instafriday

hello friends!

happy christmas week to you all.

i hope you are having lovely holidays. 

the holidays are not over until new years, fyi.

at least not for me...even if the mall has taken down all of their decorations. boo.

we keep our tree up until new years simply because it helps ease the post christmas blues.

plus, we still have one more christmas gathering tomorrow.

we like to spread out our holiday cheer. :)

we've had a great week. 

we went to kansas to be with AJ's family for christmas.

we got back wednesday night and had a family day yesterday. 

AJ's working today and then we get a three day weekend. very happy about that.

soooo....if you're new here, instafriday is my weekly roundup of cell phone pics using the instagram app on my iphone. 

you can also do instagram on an ipad.

you can follow my feed at saragood2bqueen

i hardly took any pictures over christmas because i just didn't feel like it.

but i always have my phone handy, so i was able to capture many festive moments that way. 

here we are last friday, all loaded up and on our way to kansas. 

{clearly i really like that sweatshirt, i think i've posted 3 pictures of me in it in the last week. it's gap kids, 3 bucks from the thrift store. hate me.}

on christmas eve the boys {minus finley who wanted to stay home} and their cousins went with grandma and grandpa to the christmas eve program. 

the rest of hung out at the house and watched dog the bounty hunter, obviously.

nothing says preparing your heart for the birth of Christ like the dog the bounty hunter.

i'm the dog, the big bad dog . . . 

AJ's sister, Jill, and i painted christmas nails while we watched.

ruby jane ready for christmas church.

oh mercy, she is just yummy.

she loves to hold her hands together. 

she is just such a little lady.

one very special moment on christmas day was avery and his great grandmother playing a duet of silent night.

i received several colorful scarves for christmas.

i'm so happy to have those fun pops of color in my otherwise uber boring wardrobe.

this one is from jill and i love it.

lots of car riding time meant lots of crocheting flowers.

i'm so excited about my giant box of thrifted treasures from kansas.

they have the best thrift shop there that has yard sale prices.

that's my kind of shopping. ;)

avery's birthday is on new years.

he got a big lego set for an early bday present from grandma and grandpa.

he worked on it for hours yesterday.

finley even helped out for a little while.

sweet brothers.

ruby is such a happy, happy girl these days.

we cannot get enough of her. 

we were at the pediatrician again morning.

i swear, it feels like we have spent half our life there lately.

people always ask me what it's like having four kids and mostly it's no big thing...the one thing i have noticed is the increase in doctor visits and the c-h-o-r-e it was to pack four children for a trip.

oh mercy, that about did me in. 

have a lovely weekend and happy new years!!

won't you join us and link up your weekly snapshots?

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outakes

 we did a very quick photo shoot a few weeks ago to try to get a pic for our christmas card.
our new friend, ali, met us at a barn close to our house to snap the pics.
there were several that are too great not to share, but didn't make the final cut for our card.

you could only see part of this one. . .

it was so cold that morning that we had to be really quick.
we ended up not getting a good one of sawyer, so ali met he and i a few days later to try again.
she got some gems.

yes, he is a looker.

ali is so sweet, not only did she meet us on her lunch break, but she was able to get some amazing smiles out of our sawyer. 

plus, she suggested i get in with sawyer for a quick one.  

i am so happy she did.

i love it.

i am so. so. so. thankful for that little boy.

thank you ali, for capturing our little family! :)


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Merry Christmas to You!

God's richest blessings to you today. Thank you for reading. I am so blessed by you. 

 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 

~luke 2:10-11

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instafriday

better late than never?
 our week in instapics....

the big boys had three days of school this week.
i savored some sawyer and mama time...doin' a little fishing by the fire.
sawyer loves to play games.

i planned to make six stockings this year.

i made one. 

i am really hoping i go ahead and make the others after christmas so that i get them done.

i've had the fabric for over a year already.

christmas crafting.

i love crocheting. 

i haven't done it in years. 

i am learning to make flowers. i love them.

she is cute.
i can hardly stand it.

found a new store, the vintage violet.
doesn't that just sound like a store you need to go to?
it is as awesome as it sounds.
found this ring for...wait for it....two dollars.
yes. please.

i made a quick version of this when i remembered i didn't have a gift for the student teacher.

sister's getting to be such a big girl.

rockin it at fin's class party.

i love target so much.
they make everything so stinkin cute.
i found all the stuff for a movie night basket for friends.
also love that ho ho ho font.

and now, because i just find him so adorable, here is sawyer singing you a little christmas ditty.




merry christmas!!

link up your instapics here....

