Snippets of Our Christmas 2014

Christmas time in our house went by way too fast this year. Having one less week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year threw me for a loop. When we finally got around to decorating, Kyler was super excited to decorate the tree this year. He was very insistent that he hang all of "his" handmade ornaments up so that Santa could see them. 

The second weekend in December we had our annual Christmas program at our Church. A few of Kyler's cousins were in the audience so we had to sweet talk him into being a willing participant of the program. He would of preferred to have been doted on by Grandma & Grandpa and play Star Wars Legos with his cousins, but he was a good sport and put on a show for us. 

^^ This picture cracks me up, he only mumbled a few verses of the songs {he did warn us he wasn't going to sing because he gets too shy ;) } ^^

I wasn't sure if he was going to be "brave" and sit on Santa's lap by himself...but he did {two seconds before this picture he was giving me a pep talk about how I would need to sit with him}. He asked for a Star Wars Lego set and black socks for Daddy {no clue on the sock thing}. 

^^  Letter writing to Santa ^^

{Don't judge on the dead greens, I just can't keep up this time of year.}

This Christmas was truly a gift. For the first time since losing my Dad I can finally say I'm at peace with his death. Losing someone around this time of year can stir up a lot of emotions. This year instead of focusing on all the hard feelings, my heart was focused on new memories and happy times.  I hope that in the coming years I can encourage others to look to the Lord. I know for myself I pushed him away for six, long years. That's a lot of wasted time and missed blessings. Christmas isn't about decorating, baking or giving gifts; it's about Gods love for us... "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only beloved Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but to have eternal LIFE.”

Little Boy Bedroom Moodboard

Our home future is very up in the air. We both know that our current home isn't our forever home. With that said, we also know that we don't want to make purchases for our home at the moment. So in the meantime...I'm dreaming up ideas for our next home. As Kyler is getting older I want a room that he can transition with. It seems that toys are always primary colors so I want a palette that is very calm but still goes well with primary colors (they aren't my favorite but it's not my room :)). 

I hope to find some antique pieces in the meantime and store them if necessary. If I'm unable to find an antique dresser that I fall in love with (and can afford), my plan B is this restoration hardware dresser. Of course the room won't be complete without his stuffed pals, toys, blankies and books, but this is the general direction I'm heading in. I haven't found any bedding that I'm in love with but leaning towards solids with pillows that we can change up. 

And...who knows what the future holds for babies in our family, but I like how this room could easily be painted and tweaked if a baby girl was in our future. For now his room will stay as is. We still have newborn pictures up in his room, which I cannot bring myself to take down. I just cannot believe time has flown by this quickly. The other day as we were talking about his birthday party that is coming up in January it dawned on me that almost 1/3rd of his time at home has already gone by. How is that possible? How can 5 years go by in that fast?         

Dear Santa

In the next few weeks Kyler will definitely be itching to see Santa. Each year we visit Rheault Farm to see Santa's workshop {and every year we FREEZE our tootsies off!}. This is the first year Kyler can write his own name and letters. I'm so excited to help him write a letter to Santa, that little mind of his is so full anticipation for Mr. Claus. He's still learning how to write and sometimes gets a wee bit frustrated by being confined to lines when writing. I thought this would be a great format for him to write a letter to Santa without the frustration. 

Santa Letter Printable

Here's a few pictures from last years Christmas season. I'm still in disbelief that he will be 5 in January. Where does time go? How do I make it stop? I'm not ready for Kindergarten next year!!

My Christmas Wishlist | 2014

I never know how to respond to the ole' "what do you want for Christmas" question. Deep down I know exactly what I'd like but I just feel very uncomfortable giving loved ones a list. I wasn't raised like that! My parents taught me to always express gratitude for whatever gift I may have received regardless if I liked it or not. As an adult I just can't hand a list over. My husband {Rob} is very aware of my pickiness and every year he begs me to inform him of a gift I look forward to, so this year he will be well informed.

Rob is great at being creative and giving me the BEST gifts ever; gifts from the heart. He and Kyler often come up with a creative ideas that they make together which are the most memorable gifts I receive each year {along with their gift wrapping methods}. I also tend to be the person who buys what I want, when I want which makes it extra tricky to come up with an idea to give Rob. So this year I wanted to give him visual ideas. I think this will make it easier for him to use as inspiration during his gift buying. He is very good at knowing what I would like or not like, so I'll trust his interruption these hints/suggestions.

The other day I was hunting for sweater dresses online and this dress popped up on a google shopping search, it's from Kohl's. I'm not typically a Kohl's shopper, I usually don't find anything that really speaks to me. But I thought this dress was nicely styled and could be a great work/ Church dress {easily worn with Frye boots and tights}. It's hard to find long sleeved dresses which made this all the more appealing and the price tag isn't shocking {I leave those purchases to myself}.

You're probably laughing at the pitcher and donut pan, hey I'm practical too! I recently found myself frantic for an extra pitcher, so this pitcher is definitely something I'd enjoy having around the house. An extra doughnut pan wouldn't hurt either!

The Hunter boots and concealer are both splurges. Those may end up being my Christmas gift to myself. I cashed in my credit card points a few months ago and still have one gift card left...$250 to Nordstrom. I live almost 4 hours from the nearest store and haven't felt any hurry to spend it. I was waiting to go in the store and ya know... browse, try on, deliberate and then make my purchases. However I don't think I'll get down there until Spring so I may take advantage of their online deals coming up.  I can't decide what color Hunter boots to get? Suggestions welcome. I usually wear navy, cream, grey, light browns. When looking online I'm drawn to the classic green and grey but I'm very un-decided on what I think I'd wear most often.

Theirs no home decor related items on my wish list this year. I'm holding out for our next house/ what we decide to do on this house. In the meantime I'll be saving my pennies for those purchases in the future.

As fun as sharing these ideas are with you readers, I don't want to loose focus on the meaning of the season. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. I would encourage you to click the link below and focus your heart on the true meaning of the season. It wasn't until recently that I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, it's never too late to know the love Jesus Christ has for each and every one of you!

God Bless,

Chelsea

12 Reasons for Christmas