Enjoying a White Christmas

It was an exhausting trip here... it involved a long delay in the Seattle airport, kids getting over-tired and cranky, me having a breakdown near the end of the flight because I was exhausted & knew we missed our connection, getting stuck in Chicago overnight (with basically only our diaper bag - Travis had to walk to the store at midnight to get diapers), traveling the next day in clothing we had worn the day before, but the good news is that we finally made it!!
Here is what Xmas in Michigan with my family looks like:
Looking forward to a double date with Kara & Josh tomorrow night for NYE!!!

Silent Night, Holy Night...

Merry Christmas!! Here are a couple pictures from Mass tonight...

Luke 2:10-14: And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Evelyn's Pump It Up Party!

We had Evelyn's 3rd birthday party last night at an "inflatable party" place. Her birthday isn't until the 26th -- but it is hard to pick a good date that isn't right in the middle of the holiday rush/madness. It was her first big girl birthday party with her own friends (in the past we have had just a little gathering of friends at the house). She had a blast!!! Here is a picture of one of the inflatables... a huge slide that all the kids were going down (the littler ones went with their parents) This is our neighbor Jody and her daughter Turynn:Here is Evelyn in action with her Uncle Chuck:Noah enjoying the party:Evelyn blew out her candle on the first try :)Noah kissing the birthday girl Evelyn & her friend Kaylin (seriously, Evelyn was such a little busy-body it was impossible to get a good picture of her -- this is the best it gets)

I will post a link to some pics on Snapfish once I get more uploaded, just in case anyone is interested in more pics from a 3-year old birthday party :)

ONLY 3 DAYS UNTIL X-MAS!!!

Craft Stuff...

A few people asked about the countdown blocks I recently posted... believe me, I didn't come up with that idea on my own!

Here is the site for ordering the "countdown block" sets:

http://windmilllettering.blogspot.com/2009/08/super-saturdaytis-season.html

I went in with a group of others so we received the pricing for 10 sets or more. She does have an etsy site, but I think she sells the finished product for $40.

Here is another craft project that I just finished -- a hair clip/barrette holder for Evelyn:I made mine with brighter colors to match the kid's bathroom which is pink/purple/green.
Here is the site where the inspiration came from:
http://makeitandloveit.blogspot.com/2009/04/bowhair-clip-holder.html

All for now - life is busy these days. Tis the season!! :)

Family "Photo Shoot"

I am incredibly behind on things... I was going to post xmas tree cutting pics, xmas decorating pics, etc -- but I am going to start by posting our family photo shoot pics and maybe I will get around to posting the others :) The photographer did a great job -- especially considering it was drizzly/rainy outside and both kids were fighting bad colds!!She even captured a few "crabby" shots of the kids that I think are pretty cute:

Complete Craft Projects... check

One of my friends out here (Brianne) is the craftiest, most talented mommy that I know. She invited me to a craft day at her church last year and has also organized a couple different craft nights. I finally put a hanger on the back of the magnet board below -- and it is now hanging in my office. It is going to be a picture/artwork brag board :)
And I finally finished my countdown blocks (unfortunately I didn't finish them in time to use the Halloween ones...)

She is also the reason why I have a neat "Vandervort Family" growth chart hanging upstairs. Thanks for being so artsy-craftsy Brianne -- you inspire me!!