my sweet little family

2008, tour of my Charlie Brown Christmas...

7:34 PM

It's that time of year again when we all take pictures of our homes, and take "virtual tours" to see the winter wonderland that all of our bloggie friends are living in!

Welcome to Casa de me. Nothing fancy, so don't get your hopes up!

We didn't put up lights again this year....probably because of what happened last year to one of our friends, plus the fact that daddy didn't want to do it....

So, when you come up our l-o-n-g driveway, here is what you see...1 little lit up tree, covered in snow from our snow blizzard we just had. (we are going to chuck that silver door this spring and get a new one...it looks so icky...we know)

Next, this little number is hanging on our door...got it at Target this year.

When you walk through our door, you are greeted by our BRIGHT eggplant wall. Here is a fun square wreath I got at Gordmans last year,

...and a table with this little wire basket on it filled with pinecones, ornaments, fake fruit, and decorative balls.

A little further in, and you will see our entertainment center. I have some clearance trees up there, a bell tree, Piper's stocking, and some mitten garland from LTD years ago...I should really get rid of that...

Here is a close up of the tree. I got it at Lewis Drug this year. It's a little crafty, but I liked it!

Next, you will see Avery's advent calendar. It comes with 3 ponies, and 40 accessories. Loads of daily fun.

As you enter our dining room, you will see my Willow Tree collection....I LOVE the nativity set!

On my dining room table is this flower thing I got on clearance at Pier 1 a couple years ago.

Then, you will come to our tree. All the decorations are from Walmart, except for the pinecone lights...those are from Nana Judy!

We have stockings hung this year. These are from Target...

Avery's advent calendar countdown that she made at school, and the girls Christmas tree that is in their room!

There you have it...our Charlie Brown Christmas house! Hope you enjoyed your stay!

Christmas Cards, edition 1

9:34 AM

I hope you enjoy seeing the faces that adorn our walls during this Christmas season!

Our friends! Natalie used to watch Avery for us when she was 1...

I designed her families blog! Quads...wow!

My friend Molly, and her family...Avery and Blake are in the same Kind. class, and she's going to marry him someday {smile}

McMommy and her boys, Matty and Carter...

My friend Mel, the famous MckMama and her family...

Our college friend Laura (who was a bridesmaid of mine) and her family...

Kelley and her sweet boy Carter...

Cynthia and her boys...I have designed 2 of her blogs

And, the sweet Annie Pearl....

If you'd like me to put your photo up here, email it to me @ jennisajoy(at)gmail.com

our very own winter blizzard....

8:09 AM

woke up this morning to a blizzard outside...

church is cancelled...must be pretty bad...

Below is the "weather alert" for our area...

THIS SNOW COMBINED WITH THE STRONG WINDS WILL PRODUCE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WITH VERY LOW VISIBILITIES... AND NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS. TRAVEL IS NOT ADVISED. AS THE TEMPERATURE FALLS DURING THE DAY... WIND CHILL READINGS WILL FALL TO 20 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW ZERO BY EARLY THIS EVENING.

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS... MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST... HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED... STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

again, why do I live here in the Midwest?

at least one of my kids is a good eater

11:05 AM

Liv and I enjoyed some spaghetti for lunch today! She ate and ate and ate! I cringed most of the time because of the mess....but, she liked it, and kept asking for more "num num"...

Oh, and these are my FAVORITE treat right now! My old boss used to make us Christmas goodies, but this year since she is, after all my former boss, I won't be getting any delicious treats! Not to worry....Kathy had these on her blog the other week, and I hurried and wrote down what to buy, and I have been making them non-stop since! They are SOOOO good!

circle pretzels
rolos
pecans
almond bark

Put rolos (fat side up) inside the circle pretzels. Put in oven at 200 until rolos are beginning to melt. Then push pecans down on the rolos, and then drizzle with almond bark! YUM YUM!!!

good grief....

5:54 PM

So, to re-cap....

This is what Piper looked like yesterday morning...before she went and had her face trimmed up.

And then, today, this happened.....look closely...wait for it, wait for it....do ya see it?

The scissor marks on her? Someone decided that Piper needed a full body cut, too. Somebody took the scissors to her and gave her a not-so-great hair cut. Um, it was me....I decided to attempt to trim her up. I had good intentions, honestly I did. She looked stringy and kind of not-so-cute.

PG got home today, and he said, "What on earth did you do to her? It looks AWFUL! She could have even done a better job!" We had a good laugh, and then I called the groomer. She was so sweet and told me to bring her in....

So, now I have a puppy that looks like this.....

And we think she just couldn't be any cuter...

Mommy is sorry, Piper. I learned my lesson...

