b/c who doesnt love a christmas tree farm

 

  

 

 Mike and I started a new tradition when we got married - get our Christmas tree from a Christmas tree farm. So this year, after Thanksgiving, my whole family packed up and headed to the closest Christmas tree farm. This was the first holiday I got to spend with my sister and her family (excluding her hubs) in 5 years. It filled my heart with joy to be able to roast a marshmallow with them and for my nephew to ask to hold my hand as we tromped through the trees. I loved seeing him pick out the perfect tree, which was exactly three feet high; and teaching my niece how to pinch something far off in the distance (come on, we all know this trick and see it in pics all the time). Oh and let me tell you, I never knew a hayride could be so funny. No idea why we were cracking up....but we were.

I am beyond grateful for this family. Each moment is worth savoring with these folks.  We won't be together always and soon we'll be divided by an ocean again. But I am grateful for the opportunity to make memories and build relationships that will last a lifetime, even when we're gone.

ESFJ and a weekend recap

Remember that super cool family I introduced you to last week? Well the whole crew came into town to visit and celebrate and have a good time. My sister and her family are missionaries in Germany so we rarely get the opportunity for all of us to get together. It's one of my favorite things to  have our whole family together again.






 We baked cakes for all the Sept birthdays in our family (three total.. me, dad and my cousin Moriah)


   
biked around Lake Crabtree and such



we played


the whole famn damily


the siblings

and lots of cuteness....





 
      
All photogs courtesy Der Dave (el brother in law).

Day five of Blogtember: Take this short personality test and respond to your results.

 Now for my personality.  I'm the ol' ESFJ today.  As with anything, I agree with parts and disagree with others. I've taken these tests before but I couldn't tell you if it's the same as before. Memory isn't my thing. Nor is saving anything. I know I'm extroverted but the older I get, I feel a little introvertedness creeping in. I crave alone time now. Whereas 5 years ago, that sounded like the worst idea ever.   Actually the last time I took this it told me I was introverted by 1%. Who knows what I'll be tomorrow.

ESFJ

Extravert(56%)  Sensing(1%)  Feeling(12%)  Judging(33%)

• You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (56%)
• You have marginal or no preference of Sensing over Intuition (1%)
• You have slight preference of Feeling over Thinking (12%)
• You have moderate preference of Judging over Perceiving (33%)

via

My bag of nuts

Good-bye long weekend. Hello short week!

Super pumped to be joining in on the Blogtember Challenge from Story of My Life! Hoping that after a month of blogging every day (minus weekends), I'll get back into the swing of things (fingers crossed). So here goes nothing...


     Today's prompt: describe where or what you come from. The people, the places, and/or the factors that make up who you are.     This is my family...

 

 

odd.

fun.

creative. 

dysfunctional.

goofy.

hard working.

resourceful.

loving.

adventurous.

changed.

luckily I married into a family just as nuts as my own.

 

 

We're a small group with lots of personality. 

We have our strengths and our weaknesses.

We've always been a bunch of weirdos. 

We don't take life too seriously. 

Rules and etiquette aren't really things that ever cross our minds. 

Laughter is our medicine.
We have our fair share of dysfunction. 

We have an entangled story of joys, pains, laughter, sorrow. 

The family I have today isn't like the family I had ten years ago. 

Our new story is a story of redemption and joy. 

We're still all pieces of work but we've been created new in Christ. 

I am thankful every day for the handful of nuts I get to call family.

our home's first holiday

This past weekend seems like years ago. It was just so busy and full of fun that BAM the week hit and it's just crawling by. I hope everyone had an awesome Easter! For us, it was amazing {and tiring}. We stayed in Raleigh and had Mike's parents and my dad {my mom is in Guatamala on a mission trip} come up to hang out, go to church, celebrate.

