we're in love . . .

two weeks ago we celebrated our ten year anniversary.
that used to seem so far away.
and now we are here and it's truly been ten years of bliss.
in honor of the milestone we decided to get lovey dovey pictures taken.
they were taken by the sweet and talented callie granderson.
here are some of our favorites. . .

i'm so glad that we made the time to do this even with the craziness of moving and the holidays.
i think it definitely needs to be an anniversary tradition.

if you're in northwest arkansas, callie is your girl. she does a great job and she gives you the disk full of edited photos so you can print & publish them as you like. Pin It

i love this so much.

i had this video on my sidebar but i think it's so awesomesauce that i want you all to be sure and see it too. :)
it really is so happy.
children make everything happy.

did you know that i have fun links on my sidebar?  i do.  look under {i'm currently digging}.
now watch this video and smile.
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christmas part 2

christmas morning.
at home with our 3 boys.
sweet & happy.
they get to open their stockings first thing. . . before breakfast.
i love collecting little things here and there throughout the year for their stockings.
{by the way, i did not get new stockings made....i realized i didn't have enough material so we used the ones we had}

then breakfast...amish french toast. they didn't love it as much as aj and i did. but they will someday. what's not to love about brown sugar & pecans?

after breakfast, aj reads the christmas story.
we spend time thanking Jesus' for coming to earth to be our hope.

they each get a couple of small things and one main gift.
avery got a skateboard {he is thrilled}.
finley got a fish tank & got to go pick out his fish yesterday {the only thing he asked for for christmas was a pet}.
sawyer got a little people magna doodle {which he doesn't write on but insists other people draw him pictures}

around lunch time my step mom and little sis hannah showed up to spend the rest of christmas day with us.

another wonderful christmas meal....roast, potatoes, rolls, jello salad, green bean casserole, the best sweet potato casserole, and of course, sweet tea.

and that is where i planted myself for the rest of the day.
it was lovely. Pin It

christmas part 1

we celebrated christmas with my mom & her husband david (aka grammy & grandpa david) on christmas eve.
it was a lovely, cozy, relaxing day.
we started with a really yummy meal.
meatballs,  brown sugar green beans, jello salad, texas potatoes, rolls, & sweet tea. 

david brought the cabinets he built for the living room. they are awesome.
i'm chomping at the bit to paint them so aj can set them up.
mom brought me a bunch of kindling for our wood burning stove.
that is my new favorite thing.
i have decided i must have a real wood fire place for the rest of time.

we had a fun time opening presents.
it's always fun to watch the boys' reaction to gifts.
they make christmas so fun.

avery & fin gave (and translated) their special cards they made for them.

 

in the afternoon sawyer went down for his nap, the big boys were entertained with their new toys and aj and i were able to sneak a nap in. 

it was wonderful.

it was so cozy with the fire going & the christmas lights glowing.

i pulled the camera off the table and took a picture of my view right where i was laying.

i  wanted to capture this perfect, relaxing moment.

it was a wonderful, peaceful day.

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glory to God in the highest!

"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly hosts appeared with the angel, praising God 

and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests. '"

{photo source}

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Merry Christmas

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

warm christmas wishes from our family to yours.

love, aj, sara, avery, finley & sawyer

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kitchen update

the kitchen is coming along
it's starting to feel more like me.
it is probably my favorite feature of this house.
it's nice & big, huge front window, tons of cabinet space & a bar that my kids can sit at.
i am already really enjoying the bar with all this christmas baking we've been doing.
and here are the updated barstools {karen, don't look}

okay so here's how the kitchen looks now.....

you'd think i could have cleared off the bar to take the picture.
i moved the white cabinet to the side to balance things out.
it was looking all wonky over there in the corner.

aj hung my plates up.

and my curtains that i love so much i want to marry them.

they are vintage. and they smell vintage. and i love them so much i can be caught hugging them at times.
look at the pretty pattern. 