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today

today is the first day of my big boys' christmas break.
it's been really good.
i slept until baby girl woke me at 7 to eat.
we ate a yummy swedish tea ring for breakfast. {thank you betsy & family :)}
we all piled on the couch and watched the grinch.

i worked all morning to get the fire going...AJ is much better at it and he didn't have time to get it started this morning.
the boys were all cozied around me and i worked on a crochet project while we watched.
so nice to have that time with my boys...especially after the hurry hurry rush of the past month.
it makes me miss our homeschooling days.
even though it's a bit crazy, i am happiest when we're all together under one roof.

i'm done with my christmas shopping.
just have some more projects to finish up.
i've been rolling the laundry through all day...accidentally washed an entire load of clean clothes. awesome.

tomorrow ruby is FOUR months old. wow. hope i remember to take her picture.

okay...guess i better go stoke the fire, throw another load in, and make some more hot fudge sauce. :)

have a lovely day...merry christmas!!!



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make this.

salted. caramel. pretzel. bark. 

if you like a salted caramel mocha {don't be scared, try it. you will never be the same} you will love this.

it takes 10 minutes to make, start to finish.
it is amazing. you will die.

click on the link above for the recipe.
try to not eat the entire batch yourself.

put it into cute little bags and everyone will love you forever and ever, amen.

my notes on this recipe:

*the first time i used hershey's special dark chips...oh mercy.
every other time {and there have been many} i have used semi-sweet chips and it's still amazing.

the tags are free printables from jones design company, tied with vintage lace.

*do not be afraid of the sea salt, it's what makes this stuff great.
*i love it best refrigerated.
*i bought the big bag of great value pretzels and it made 3 batches.


you are welcome.


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our love story, from his perspective.

did you read our love story last week?
for our anniversary, AJ gave me the best gift.
he wrote out how our story began . . . from his perspective.
if you follow my twitter you knew this was coming today....so here you go....how we began...take 2. :)

*********************************************************************************

Here’s my take on our LOVE story:

During the summer between my freshman and sophomore year, I had sworn off all girls.  I had seen a short Rich Mullins documentary in May and decided that I liked his way of thinking.  I was going to be a Kid Brother of St. Frank and carry on Rich’s legacy of singleness, travelling, living simply, and ministering to people.  I decided that me being set on getting married someday was putting God in a box.  (This is the part where you snicker to yourself as you recall how foolish 19 year-old boys can be.)

When I got back to campus that fall, I determined that I hadn’t spent enough time with my teammates from the rugby team in the past year.  So I filled every weekend with the guys, no girls.  Ever.  It was awesome.  Sometime that semester, Young Life started and I remember that Sara came with her friends for the first time to be a leader.  She hadn’t impressed me the first time (Powderpuff; oh, the arrogance) so I didn’t pay much attention to her.  But she was funny and I was already friends with her friends, so we got along fine.  There’s the whole broken leg thing and the midnight movie thing that you all already know about.  I don’t have much to add to that except that it’s funny how someone you barely gave five minutes to one day, could suddenly become incredibly attractive to you.  She took care of me and was kind to me and she hooked me without realizing it.  Also, I can see why some patients fall for their nurses. :)

Well, obviously, my Rich-for-life plan wasn’t working out.  I amended my previous assertion to be that EITHER getting married or to being single put God in a box.  I was now willing for Him to lead me wherever He wished.  I know, that’s so generous of me.  So, fast-forward to January, 1999.  I was back playing rugby with a brace on my ankle.  We’ll come back to that.