If you send me your Christmas Card....

5:41 PM

I will put it up here on my blog.

McMommy was doing this, and I thought it was a GREAT idea!!!

So, if you send me your card, via email or via snail mail, it will show up here!

Please, puh-lease...send me your card??? :)

jennisajoy(at)gmail.com

piper got a hair cut

10:11 PM

She was getting a little icky in the face area, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get to the hair around her eyes.

BEFORE

I had to bathe her the night before...she will hate this photo on her wedding day, I just know it...
DURING

The dog groomer lady trimmed up her face, her toes, and her unmentionable areas...
AFTER

WELL worth the $12 I paid!!!

And, because who wants a post all about my dog?

NO ONE.... Here is Avery today in front of our tree...

My Christmas cards are in the mail, so if you're on my list (lucky you), it's on its way!

i had every intention.....

10:26 PM

of doing a post tonight...

BUT, it's Christmas time, and I've been a busy little elf!

I'll be back!

i like to change it up a bit....

11:41 PM

with all the designing of blogs that I do, it's no wonder that I like to change mine up ~~a little too~~ often.

I'm going for the simple look, with a ~~ton~~ tad of pink, and a dash of Christmas!

What do ya do?

10:34 PM

Our family has never had Santa be part of our Christmas. From the beginning, Avery knew that Santa was not real, and we told her that he wasn't real. All was working well through her toddler years, and even her Pre-Kindergarten year....not so much this year.

Here comes my dilemma...

With her being in school, her friends are telling her that Santa comes to their houses and brings them presents. They make lists, set out cookies, and whatever else Santa-believers do.

Imagine her 6 year old mind thinking....hmmmm, why doesn't he bring me presents? Why doesn't he come to my house?

Avery told me that she told her friend the other day that Santa wasn't real. I don't want Avery to be that kid....the one that ruins the fun of Santa for anyone...

Which is why the other day was surprising to me. Avery said that she wanted to write Santa a letter....just in case he is real.

Daddy told her that Santa is not real, and that Jesus is. BUT, I suppose we can pretend with her, right? She said that she wants to pretend that he is real....So, I guess we're going to do that? Kind of confusing, but I guess we'll play along...

Not only that, but she wrote him this letter yesterday....

Then she had to place it in an envelope...

wrap it up real good...

Address it to the big guy himself.....

And put it somewhere where he will be sure to see it...ya know, for 'pretend'...

Oh Lord, I hope I'm not damaging this child...I'm trying to make her Christ-honoring, and I hope she'll understand someday the values we're trying to instill in her....

So, as of now, I guess we are going to "pretend to pretend that Santa is real"...good grief

what do to, what to do.....

sick, sick Avery....

9:45 PM

Avery came home from school yesterday with a tummy ache and a small fever.

Over the last 2 days the small fever has escalated to an ultimate high of 103.6...scary, very scary.

She went to the doctor today, and has strep throat and a very bad UTI. She was given 2 strong shots of meds and Motrin before we were able to even leave the Dr. office...

It's amazing what a couple of hours, and some STRONG meds can do....she's feeling much better, and the fever has broken....

I find this rather hilarious.....

6:19 PM

At Avery's school they have whats called "2nd grade friends" that come and visit them weekly. They do projects together, read together, and get to know each other.

Tonight Avery was telling me about her 2nd grade friend. She said that when her friend reads to her, that sometimes she has to help her sound out words! How funny...the little kindergartner helping out the 2nd grader with reading!

I got a good chuckle out of that one.....

Our Wisconsin Thanksgiving

8:01 PM

Our family went to visit my parents in Wisconsin this Thanksgiving. It was our first real trip with Piper, and she did fantastic as a traveling puppy!

I was so glad that we went to see my beautiful Grandma. I've mentioned her before, but in case you're new here, she is in her final stages of Alzheimer's. On our last visit in April, she just cried and frowned the whole time. She had been having a bad day. BUT, this visit was quite the opposite! She smiled, sang, told Avery "she's so pretty", and babbled a ton! She and I looked in each others eyes, and I know she knew who I was.

She enjoyed seeing my girls so much. Avery was very nervous around her, but Liv was her bouncy-energetic self! Look at how Grandma responded to Livvie!

On Friday we had a visit from some more family...my cousins Caitlin and Lilly and Aunt Becky! It was a lot of fun to chat, laugh, and play with the girls. Liv loved jumping with Lilly! That girl has got some energy!

Liv also loved tickle time with Caitlin.

Here are my 2 cousins, with my girls! My mother constantly tells me how much Avery is like Caitlin, and Liv is like Lilly. There are so many similarities, and it will be so much fun to see how alike they really turn out to be!