We saw art

drank wine

looked at plants

strolled the farmers' market

ate German baked goods

danced at a drum circle

watched fire hulu hooping

praised God

had good conversations

played with knives

concocted flavors with Jelly Bellies

saw our dinner go from full fish body to filet

served God

had conversations over coffee

had a sugar high.

It was glorious.This was the first holiday we stayed in our home and had our families up. It def had a different feeling -- it felt more grown up, maybe? I can't quite put my finger on it. I enjoyed it though. Sunday, after all our guests left, we were dead - totally vegged the whole day. It was awesome. There is something about a day with your husband, just the two of you, worry-free, that makes for an amazing day. It's those days I treasure most.

drum circle | homemade strawberry shortcake | tomato cages | fire hulu hoopers

sand, stripes and pastries

Don't mind me.....I am just hanging out on Cloud 9 today.

It's warm here, my toes are in the sand and I'm devouring soft, stinky cheese and crusty bread.

Mike and I are venturing in and out of markets and sipping delicious wines.
I wear the cutest high-waisted shorts
as I ride on my adorable little bicycle full of flowers, wine and fresh fruits.

Two of the cutest toddlers I know are laughing, singing and dancing with me.
I am in paradise.

Ugh summer of 2013.. are you here yet?

We've just booked a trip to Normandy in this cute little abode

and hopefully we'll get to see this cute little family

I am seriously dying with excitement.. and I have over a year to wait? UGH!

for those of you that don't know.. this is my sister and her family
they live in germany

I am {slightly} obsessed with them

they are beyond inspiring, fun and loving

their love of Christ and obedience is amazing

they inspire me to be better, stronger, more passionate

they laugh as a family

they play as a family
they pray as a family

they know how to live life to the fullest

while always glorifying God

Now about my niece and nephew.. I'll have to do a whole separate post
{of incredible cute-ness.. you seriously have no idea}

Sofia is the coolest girl on the planet.

One day, she is going to make an AMAZING woman of God.

She is hilarious, smart, sweet.

I could squeeze her to pieces if she would let me.

Levi is the cuddliest, cutest baby boy.

I want to eat him up every time I hear him or see him.
He is so snuggly, warm and precious!

I can't wait to watch him grow up into a strong, loving father like his own.

I am already starting the countdown until summer 2013. That is just way too long to wait.
Especially for the girl that always opened Christmas presents and rewrapped them.
Patience is not a gift of mine..
at... all

Perhaps, picking out {dream} outfits will ease the waiting period:

vive la france by charrigo featuring strappy heels

Have you been to Normandy? Fav spots? Foods?

I love recommendations :)

Jigsaw crew neck top
£45 - jigsaw-online.com

Flat front shorts
$70 - topshop.com

Seychelles strappy heels
$70 - dsw.com

Givenchy summer handbag
€630 - lindestore.com

Kate Spade chain jewelry
$99 - katespade.com

Michael Kors face jewelry
£200 - harveynichols.com

Kate spade sunglasses
$128 - piperlime.gap.com

Forever 21 brim straw hat
$15 - forever21.com

NYE

our new years eve was a nice relaxing day and one that truly encompassed 

all the changes that occurred in the past year

..my parents came up for a visit..

..they helped us do some nesting..

..a trip to the flea market where we found some really fun pieces for bathroom redo #1..

..lunch at piebirds..

here's my sweet mommy

and a peak at some of our delicious choices:

apple, pecan and blue cheese salad

curry chicken hand pie

bananas in pajamas pie (ah-maze-ing)

after a day of enjoying each other, we gathered with our friends for a potluck

hubs and i 

 his amazing homemade pizza pie

 the gals {Stephanie L, Stephanie A, Shannon, Mal (the beauts hostess), me, Amanda}

POSE!

 straight A's

..our first NYE kiss as a married couple..

I didn't feel that great so my rents, mike and I headed back to our house when the crowd went downtown. We brought in the new year in our first little home with my sweet parents! 

No better way to end a year and begin another.