Anyway, I really enjoyed hanging out with Sara at Young Life.  All of us would eat dinner before hand and if she was doing dishes, I would “reluctantly” volunteer to dry and put them away; anything to spend a little time with her.  She seemed to reciprocate my friendly advances, so I thought maybe I was onto something.  I determined that I would begin pursuing her, casually and slowly.  That’s how I roll.  Plus, I’m deathly afraid of failing, so I wanted to know for sure one way or another before I put myself out there.  I had no idea that she was seeing someone else at the time. 

One day, after a cold, muddy rugby practice, I came back to the dorm and walked through the common area.  Sara was there with some other guy.  Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I was wearing a secret weapon – a pair of short rugby shorts.  It may seem a little creepy for grown men to wear shorts with a one inch inseam as a sports uniform, but I’m pretty sure my bulging leg muscles caught her eye.  Plus, it’s Euro, so that makes it cool.  I, of course, noticed that she was with some other guy.  I was jealous.  I had no idea how much I really liked her until that moment.  That’s the night I confessed these things to Sara’s friend, who I thought was more my friend than hers.  I’m a little slow.

Three days later, that same dear friend said to me, “you should really consider asking Sara out.”  I told her that I thought Sara was dating someone.  She told me that, miracle of miracles, Sara had just broken up with the guy.  I didn’t realize until much later why that was.  Again, a little slow.  This was Thursday.

The next Wednesday was Young Life.  I had a plan to ask her out on the way home.  Another leader and good friend of mine, Luke, needed a ride home which would have ruined everything.  I told him that I needed a quiet ride home and why.  He found another ride and I was grateful.  I made some comment to Sara about how, “everyone seems to have left us for some reason.  That’s weird.”  And off we went.  I’m pretty sure I could literally see my heart thumping through my shirt all the way home.  We made a bunch of useless small talk because I was too nervous to ask her.  I pulled up to her dorm and I thought she would talk a bit but she just hopped right out and was almost two steps away before I blurted, “Sara, I have a question for you!”  Smooth.

I asked.  She said yes.  And I will neither confirm nor deny her allegations that I lingered there until she was out of sight.  The rest was history.  Except there’s a lot more.  Like how we determined early on in our relationship that there would be no cycle of breaking up and getting back together like we’d seen some of our friends do.  We were in it.  Period.  She was committed like a bulldog to us.  I liked that about her.  Still do.  Or how, I had to ask her dad three times for permission to marry her.  That was fun.  I think I finally wore him down like a four year old asking for candy.  Or how her biggest flaw is that she doesn’t have the same confidence in herself that I do.  I think that one might go both ways. 

It’s been a great 11 years, babe!  I am so proud to be yours.  Sometimes I feel like I’m married to a rock star.  Except for that part where we have a stable marriage and there are no photogs outside of our house at all hours of the day.  Other than that, you are a rock star and I am your biggest fan.

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instafriday

roaring fire, mantle lit with lights, cozy blanket on the couch = dreamy.

i loooove her sweet little christmas dress.

with white cable knit tights.

perfection.

have you made the hot fudge sauce yet?

i've already made another batch and just bought ingredients to make more.

i've lost my mind.

i'm nearly done shopping....just a couple of tidbits left to do.

but i am soooo far from done with my projects.

plus i decided to sew SIX stockings. 

which we need by tomorrow morning.

and today's our anniversary.

and i have meliyah today.

and i have other projects and baking i need to finish.

and i stayed up til the wee hours of the morning wrapping presents in my closet.

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.

i got out of the shower one morning this week to find a frothy cup of coffee and Jesus Calling waiting for me. 

such a good husband, that man.

and it was exactly what i needed....the caffeine and the book. ;) 

i had been dealing with fear the night before and that day's entry was all about fear.  

a timely word. . . 

okay...must get going on that list. 

have a happy friday everyone!!

join the instapartay here....

follow my instafeed @ saragood2bqueen

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eleven years ~ our love story

tomorrow is our eleventh anniversary.
having an anniversary right before christmas is a little bit of a bummer because it's often overshadowed by the holidays.
one year we even forgot our anniversary entirely.
we don't ever get each other gifts....we are lucky to go out...usually we end up celebrating after the new year.
this year i will probably be scrambling to get everything done because we are celebrating christmas on saturday.

in thinking about our anniversary, i realized that i have never written out our love story.
at least how it began . . .

