One gigantic CHRISTMAS post.

Because, ya know, it's been a while. And New Years seemed like the perfect day to recap Christmas. :) 
This post is going to be long and picture-heavy...just a fair warning!

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Setting up the tree together was SO fun this year. Molly loved putting up the ornaments. 
Here she is right before putting the tree up:

We decided to get our kids a new ornament each year when we put up the tree so that when they leave our house, they have a box full of ornaments for their own tree someday! 
This year I got Molly a baby, because she looooves babies so much. Safe to say she was pretty excited about it. :)

I finally have a mantel to decorate! So fun!

We went to see the zoo lights on a beautiful night...see, we didn't even wear coats! We thought it wouldn't be that crowded, being a weeknight. Everyone else in Columbus thought so too. :)

Chris's work had a Christmas party one Saturday this month, which had a ton of fun activities. Molly was pretty unsure of the idea of getting her face painted, so I went first. Here are our matching bows:

And this was Molly's face when she first saw Santa. She immediately exclaimed, "I don't like Santa Claus!" haha

And yes, we got the classic picture of a screaming child on Santa's lap. 

Cooper, on the other hand, was infatuated with Santa. Especially his nose and his glasses.

Molly and I making Christmas cookies together:

We travelled to North Carolina to spend some time with my family before Christmas. It was nothing short of amazing. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family that loves each other and gets along so well. :)

My mom bought a bounce house! Yes, a bounce house! Haha. It was so cool, and the kids loved it!

We came home from our trip to a flooded laundry room. Just two days before Christmas. It was terrible timing, to say the least. Monday was such a discouraging day for me, as I was trying to keep my joy amidst all the crazy of the laundry room situation, our cars having issues, and just the madness that IS two days before Christmas. 

Then this happened. A sweet, sweet friend from church delivered this beautiful plate of goodies. It just couldn't have come at a more perfect time! God knows best! Thank you SO much, Mikayla and Whitney! 

The kiddies before Christmas eve service. You can see how much she adores her little brother.

Also, let it be known that Molly wore the same dress two Christmases in a row. My tiny, petite little girl. (last year on the left, this year on the right)

Molly at Grandma Dorothy's with the big giant Christmas bear:
(I'm not sure why there's snow on this picture, but it's kinda cool, right?) 

Christmas morning was the four of us at our house. It was so relaxing and full of joy. 

The annual stocking picture:

Chris had this incredibly old pair of shorts that used to be his dads that were getting super worn out. He literally could not take one step without them falling down (the elastic was so stretched out!) I was finally able to convince him to get rid of them, but without him knowing, I fashioned them into a pair of pants for Cooper.

I figure my sister-in-law is making babies to carry on to a third generation....I'll make a pair of pants to do the same! ;)

Hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas. 
Here's to a wonderful 2014!!!

Molly & Cooper's Room Tour

Up first is my very favorite room in the whole house. This room has been my favorite in each place that we've lived, but I think this time, it's climbed to the top of my "best ever" list. It's hard to walk in here without smiling. 

It kind of just exudes happiness. :)

One of my most favorite parts of this room is how much of it is handmade, either by me or some of my best friends. I look all around and am reminded of all the people that love and care about my kids. :)

Ok, here we go!

Because everybody loves a good before and after: 

We said goodbye to the carpet and wallpaper, and hello to beautiful original hardwood floors and fresh paint. 

I also thought I'd include a before and after shot of Molly's kitchen, which we gave her for her second birthday back in May. I found this on Craigslist for super cheap, and just made a few changes. :)

That's it! 

Hopefully I'll be back soon with tours of the rest of the house. 

But count on it being later rather than sooner. :) 

A lesson in the leaves.

A couple of weeks ago, I was catching up with my cousin. Since the last time we had talked, both of us had had babies (yeah, it had been a while!). At one point in conversation, she seemed surprised that this whole being-a-mom thing is difficult for me (she has two as well). It made me step back for a second and question what kind of "front" I put on, even if it's unintentional.

I try hard to capture beautiful moments in our life. I do occasionally take pictures of our house when it's a mess just to remind me of it later (and give me a good laugh). But the pictures I post to this blog, to Facebook, to instagram? I mean, of course I want/hope to show pretty pictures. :)

BUT but but, just to ward off anyone thinking this is all a walk in the park for me, allow me to depict for you the events that took place before this fun little photo shoot of my kids joyfully playing in the leaves. 

It was about 4pm. Chris would be home in about an hour and a half, and I thought, "oh, I'll just take the kids outside and let them play while I do a little yard work." Easy peasey. Fun for all.

Ha. 

First off, it was my first time trying to strap Cooper into the carrier on my back, which was extremely difficult and awkward. 

It also just happened to be one of the windiest days we'd had in a while. 

In case you're unaware, let me just assure you that raking leaves and trying to put them into a paper bag that is supposed to stand up by itself while wind is blowing everything on God's green earth all over the place.....Good golly, I lost my train of thought. Basically, it's not a pretty picture!

Fifteen minutes in, I was beat. I haven't exercised in--well, I'm not sure how long it's been--and my muscles were aching like crazy. My dog was barking at the rake and her leash was getting all tangled in it. Molly's bag of sidewalk chalk was blowing down the neighbor's driveway. It was getting more and more miserable by the minute.

But at this point, the unthinkable crossed my mind.

Let it go, Amy. 

Let go of your expectations to have this task completed in this amount of time. Let your kids be kids, and enjoy them! 

Haha, looking back on that, it seems so simple. 

So THAT is the point I ran inside, grabbed my camera, and told both kids to just have at it in the pile of leaves. 

It's so funny what a simple shift in your frame of mind can make. It went from this late afternoon being totally miserable to so enjoyable. So thank you, Lord, for helping me! 

Life IN Jesus

God made him who had no sin

to be sin for us

so that in him

we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

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Whoa. That's a verse I have to read over and over again to fully comprehend the fullness of it. And still, whoa. 

I was talking with a friend yesterday about temptation and sin and how it seems that we each have our own thing or things that we're tempted by.

And this morning, as I read this verse, 

I'm reminded of how much I need Him. 

Every moment of every hour, I need Him! 

I think that's what this verse means when it says, 

in Him. 

When we are in Him, constantly abiding, that's when we're becoming more and more like Jesus, 

able to live in victory over our sins!!

And this is the Gospel, my friends. The Good News. 

We can live a victorious life in Jesus! 

Praise Him!