i got four panels for a song at the boutique show a few weeks ago.
that was a good decision.
  i almost got 2 panels and my friends yelled at me and told me to get all four.
i'm glad i listened.

okay i must get back to my project...i decided to make stockings two days before christmas because i am a lunatic.
and i'd rather craft than clean or unpack.
hope you are all enjoying your christmas week! Pin It

pretzel kisses

this is my favorite, favorite, favorite christmas treat to make with the kids.
it's so easy {do we notice a theme here?}.
the kids can help and it doesn't stress me out.
we make these every year.

you need:
*pretzel squares
*m&m's
*chocolate kisses
 * some super cute helpers

my little sister hannah is here for a couple of days so we had an extra helper.  :)

the kids did this while i cut up chicken for tonight's white chicken chili. win-win. 

first you lay out a single layer of the pretzels on your cookie sheet.

then have your helpers unwrap all those kisses and put one on each pretzel square.

put them in a 350ish oven for 2-3 minutes.

watch them! you don't want to overcook them or you will be throwing the whole pan in the trash.

cook them just until you can put the end of your wooden spoon on a kiss and it presses down.

then pull them out and put one m&m on each melted kiss & push it down to flatten it some.

that is it! they're so easy & yummy.

if you like a salty/sweet combo, these are for you.

 i usually put them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden up.

we've made all different combinations of these using different flavors of kisses.

this year we've done peppermint kisses and my personal favorite, dark chocolate kisses.

oh and another yummy variation is to use a rolo and put a pecan on the top....it comes out tasting like a turtle.  you know you want to try that.

one of my favorite ways to package up christmas treats is using recycled canisters from things like formula cans, oatmeal cans, coffee cans, etc. 

this one is an oatmeal can w/ wrapping paper taped on & a quick tule knot. 

i clean out the can & put the treats, wrapped in tissue paper, inside.

good thing my friends who helped me move didn't see my stash of canisters. ;)

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recycled christmas crayons

this is a really fun christmas craft project with kids.
and it's free.
music to my ears. :)

we made these for the boys to pass out at school.

avery was my helper for this project.
finley said he'd rather just come in when we were done and say, "good job."  :)

okay here are the steps:


1. gather up your broken crayons & remove the paper.

we ended up having to use some full crayons as well to have enough.
avery peeled.
i sliced the paper off with a kitchen knife.

2. sort them by color

3. break them into small pieces and fill up your tray.
we used one silicone tray & one mini muffin tin.
fyi: if you don't want to lose your mind scrubbing the pan afterwards, use a tin that you are only going to use for these.
*look at these cute alphabet ones meg made & the gingerbread men jenny made.

4. bake at 250 ish & check at 10 min to see if all the pieces are melted.

5. put them in the freezer until they are hard & they'll pop right out of the tray.

the hardest part is taking all those papers off the crayons...but otherwise this is a super simple & fun project.
i loved having one on one time with avery.
we listened to christmas music and drank hot cider while we worked.
also, i have learned to only use crayola crayons, no fake brands. otherwise you will get a weird clearish waxy layer on one side of them.

later that night i put a couple crayons in each little clear bag & stapled on a cute christmas tag & ribbon.
sorry i don't have a picture but it was a bit hectic getting them to school with all their christmas party paraphenalia. :)

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 in other news . . .  i do not enjoy moving. 
i try to not be negative & complaining on my blog . . . who wants to read that? 
but seriously, moving is not very much fun.
so i don't want to act like it's all rainbows & butterflies.
it's overwhelming. 
and i still don't feel settled.
the last time we moved i had one child.
this time i have 3 busy boys who make messes everywhere they go.
it seems for every one thing i pick up or put away they get ten more out.
and also it's christmas...which is fun but brings a whole lot of it's own business & activity.
i'm not writing this for you to feel sorry for me.
we are all happy & fine.
but i would be lying if i said i didn't feel pretty stressed right now.
and also, finley got the stomach flu last night which resulted in us missing our community group christmas party & me missing my christmas shopping day today.
so, boo hoo. okay, that's enough whining for one day.
i'll go get my act together now. 
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chocolate covered peanut butter crackers

i love making christmas goodies to pass out to friends and family.
i gave this last minute gift idea last year.
however i realized, in looking back through my blog, i haven't shown any of my favorite treats that i love to give out.
i hope to share some of them with you this week.
today's treat is a new one for me.
it's pretty much a glorified reese's {YUM}
and it's so stinkin' easy.
which is mandatory for me.