AJ and i met at john brown university.
my sophomore year, his freshman year, he coached my powderpuff football team.
if you know me, you know i possess zero athletic ability.
i was on that team because all of my friends were on it and they talked me into it.
honestly i was mostly concerned about looking cute with my pigtails and eye black.
i didn't really notice AJ and he wasn't impressed with me.

fast forward to the next year {my junior year, his sophomore}.
we were young life leaders together and started sloooowly getting to know each other.
i was busying myself dating this guy and that guy and again not really being aware of AJ {sigh....hindsight}.
we were talking more and more at young life and started hanging out with mutual friends.
i remember thinking he was a really great guy but that i could never date him.
he was just tooo nice. {clearly i had some issues}.
little did i know, he liked me and thought i was flirting with him....which frustrated him because he knew i was dating someone.
i had no idea.
at the time, he had a broken foot from rugby and had a big ol' cast on it.
college guys thought it was funny to act like they were going to kick his foot or step on it, etc.
my motherly instincts would kick in and i would always shield his foot.
he liked that and that's when he really started to notice me.

one night, four of us went out to a midnight movie.
we walked into the theatre together and it was nearly full.
i headed off towards the front where there were two seats available...expecting my girlfriend to follow and sit with me.
i look up and there comes AJ, hobbling along on his crutches and sits in the seat next to me.
i'm thinking, what the heck.
the movie was enemy of the state.
whenever there was an especially violent or scary part AJ would reach up to shield my eyes.
ha ha! now that makes me laugh.
however, at the time, i loved it.  that felt so protective and sweet.
that was the first time i really took notice of him.
but, i was still completely clueless that he liked me.
some time later, my best friend came into my dorm room late at night and told me that there was someone that liked me but she wasn't supposed to tell me.
of course she did. obviously.
i. was. shocked.
shocked. shocked. shocked.
this was honestly a life changing moment for me.
i knew that the guy i was dating was not God's best for me.
i knew that i was settling and just filling my time.
that night i cried and cried.

i immediately ended the relationship i was in.

i told the Lord, if someone like AJ would like someone like me, i would never settle again.

i never dreamed that AJ would think of me in that way.
he seemed too good for me.
that night i felt the Lord so close...saying this is what I have for you.
it was good and painful at the same time.
God didn't wait for me to have my act together to give me such a gift.
He gave me the gift and that brought me to the right place.


soooo... a few days later AJ drove me home from young life.
right as i was getting out of the car, he asked me out.
later he told me he watched me walk all the way into my dorm.
he was acting like he was making sure that i got in safely, but really he was watching me shake it.  ha!

first we went on a double date and he acted really weird.
he was telling jokes and generally not being himself.
i kept telling myself, he's not usually like this.
by the end of the night he pulled himself together and it was good.
he just needed to chill out a bit. ;)
he walked me back to my dorm and as we said goodbye, he said, "we'll do this again, yes?"
i liked that.

a few days later we had ice cream in the park and then hung out outside my dorm talking.

he said hi to every single person that walked by and was so friendly.
i kept thinking, i can't believe i'm with him.

that weekend we went out on what we call our first real date {a week after our double date}.
he planned the whole night out with all of my favorite things.
we ate at this little hole in the wall italian restaurant.

and that was the night it happened. . . magic.
we were sitting across the table from each other,  eating these weird, twisty breadsticks, talking and looking right into each other's eyes, and we just knew.

we both remember that moment.
i knew that he was the one i would spend the rest of my life with.

later that night we watched breakfast at tiffany's and he asked me if he could hold my hand.
and that was it.
i was his.

and they lived happily ever after . . .

