iHappy new year!

so phil got us new phones a couple weeks ago.  here's mine:

i held out as long as i could and hung on to my free phone (which incidentally is the same one richard blais used to call his wife to tell her he was top chef- see? i'm in good company) but finally caved in with the masses of smart phone users when the thing dropped one call too many.

so i figured i'd try out this newfangled phone over new years.  by taking it on our latest trip and using it as my only camera.  *gasp*.  as both a challenge and as a way to be more present in the moment rather than constantly trying to capture them.

so here are the results.

phil took off a few extra days so we could go visit both sides of the family over the new year holiday.  we started out at my parents' place.  it was hard to tell who was happier about the visit- the grandparents or the grandkids.

the kids couldn't wait to feed the goats again.

but there were only small hard apples to feed them this time of year.

turns out even goats aren't big fans of the sour apples no matter how many the kids tossed out to them (and they tossed a lot).

mikey and allie were quite comfortable with grandpa's dog lily and loved petting her.  turns out lauren will need a few more visits to warm up to her, though.

and jonah wasn't too sure about the old man at first, either.  until he discovered who would let him eat anything he wanted at every meal.

 then it was best friend city after that.

inseparable pals, really.

 and i found myself kicked to the curb, just like that.

there was lots of lounging around with iphones on this trip.

so i had to resort to this to get any attention around here.

worked like a charm, though.

 however briefly.

well look who decided to go and sprout two brand new teeth all at once!

checkin' out his handsome self in daddy's sunglasses.

before we knew it, our three-day visit was over and it was time to go.  the tears and wailing were quite dramatic as we drove away.

bust out the iphones and the tears dry up instantaneously.  it was amazing to behold.

 plus there was plenty more fun to be had at ahma's house, too.

 with a park just two blocks away.

except jonah wasn't a big fan of his first swing ride.  missing his nap probably had more to do with it, though.

mikey's highlight was finding some old bikes in the garage to ride with daddy.

allie's was getting to ride in the baby carrier on daddy's back.

 a great time was had with both sides of the family.  just wished the time didn't go so fast!

because we were back on the road headed for home before any of us were ready to return.

but at least it was a quiet ride...


happy 2012, friends!

christmas favorites.

some highlights from this past christmas...

seeing these precious handmade ornaments year after year.  look at my little buddy!  i think he will look exactly like this to me the day he leaves for college.

and i'm instantly feeling very sad about that very thought.  take it back!  take it back!

a new one to add to the collection this year.  :)

taking my girls out on a special date to the angel breakfast.

seeing my baby celebrate his first christmas.

by trying to eat the magnet advent pieces every. single. day.

making eight dozen mini sticky pecan buns.  from scratch.

and then driving all over town to deliver them to our friends.  (never mind that it was really late and we came unannounced and we probably freaked all our friends out more than anything else.)

then driving through 'candy cane lane' (a neighborhood in our town) to admire all the pretty lights and decorations.

while munching on popcorn laced with m&ms, sipping hot chocolate from thermoses, and listening to christmas tunes on the radio.

that combination (especially the snacks) is something the kids especially look forward to every year.

taking my girl out for a mommy-daughter outing to see the nutcracker.

waking up christmas morning and coming downstairs to find my two little guys like this.

homemade cinnamon rolls!

seeing this face.  (each of the kids got 3-4 presents to open plus their stockings, but piled all together and it looked like quite the mountain!)

finding a surprise present from my little guy.  it was his $2 bill that he got from the tooth fairy.  (he took this pic, too!)

and he was pretty sad when he discovered daddy went and surprised me with a keurig coffee maker AND the box of coffees that he said he wanted to buy for me when he was in college (he hasn't realized yet that he'll be broke while in college).  i told him i'd hurry up and drink all the ones daddy bought me so that he could get me the next box once he's in college.  he seemed okay with that idea.  only...  i'll have to wait another eleven years before i'll get more coffee.

this kid.  i really, really, really love this kid.

seeing the kids thank each other for the presents they picked out for each other.

seeing them get exactly what they wanted (and have been waiting for months to get).  in her case, it was a doll bed, closet, and clothes.  she loved.

