Christmas In Our Little Cozy Cabin!

Christmas was in our cozy little cabin this year after all.  Our house is so close to being done.  I don't see any reason why we won't be moving in January.  Yea!  We all can't wait!  Even though I wanted to be in my house, it's not what Christmas is really about.  We made it work, and I have a feeling that this will be one of those Christmases I'll always remember.  How could I forget it?

 

My Grandmom had an extra tree in her attic that she gave to us.  All of our Christmas decor is in the storage unit somewhere.  Natalie and I strung some beads to make some ornaments and we bought one package of little red and white balls on sale at hobby lobby.  Natalie made the snowman for the topper from a fun foam kit, and we glued it onto a toilet paper roll - it worked perfectly!!  We loved our little pint-sized tree!

Santa brought the girls lots of goodies - we are "swimming in toys" in this apartment, but we are grateful!

 Melanie got a shopping cart which she loves to push around.  She loves to be a big girl.  She's also really into tractors.  Every time she sees one when we're out and about, she says, "tractor."  She even calls big trucks "tractor."

Natalie loves to read books, and now she can read them herself.  This is so much fun - even we like to use it!  But her favorite gifts were Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the My Little Pony Carnival, and her Lightning McQueen car and game.  She loves them more than anything else!

We didn't get a family picture this year - I wish we had - so this will have to do!  Hopefully we will get some taken at our new house soon.  Merry Christmas!

Jordan's Craftmanship

I know firsthand how amazingly talented my husband is.  I have always wanted a house that showed off his skills as a craftsman.  I believe that he is the best of the best and has so much to offer.  Here are some pictures of our house (of course all built by Jordan) that I am very proud to share.  Jordan designs and builds on his own - I don't even need to have a say - because everything he creates always exceeds my expectations.  When he completes something, all I can say is "Wow! I LOVE it!"

 This is our entertainment center in the living room.

Jordan built our front door from scratch himself.  It is my favorite thing in the house.  It just looks so incredibly beautiful.  I love to just look at it.  Who needs artwork?

All of the wood in the house if knotty alder.  We like the rustic style and feel.  Here are some views of the kitchen cabinets.

My brothers Neal and Will installed this tumbled marble backsplash.  I'm so proud of them!  They also did the tile in our bathrooms and laundry room.  It's a family effort here!

In the kitchen Jordan put up wainscot panels at my request.  I want people to know that our house belongs to a trim carpenter (and not just any trim carpenter - a master craftsman!)

Date with Dad

I know, it's been a long time coming. . . I haven't kept up with my blog - this one's from October!!  We've just had quite a bit going on over the past month.  On October 30th, we had our annual Date with Dad at the preschool.  It is one of my favorite events of the year.  I love seeing all the kiddos with their dads.  Everyone wears camo for the occasion.  The dads and kids have lunch together and then enjoy themselves playing games.  Here is a cute shot of Jordan & Natalie and then one of our whole family in our garb.

Funny story - there's been a lot of talk about hunting in our family over the past few months.  Jordan, Geoff,  and Bruce went dove hunting in September, and of course, deer season is on now.  Anyway - at date with Dad we have this huge inflatable deer that we use for decoration in the gym.  After the event while we were cleaning up, my daughter - who's been hearing a LOT about hunting lately - picks up the deer and says, "Hey, I know a game we can play - it's called Shoot the Deer."  She tells another little boy in the preschool that he has to shoot the deer that she's holding up in standing position.  He just stares at her for a few minutes while she continues to announce very loudly to the whole gym. . . . "Hey, I know a game we can play - it's called Shoot the Deer  - now shoot it!"  Finally, the little boy gives in, holds up one hand, points a finger, and very calmly says, "Bang!"  To Natalie's delight, she knocks the deer over and announces, "You got him!  Good Job!"  Well, I may not be a hunter, but far be it from me to keep my little girl from her destiny!

9 Points

So November 7th was officially deer season, and Jordan definitely was in for a hunt this year!  He went out very early Saturday morning and waited patiently in his tree for this big fellow!  I'm sorry - this is not for the faint of heart - if you're not into this - stop here and do not continue to read or look below.  However, I just have to brag on my amazing husband.  I have to say, I am not a hunter, but I do not mind those who do as long as they do it responsibly and I do not have to do it myself.  I was so proud of him when he came home with his prize!  It's hard to believe that he is finished with hunting deer this season on his first morning out.  It was worth it to see his glowing pride- he is such a wonderful husband and father and deserves this.  We will have lots of sausage in our freezer. . . . . he was a big 'un!

Bike Riding

We are a bike riding family!  Natalie finally learned how to successfully pedal her bike at the end of September.  We've been riding around the lake ever since.  Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the clear skies and sunny days.  I love the trees turning colors.  It just makes me want to go camping every weekend.  But since Jordan is working and very busy on our house right now, I will have to settle for bike rides.  It comes pretty close.  I got Melanie a toddler seat so she can ride on the back of our bike.  She looks a little unsure in this picture, but that's because this was her first ride - she loves it now!  She even goes to sleep sometimes.  I can remember riding around on the back of my mom and dad's bikes in seats similar to this one.  I wonder if Melanie will have memories of this.  I know Natalie will.  Poppi (my granddad) passed away last October, and my Grandmom gave us his bicycle.  I have absolutely loved having it to ride around.  I'm so grateful that she gave it to us.  Every time I ride it, I think of him.  He was a wonderful grandfather, and I'm so blessed that he was mine.

