Day with Quin {Santa!}

I was so happy to spend my official first day of Christmas break with this smiling face: Quin and I started out our special day by going to watch a special production of the Nutcracker. My fabulous friend Meagon's daughter, Ainsley, had a part in the local ballet. I wasn't sure how Quin would do, but she loved it! She asked questions about what was happening through the entire show, and only tuckered out the last 15 minutes or so. Although Quin acted shy when she went back stage afterwards, she loved seeing the dancers up close. She talked about it the entire way back to Holland! Way to go Ainsley - you did great!

We headed back to Holland where we met up with Jason for our second annual 'Wild Chef and Santa Day'. Quin loved revisiting the hibachi restaurant. She was interested in everything that our chef was doing, and laughed along with all of his 'tricks'. She hated the fire though. Her favorite part... using the chopsticks! She did well for a first timer :)

She also loved that she could sit next to BOTH of us :)

After lunch we went to the Holland Mall to visit with Santa! What a gift - we were the only ones there ;) Quin wasn't nearly as afraid of him this year, and walked right up to tell him exactly what she wants (a changing table for her doll, Betsy). We had to rewind a little and do some small talk before she could ask for her present (what a stinker!). This is as close as she would sit to him:

She didn't stay long, but did a good job! When we left she wouldn't give him a high five. He tried to get her to do a fist bump (which made me laugh!), but she would not go for that either. A simple wave would do for her.

As we walked away, she wanted to hear him 'ho, ho, ho' again. So... since no one was there, we went back up for a second chat. He was a good sport!

Our 'Hand'some Tree

The latest and greatest front door decoration is a tree made from the kiddos hand prints. Quin opted for an outdoor Christmas tree - I think she just wanted to use the white glitter and cotton balls! :)

Our Final Decision

Most Wonderful Year Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Just in case you were wondering what I decided on... :) I didn't realize when I originally posted about this card that I could add one more pic inside - so cute!

Fall Family Pictures

When I contacted Tammi, of More Than Words Photography {by Tammi}, last summer and she was booked into the fall I was a little freaked! I booked our November pictures right away - and I wasn't disappointed.

(I still think Marc photography who did our summer pictures did a fabulous job too - I love how the two photographers captured our family so differently, but so perfectly). It is fun to see, through pictures, how much the kids have grown since the summer - amazing!

I am always impressed when photographers capture great pictures of the six of us! I love this beautiful couch, with the rustic setting. Kuddos to Tammi!


This one is one of my favorites. Who really cares about us - it is all about the kids!!!

L to R: Quin, Easton, Ellery and Gianna
This one reminds me of those pictures that comes in a frame when you buy it ;) Quin
Ellery - seriously... where did those eyes come from?!?!?
Gianna - I love how her fun, giggly side comes through in this picture.
Easton - He was freezing, and wasn't overly happy. I love how Tammi captured his cute serious side!
After some tickling, we got a few smiles out of him. I just love his smile and those big dark eyes!
This picture makes me laugh every time I see it! Tammi brought some empty wooden spools that the kids kept stacking and Easton thought it was hillarious to knock them down. I can still hear his laugh - he had so much fun!
Tammi captured some beautiful pictures of Quin!!! There is a whole series of her blowing this dandilion. Gorgeous!
I also love this one of Quin. Her eyes are normally more brown, but the green in them really comes out here.
A HUGE thank you to Tammi!!! She does such beautiful work, and is so easy to work with. I caught Quin arranging her toys the other day and taking pictures of them. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me she wanted to be like Tammi :) Love it!

The Search for the Perfect Tree

Before we had kids, Jason and I used to go to a local tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree. We would search and search for the perfect tree - some year's results were better than others. One of my favorite memories was of our first Christmas tree hunt. We found the perfect tree, but it didn't fit very well into my little Mazda MX6. We ended up stuffing it in from the trunk, past the back seat and out the passenger side window - I mean a good two feet out the window. The memory of the tip whipping through the wind and brushing mailboxes still makes me laugh. Needless to say, the tree was not so perfect by the time we got it home! :)

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it!) our last three Christmas' have been slightly bogged down with a baby, then bedrest and then many babies. Feeling the need for a good hunt, Jason and I decided to resurrect our tree hunt tradition.

We waited for a sunny and chilly (not freezing) day, and went after the babes afternoon naps. The babes started out in good moods. Gianna was happy - just a little squished in the picture :)
I love Easton and Gianna's expressions. About ten minutes into the trip, I think they wondered what in the world we were doing!