seeing our girls sing "go, tell it on the mountain" with their sunday school classes on christmas morning.

and our boy sing "hark, the herald angels sing" with his class.

and having our girls finally fit into the christmas dresses i bought them... two years ago.

it was a wonderful christmas season around here.  hope yours was great too.  :)

merry christmas!

hark the herald angels sing

glory to the newborn king

peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled

joyful all ye nations rise

join the triumph of the skies

with angelic host proclaim

Christ is born in bethelehem

hark the herald angels sing

glory to the newborn king

God and sinners reconciled.  <---- this is why we celebrate and make merry on this very special day.  

the most precious and best gift ever given in the form of a newborn king.  this is why we make much of christmas.  this is the reason for our holiday traditions.  this is the best. news. ever.

and so, with joyful hearts, we wish you a
merry christmas from our (bruin) family to yours! 

decking the halls.

finally!  moving on to christmas posts!

pretty much as soon as the last bite of thanksgiving dinner was eaten, mikey asked when we were going to get our christmas tree and decorate the house.

he's down with doing holidays in order and doesn't get why stores put up their christmas stuff when we're still shopping for halloween costumes.  but he figures it's all fair game once that turkey leg is put down.

in years past, we've always tried to get a tree sometime during the thanksgiving weekend.  unfortunately for this year, phil had to work nights for most of the weekend and was simply too tired to do it.  so we decided we'd get the tree the next weekend.

and to mikey, this meant that we were the Very Last Family to get a tree.  he got more and more antsy during the week whenever he'd see a house with lights up or a balloon santa sitting on a motorcycle on someone's lawn.

he was so worried about being the only family with no decorations up that he took matters into his own hands.  one afternoon, he and his kid sister got out the markers and drew tiny little colored balls on paper, cut them out, and taped each one on our staircase banister.  definitely cute, but not quite the festive look he was hoping for, i think.

suffice it to say, it was an exceptionally looong week in the life of our resident seven-year-old. 

but!  all good things come to those who wait, and finally, a whole week after thanksgiving weekend, we set out on our annual tree expedition.

we stopped first at our local bakery to fortify ourselves for the task that lay ahead.

unfortunately, they weren't open yet.

but the waiting paid off and we decided that today was a day when chocolate for breakfast was completely in order.

i only have two words for these macaroons.  OH and MY.

only when we were adequately sugared up were we truly ready for the great tree hunting expedition of 2011.

after much toil and drama (not really), we tsais found our perfect christmas tree.

and here it is...

behold!  we saw and we conquered!  at home depot!

mikey's initial reaction was, "are you being serious?"  but he fully embraced the wonder of our christmas tree by the time we were in line to purchase it.  not exactly sure what brought him around, but i'm guessing it was the rationale that a tiny tree was better than no tree at all.

and so, with the tree expedition complete, my little troops headed back for home.  (not having to tie the tree to the top of our van this year because it fit in our truck = bonus high fives between the parents.)

that evening, it was time to trim the tree.

and deck the halls.

we didn't get to hang all our ornaments this year, but we did make sure to hang the important ones!

we opted for a tiny tree to put on top of an end table instead of giving up living room space that's already tight to begin with.  the kids still had a great time hanging ornaments just the same.

but for some reason, phil is never in a really great mood on tree decorating night.  this is his reaction when asked what he's got against christmas.  scrooge.

bah humbug mood aside, he's still really good about untangling the hooks and handing ornaments off to small children to hang on the tree.

the decorating was left entirely to the kids.

they loved it.

i love her.

and him too.

ok, and her too.

alright, alright, and the baby too.  but he was napping so no pictures of him.

even though the tree was tiny, our girl couldn't quite get the star on top.

so big brother had to step in and set it on.

with some help straightening from daddy.

i hope he never gets too old to love christmas decorating.

no fireplace mantel this year, but a staircase works just as well for hanging stockings.

baby jonah's first christmas.  :)

the finished masterpiece!

nevermind that the ornaments were not very evenly distributed.

and happy, cheesy smiles to wish you and yours a very merry christmas!