while.  Also, won't my mom look fabulous carrying this chic thing on her arm on Sundays?

One Highlight of Fall

LEAVES!!!!

We have a huge tree in our backyard that drops a million leaves every fall and the kids just can't resist the fun that comes from a good pile of leaves.  On a sad note, my brother is moving to Utah and he has the nerve to take his children with him.  That means no more cousins to play with.  Very, very sad.  But, since they were painting their house last weekend, I was able to watch these delicious little munchkins for a night and since the weather was gorgeous, we just had to play in the leaves. 

 They were all very good about humoring me while I took pictures.

 Miles loved raking the leaves back into the pile.

 Morgan liked the idea of playing in the leaves much more than the actual playing.  She pretty much sat in this same spot the whole time trying to get the leaves out of her shoes.  She must not have realized that the rest of the kids took their shoes off as soon as they hit the leaves.

 Tiger's favorite activity was throwing the leaves.  Particularly at Will's face.  We had to have a little talk about that one.

 Will was all over the leaves.  He would stand back by the house and then take a running leap into the leaves.  He did this over and over again.  Leaves were later found in places where leaves do not belong.

After tiring of leaf jumping, Will discovered the fun of throwing leaves as well.  I can only hope that some of those landed in Tiger's face as a little payback.

Love

Today was gorgeous and so Doug took the kids to our walking park. Here's a picture that he took with his camera. I love them. By the way, don't you just love KK's new hair cut. It is fabulous!

Tiger has a new friend

Tiger has a thing for Nutcrackers.  Since I know this little fact about him I picked one up the other day.  He is now in heaven and has been carrying his new friend around with him everywhere.  Here they are in the car getting ready to go to school.  He also takes his Nutcracker to bed with him and plays with his Nutcracker throughout the day.  Tiger loves to move the little handle in the back to make the Nutcracker talk and it is through this method that I have had many a conversation with the Nutcracker over the last few days.  Let the Christmas season begin!

She's a clever girl

As we were driving to church today:

KK: I spy something that starts with the letter "L". It's outside and we are passing it right now. There is some right over there.
Sparky: Uh. . .lights?
KK: Actually, it starts with the letter "T", but when you get a bunch of them together then it starts with the letter "L".
Me: Leaves!
Sparky: Yeah, leaves.
KK: No, but leaves are part of it when they are still on the things that start with the letter "T".
(At this point we were all stumped)
Sparky: I don't know.
KK: Landscaping!!

Some assistance if you please

As I have mentioned before, I don't decorate.  But for the sake of my girl I am trying.  With the holidays upon us, I have vowed to make my home downright festive.  So my question for all of you is, where do you find your inspiration?  What are your favorite web sites to look at for decorating ideas? 

Cold

While looking at some trees that had lost their leaves:

Tiger: Those trees are cold. They need a jacket.

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Tiger: The park is for dead people.
Me: Um, no it's not. It's for kids who want to play.
Tiger: Yes, the park is where dead people can go to the park.
Me: Do you mean a cemetary? With the head stones?
Tiger: Yes. A park for dead people.