After about fifteen minutes, Easton had had enough! He kept whipping his mittens on the ground. His teeth were chattering and he wouldn't stop whining/crying.

Gianna lasted a little bit longer. She had fun chasing the wagon through the trees and would hop back in when she would get tired.

And then there's Elle... she was in heaven. The girl loves to be outside, and she thought we were there purely for the game of hide and go seek - she had a blast!

As soon as Jason started to cut down the tree, all three babes stopped what they were doing and watched. Quin could not figure out how in the world we were going to put the tree 'back together' once we got it home. :)

It was so cute watching Quin chase the tree as Jason pulled it away.

I was very disappointed! Almost all of the trees looked as if they were already dried out, and all had big 'holes' or were lopsided. I finally found one the I could live with. Unfortunately, as we approached the machine that shakes and wraps the trees, we noticed all of the their pre-cut, perfect trees leaning against the building... ugh! Ours is really perfect after all though - it is ours!

To top our trip off - the building where we had to pay, had a small area of chicks that we were able to hold/pet. All three girls fell in love with the little chirpers.

Ellery

Gianna kept trying to give them kisses.

Quin loved that she could hold them all by herself!

I love looking at our half decorated (I'm not sure how much the babes and Quin will really let us decorate this year), but perfect tree. What a great way to start our Christmas season! Another tradition that I can't wait to continue on with!

RIP Ms. Miya May Mocha

We recently had to make the tough decision to put down our first 'baby', Ms. Miya May Mocha. It has been close to a month now, so I think I can spare you all of the emotional toll that it took on us. She would have been eleven years old in January, so she lived a long and happy life. She was such a sweet dog, with a wonderful temperament for our kids! She put up with a lot of my shenanigans - she (and Jinx) have been dressed up every Halloween until last year and have been in most of our Christmas pictures.
We brought her home within the first year of our marriage when she was only 8 weeks old. She was THE cutest puppy!!!

Her facial expression was always priceless - you could just tell she tolerated my silliness because she loved me!

All of our kids loved her, and she let them climb all over her! Easton definitely misses her the most. Miya would let him lay on her (usually cuddled up in the niche between her belly and front legs) while he drank his bottles. I wish I had a picture!

She went down hill fast. The vet did both an x-ray and blood work on the day we took her in. They found that Miya had a tumor wrapped around her heart and water around her lungs. Her blood work pointed towards cancer also. It was an easy - yet heart wrenching - decision. We knew she was hurting and putting her down was the best choice :(

We all miss her dearly, but it has been especially hard on our other dog Jinx. He wouldn't eat the first week. He always let her go outside first and eat first - so he has had difficulty 'relearning' how to do these things alone. When he does go out, he wanders the back yard as if he is looking for her. What a love/hate relationship they had! He is slowly getting back to his new normal, and we hope he sticks around for awhile (he turned eleven this past October)!

Thank you to everyone who sent us cards and emails expressing your sympathy - it is so nice to know that the world is full of dog people!!!

Christmas Cards - Decisions, Decisions

Last year I made adorable, customized photo calendars from Shutterfly for our immediate family. I loved how easy it was to upload and select my own photos to add to their huge variety of photo collage layouts. It was simple (which I love), and they turned out beautifully. Here is how ours looks (ignore the mess on the actual calendar part!) Shhh... I will be making them again this year! I love that the 'old' photos that I uploaded from last year are still in my account. As I work on the 2011 calendars, having quick access to the old photos will make it that much easier to mix the old with the more recent pics to make gorgeous new calendars.

Since I loved how the calendars turned out, I have been checking out (or maybe obsessing over) Shutterfly's beautiful Christmas Photo cards. I love how you can select card previews based upon the number of photos you want to add. I am especially partial to the cards that allow space for one larger photo and four small photos. I like to include a large family pictures, and then showcase individual pictures - on the front of the card. They have some beautiful choices!
The first one that I am loving is:
Another that I love is:
I don't know how I will make the choice :{

If I can't decide soon, I may just have to send out New Year cards instead :)

Shutterfly has wonderful prices, and you can buy them in as large or as little quantity as you like!

And... if you are a blogger, they have a great deal for you!!! Head over here and check out their opportunity to earn 50 free cards! What is better than free?!?!?
*This post is part of Shutterfly's 50 free card deal ;)