My Beautiful House

Before & After - and now we have a house!  Here is the latest photo of our home.  We are ready to have it sheetrocked, and hopefully this will be done by the end of next week.  It has been pretty wet around here (we are grateful for the rain), but this will slow down the process.  Jordan has been so busy building the cabinets and entertainment center for the living room.  They are going to be incredibly beautiful.  Of course, I think that anything Jordan builds is absolutely amazing.  He always exceeds my expectations.  So the cabinets have been his responsibility.  I have let him make all the decisions regarding them because I trust him completely.  After all, it is his specialty!  I am basically being surprised!  He is building them out of knotty alder wood and we are going to put a dark stain on them.  Jordan has been putting many long hours in on them over the past few weeks.  He works all day at work and then stays 3-4 hours later to work on our cabinets.  I am so thankful for a hardworking husband!  I am really blessed!

Melanie's Birthday Party Pictures

Melanie and Cousin Elias are 2 weeks apart and shared a joint party this year to make it easier for friends and family.  We had the party at Granddaddy and Grammy's house - thank you Bruce & Connie!  The theme was puppies because Melanie absolutely loves dogs.  She loves to bark and say "dog."  She will also point to the dogs outside if you ask her, "Where are the dogs?"  Her favorite toys are her stuffed puppies!  She was wearing a onesie with a puppie applique on the front.  I bought Melanie this cute hat, but she wouldn't keep it on!  The party was really sweet and enjoyable.  Thanks for all the wonderful gifts and for making the trip!  Of course, Melanie's cake was chocolate, and I attempted to make a puppy on it! 

Melanie is 1!

Melanie is 1!

My second born turned 1 on Saturday, August 15th! Where has the year gone? We have a party planned for her later, but we did celebrate of course! Melanie woke up to a pancake breakfast followed by a couple of gifts to open. She go a puppy blanket that Natalie picked out for her. She has not put it down since - she absolutely loves it! Melanie loves puppies. If you ask her, "Where's the dogs?" she will point outside. If you ask her, "What do the dogs say?" she will make a barking sound - so cute! We also got her a new lunch box with for Mother's Day Out that is starting in a couple of weeks. After playing awhile and taking a nice long birthday nap, Melanie went to visit Pops and Granna for more bday presents. They got her such a cute elephant push toy that has cymbals that clap. She also got a ladybug car and a spinner thing (don't know what it's called) that lights up. She loves them all! Great gifts! If Natalie would just let Melanie play with them for awhile, we would be doing alright! When Jordan got done working on the house for the day, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner and games. Melanie loved the carousel, and Natalie loved everything else. We took Natalie to the same place when she turned 1, so I guess we've got a little tradition going. When we got home, Melanie absolutely devoured her chocolate cake which I tried to decorate with a puppy for her. Happy Birthday Melanie! We love you so much - your sweetness makes me so happy. You are a true gift from God! More partying to come soon. . .

29

Tuesday, August 11th, was my 29th bday! Wow! I can't believe it - I know that many of you will think I'm just a baby, but there's just something about that number 29. I finally feel older for the first time. I guess it's just that it's my last year in the 20's. I'm not quite sure how I feel about 30 to tell you the truth. However, despite all this, I had the best birthday I've had in years. I enjoyed myself so much! My mom and dad kept the girls, and I had the whole day to myself. I just did whatever I wanted to do. It was so refreshing! I got a pedicure and had my hair done. I felt really pampered! When Jordan got home, we went out to dinner and then to the movies to see Julie & Julia. We enjoyed ourselves so much. My gift this year was a guitar. I've always wanted to learn to play. When I was in college, I picked it up a little, but didn't follow through. I've always wished I had. So, my brother Neal helped me so much- He helped me find an awesome guitar that is so beautiful! Hopefully, I will be able to play decently before too long! Then, on Friday, my parents took Jordan and me to Houston to eat at Pappadeaux (my favorite) and see Christy Nockels in concert. She was opening up for Phillips, Craig, and Dean. Christy Nockels is my favorite singer/songwriter. She is amazing! During intermission, I got to talk to her at her table. I was trying so hard not to overwhelm her with compliments and to be normal, but I think I couldn't help myself. I just told her how great she is and how much I love her songs. Oh well - hopefully she needed to hear it! It was so exciting to talk face to face with the person who's songs have meant so much to me. I had met her before awhile back when she and her husband were the band Watermark, so this was my second time. I have a funny feeling that our paths will cross again and again! She is definitely one of my main musical inspirations. I felt like God was just smiling on my this year on my birthday. It has been an especially hard year with a new baby, finances, deaths of my Granddad and Jordan's Grandmother, health issues, and a move - Whew! I just felt like God was showering blessings and goodness on me to say that He loves me SOOO much. Christy Nockels was just the icing on my cake - literally! Thanks Christy for letting me post this picture of us!

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend we went on a last minute getaway to the hill country, our favorite place! We had so much fun! It just worked out for us to go on a mini vacation before things get too busy with the new house for Jordan. We stayed in San Antonio for two nights while we did things in the area. On Friday, we drove out to the Frio River to swim. The river was really low this year, but we were able to find some swimming areas. We swam in some shallow water which was perfect for the girls, and then found a deeper hole to enjoy before we headed out. We drove on Hwy 336 through the mountains - if you have never driven Hwy 336 between Leakey and Vanderpool - you have to put it on your list! It is incredibly beautiful and in my opinion one of the most beautiful drives in Texas. My family has been taking the drive for years, and I never get tired of it! We had dinner in Bandera on our way back to the hotel. On Sunday, we stopped in New Braunfels on our way home to swim at Landa Park in the Comal River where we go with Jordan's family each summer. Texas summers may be hot, but we have some really wonderful cold rivers to help us bear it!

Another New House!

On Friday, we closed on our beautiful new lot! It's one acre and completely surrounded by trees. It has a walking trail in the woods behind the place where the house will go. It is just so beautiful and we both fell in love with it. Jordan got the grass removed over the weekend, so things will get going pretty soon!

Party Pictures