the little things

Creative Therapy

A few months ago, Karen from the Creative Therapy blog emailed me & asked if I would like to guest for her sometime!  I was beyond honored & of course said yes!

The catalyst went up today, so be sure to drop by & see all the talented ladies works of art!

Here is the page I did for: What's something you swore you would never do?

 

It's true. Never say never. :)

In other news, Christmas was nice this year.  We could have done without a few "mishaps", but I'll spare you the details for now.

It was lovely spending our annual Christmas Eve at grandma & grandpa's house.

 

I didn't get to enjoy grandpa's amazing honey-sauce chicken wings much or gramcracker's yummy array of holiday cookies (hello, butterballs & oreo balls? Mmmm!) because of an upset stomach, but I did enjoy the time with my wonderful family.

 

 
Christmas day was good, too.  Another great meal (ham & dumplings & the traditional beef jerky to snack on, complete with more sweets, including mom's new gingerbread men recipe). We enjoyed opening gifts from our gift exchange.  Phil had my name & just wait til you see what he picked up for me!  I love it, but it was too big to bring home, so it's still at their house for now, but when I get it, I'll share photos.

After we left mom & Phil's, we ventured to Findlay to see Nate's family.  It was a good visit & Nate's mom gave me all kinds of wonderful Mary Kay items & I loved them!

Yesterday, we shopped a bit (yey for 50% off sales!) & I felt sick again once we got home, so we just lounged.

And now, I am facing putting all the Christmas stuff away. Oy. I'd rather sleep! haha.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!
 

Ho Ho Ho!

 

  
 

We didn't send too many card out this year, but we were so happy with our silly photos that my friend Laura took at the beginning of this month, we knew we wanted to send some out to family & close friends. This is totally Nate & I.  Just big goofs!

We have already been so, so blessed this Christmas season! I can't wait to see what the next few days hold!  Spending lots of time with family, traveling to Findlay for a visit.  

 

I also can't wait to give Phil his "movie night" basket (I drew his name for our family gift exchange) & our parents these framed photos of Nate & I!

I wish our dear friends, The Proffitt's could be here.  That would be the only thing that could make it better. Today, a little piece of Tennessee showed up on our door step.  It was a wonderful package from The Proffitt's containing lots of colorful handmade, BEAUTIFUL goodness & lots of love!

 

I couldn't get over the thought & work Kristina put into these lovely pieces. I adore every single one & will cherish them forever!  And Kristina, you seriously need to make these things for a living!  Your talent is unreal! Felt garland, a hand made calendar (can't wait to use it for the new year!) & that beeeeautiful felt piece on the hoop=STUNNING!!

We are so, so blessed for the love & friendship of the Proffitt's.  We consider them more than friends, we consider them family.  They will never ever know how much their love, support & prayers mean to us. Kristina is like the big sister I never had.  God has blessed me so much & the Proffitt's are a HUGE blessing to not just me. Not just Nate, but to our entire family.

And before I go, here's a layout I did about our Christmas cards this year. :)

 

 

December 17.

This year Nate & I felt called to lend a helping hand for Christmas, so after some research, we decided to "adopt" a child to help with necessities they may need.  It started out as just one, but due to a mix up & my impatience, we ended up with two!  

One from the Salvation Army, a girl, age one who needed clothes & toys. And the other from our county children's services, also a girl, age 3 months who desperately needed everything a newborn would need.

We had SO much fun shopping on Saturday for these two!  The Lord blessed us with great sales, so we were able to get more & our hearts were filled with glory in serving Him!  Diapers, wipes, toys, lots of clothing & baby wash & lotion were purchased & we had a blast wrapping everything Sunday!

Our dining room floor showed the evidence!

 

All of the little packages waiting to be dropped off!  We'll definitely be doing this again next year!

Vintage ornaments make me the happiest. They are my latest obsession when antique-ing. 

Monday, I took the day off so Nate & I ventured to Amish Country. It was grand!

I also found these to hold some more scrap goods:

 

We found lots of good finds, including all those little ornies up there...which just happened to be pink. ;)

I love quality time with my sweet hubs. So blessed for days like that.

We've been getting ready for the holidays & I am loving the weather we've been having in Ohio lately; cold, but no snow. Thank goodness! 

I even let Nate open one of his presents early (because I splurged a bit & Amazon had a good deal that I couldn't pass up!)--it was a Blu Ray player & he was so surprised!

Tomorrow is my follow-up doctor's appointment since taking the Prometrium.  Clomid is next, maybe.  We'll see what happens.  Praying hard.

I've really been enjoying watching the final episodes of Top Chef.  And Teen Mom is pretty good too.

My aunt & uncle are up from Virginia, so I'm excited to go visit with them tomorrow night!  And my mom got student of the month for the whole school!  She's soooo smart & I am so proud of her!

 

A New Little Bundle to Love!

Let me introduce you to Noah Stoll :)

He belongs to these sweet, sweet people:

 

I prayed every day for his mama, Heather & him.

God is GREAT!!  

The proud new parents are dear, dear friends of Nate & I & we are so blessed to have them in our lives & Noah is just as sweet & precious as they come!

 Was it it bad that I bawled when Heather called us "Uncle Nate & Aunt Nichole?!" Because I did. Those words made my day!

What a tremendous gift!!

 Seeing Nate hold little Noah for a long time really melted my heart. One day. I pray he will be holding our own little bundle :)

 

 

Notes.

> I have been making lists. (Christmas & grocery). I love lists!

> Nate & I sent an email to adopt a child or small family from our local Children's Services Agency for Christmas. SO excited about this!

> I have tried a new simple little holiday craft.

 

These. styrofoam ball+burlap+a bit of hot glue+some twine= a simple rustic/country ornament!

> I have been counting my blessings for wonderful, life-long friendships that have endured a LOT since grade school.

 

> We celebrated Nate's 26th birthday at Quaker Steak & Lube with my parents & Tana & Zeb yesterday! Had a lot of fun!  I love him more & more every single day. Seriously. THE most amazing guy. I am too blessed.

> We had our first professional photo shoot yesterday with my sweet friend, Laura for our Christmas cards this year! Can't wait to see the proofs!

> Saw The Blind Side last night.  It was so good it's now one of my top 5 favorites ever. SO good!

> Gram & Gramp stopped by today. Blessings.  I love them!

> My friend Heather was induced today!!  Baby Boy Stoll should be arriving between now & sometime tomorrow!  I can't wait to meet him tomorrow hopefully!

> I am continuing to keep my faith in God in ALL things.  Remembering to PRAISE Him for EVERYTHING. Good & bad.

> Life is good! Simple Blessings are the best blessings. :)
 

Yey for December!

Happy December 1st, friends!

Christmas is fast approaching & I can't wait!

 

(this is just a simple page I did using all American Crafts Christmas goodies!)

I have a few more gifts to buy & then I'll be all set! 

Keeping busy getting together with friends (& friends having babies-so that's exciting, too!).

Nate & I are going to try & have our professional photographer-friend Laura take some photos of us for our Christmas cards-hoping she can squeeze us in, if not, it's probably just going to be plain jane cards again this year! ;)

I love this time of year. LOVE it!