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christmas tree two thousand eleven

right after thanksgiving we put up our christmas tree.
it's always a family event.
aj gets the tree up and he and i string the lights.
the boys each have their own tin of their special ornaments that they get to put on.

i think they really like getting to have their own ornaments that they can put on wherever they want.
it's fun for them to open them each year and remember when they made them.

this year i was going for a gaudy look. ;)

i like a tree full of stuff. 

tinsel garland, every ornament we own, berry picks, pinecones, etc. 

we got married at christmas time so we received a bunch of ornaments as gifts.
we have ornaments we've collected over the years.
i stuffed pinecones the boys collected into any empty spaces.
heaven forbid we have an empty space.

in the kitchen i have my tree. . . all bedecked in my beloved antique ornaments.

this year i sprayed the tree with canned snow stuff before i put the ornaments and tinsel on.

i lovey love love antique ornaments.

i've collected them from thrift stores and AJ's mom gave me a couple of boxes last year.


today i'm going to link up with thriftydecorchick for her christmas tree partay...click over to see a whole slew of christmas trees.

merry merry christmas friends! Pin It

right now.

stole this idea from meg. 

right now i am  . . . 



watching: nothing......don't really watch tv during the day. i save that for the evening when i can cuddle my husband. :) we watched the amazing race finale last night. love that show. we also love the middle, person of interest, survivor, and parks and rec.

eating: again nothing...i used to alwaysalwaysalways eat breakfast. since i've had ruby, coffee is my breakfast. probably not the best thing for a nursing mama. oh well, you win some, you lose some.

drinking: half-caff coffee with a titch of raw sugar and frothed peppermint mocha creamer mixed with milk...made by the sweet husband.

wearing: old navy tan sweater, white button up underneath, (seen here) seven sparkly booty jeans from plato's closet, merrells.

avoiding: waking ruby up to get her dressed to take sawyer to his well child check up. i think she'll go in her jammies.

feeling: pretty good. i have a million thoughts swirling in my head.  things i need to get done and i am soooo unorganized.  but on the whole, i feel pretty low stress...at this moment anyway. excited for fun christmas activities coming up this week. :)

missing: my big boys...gone at school five days a week.  i like them. looking forward to christmas break. remind me of this on week two of no school. :)

thankful: for a great life. a faithful husband who continually pursues me. a Jesus who continually pursues me. amazing, encouraging friends. four healthy children. everything i need and a bunch of extras. my cup over.flows.


weather: cold and rainy.

praying: for friends and family who are walking through tough tough tough situations. my heart hurts so much for them.

needing: to work on the mountain of laundry that i see overflowing from my hamper.

thinking: i am excited about a new business venture on the horizon.

dreaming:  of a white christmas...how fun would that be?!

loving: christmas time. i love the whole season. parties, lights, food, music, movies.
also, having a wood burning fire place...soooo cozy.

what about you?
what are you doing right now?




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hot fudge sauce and a family gift idea

this is the time of year that my kitchen turns into santa's workshop.
i love making christmas treats to give out as gifts.

last year i made chocolate covered peanut butter crackers. yum.
the boys and i make these pretzel kisses every year.
i used to always make peppermint bark or big ol' pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate & sprinkles.

this year, it's hot fudge sauce.
i got the idea from my friend, erin, who always makes them for her kids' teachers.

i used my mother-in-law's recipe & packaged it into small glass jars.

she gave me the awesome tip of pouring it in the jar right when it's hot, then put the lid on tight and it will seal itself. 

it totally worked. 

i downloaded the free circus font for the tags and printed them on some scrapbook paper i had in my stash.

i got another brill idea off, you guessed it, pinterest.

Source: homemade.tipjunkie.com via Sara on Pinterest

here's my version....

ice cream cones or bowls, hot fudge sauce, and several different fun toppings, packaged into little bags.

for basket filler, i fed some craft paper through my paper shredder. 

and a boxed version....

 i think this is a great gift for a family...i know my boys would be pumped to receive something like this.
just a simple little gift to say merry christmas. :)



*pam's hot fudge*

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
12 oz. can evap milk.

heat to boiling & continue to stir until it's thick and smooth.

add a stick o' butter & 1 Tbs. vanilla.
stir still smooth.
pour into jars.

i did a double batch and it made 7, 8oz. jars.

pam's tip . . . for a single batch use a 3qt pot so it doesn't boil over your pan.
bigger batch...bigger pot. you get it.

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