you need 3 ingredients {and you probably already have these in your pantry}.
ritz crackers
chocolate chips {or white chocolate if you're sassy}
peanut butter
*optional: sprinkles


1. pour a bag o' chocolate chips into an oven safe bowl at 300-ish so they can start melting.

2. slap some peanut butter between two ritz....top sides facing each other.

3. check the chocolate chips every so often and give them a stir.

4. when the chocolate is melted and your cracker sandwiches are ready, you drop them in, one at a time and turn them around with your fork until they're nice & coated.

5. lift out the chocolate covered peanut butter sandwich with your fork, tap the fork on the side of your bowl a few times to let the excess chocolate drip down.

6. slide them onto some wax {or parchment} paper

7. while they're still wet, shake on some fun sprinkles.

 i used pink, red, white & lime green sprinkles.

8. put them in the freezer for a few minutes so that the chocolate will harden.

9. if you can control yourself and not eat them all on the spot, pop them in some christmas cello bags and you have a super cute & sweet gift!

enjoy! let me know if you try these. :)

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one project at a time, i'm going to whip this house into shape.

confession: it's 2:30 in the afternoon and i'm still in my pajamas.
it's been a lovely day.
first day of the boys' christmas break.
i slept in until 7. that was lovely.
no homeschooling for 3 weeks. super yay.
and looky looky what fun project i'm working on....

last week my friend erin and i found an awesome flea market.
we both walked out with an armful of treasures.
i found these great barstools for six bucks!!!

i'd been looking for barstools for about a month.
the super plain-jane barstools at walmart are $40 for a pair.
there was a pair {that would need to be cleaned up} at salvation army for $15.
when i saw these, i'm pretty sure the heavens parted and angels started singing.
2 for 12 bucks, plus padded seats and they are in great shape.
yes, please.

they are super fun and funky, but i had a different look in mind for them.
i cut off the retro material and left them as is, for about a week.

i grabbed a quart of black paint that i've had for forever.
i bought it for $1.50 at the restore several years ago and i've used it for tons of projects.
when the legs are dry, i'm going to staple on some natural muslin i have on hand and they'll be done.
i'm very happy about the extra seating for when we have large groups over for dinner.
i think i need to find one more to have a set of three. :)

also, i have to tell you that i found the. best. paint. color.
it's called faded burlap and i love it.

a couple of girlfriends and i painted the kitchen before we moved in.
it was a celery greenish color before.

i like the celery, but i wanted a more neutral-go-with-anything color.
enter, faded burlap.

it's just a really good neutral. not pinky at all. no yellow or green undertones.
just nice, light tan.
when we repainted our last house i poured over paint samples, taped a bunch to the wall and hemmed and hawed over which one to choose.
in the end i didn't love the one i chose. it was just kind of blah to me.
right before we were going to paint this kitchen, i ran into lowes with 3 boys in the cart, grabbed a handful of paint samples, and asked the guy which one wouldn't turn out pink.
and really, i was sold at the name, faded burlap.
 that just makes me happy.
so that goes to show you i should just make paint decisions on the fly or use mis-tints. no more overthinking it.

here's another view of the kitchen {the only room in the house that's clean}

my white plates that are sitting on the buffet are going to go on the wall above it.
i want to do a chalk board on the opposite wall.
i'm working on window treatments.

i hope to show you one room at a time {b/c that's all that will be clean at any given time} as i get them done.

okay i think it's officially time to get out of my pajamas. :)
have a wonderful weekend everyone..... Pin It