Random Pictures from January 2018

Devynee's sleep adventures continue.  The frozen pillow is where her head should be...

 Inside a mermaid tail blanket, legs through the rails.

Brynlee just couldn't make it through the family movie night.

Brynlee's favorite hiding spot (under any hanging clothes in our house).

Aunt Katie gave the girls a "make your own Build-A-Bear set for Christmas.  They all loved it!

My mom had a "countdown to Christmas" that looked similar to this.  You move a bead from one side to the other.  Chelsea and I made our own version of it.  I love it.

Cheesing Hallee.

Easton played city league basketball and was on the Lakers.  He loved it! He is number 12.

Easton also entered a city-wide free throw contest.  He didn't do too bad, but you could tell there were kids in there that had spent significant time in front of a basket.  It just fueled Ronnie's desire to get a pole barn with basketball court built pronto. Also, Easton likes to dress in all one team when at all possible. I love it.

The Baby Doll Beds

There is nothing like changing your mind on what you are giving all of your young nieces (and your two daughters) on November 29th.

That is exactly what happened when I saw this post on MADE.

Suddenly I was making six (yes, SIX) baby doll baskets before Christmas.

This was a pattern that was not like those I am used to sewing, as the cutting and prep work took more than 75% of your completion time, so just when you were about to die with how much time you had spent cutting out six baskets worth of fabric and lining, etc. you sat down at the sewing machine and had them done in no time (relatively, anyway).

And here are the finished projects:

The things our aunts make...

The kids were spoiled with handmade gifts for Christmas...

Like these dinosaur hats from Aunt Alisa (how I managed to capture both kids eyes in the exact same position of "roll back," I have no idea).

And Aunt Aubrey made the kids these awesome (and WELL used) robes! My favorite thing about the robes?  I can use them to get the kids out of the tub whenever I want.  Wearing the robes is as fun as playing in the tub.

Aubrey also made our family an entire matching ensemble to wear to church, but we took pictures in genders, to make things easier.

The boys sporting their matching ties.

 And the girls with their pillowcase dresses and mama's pin.

I'm just excited that someone has time to be crafty (even if I don't). :)

A seemingly simple idea...

Last month my parents celebrated their 31st anniversary.  As the oldest, I try and think of present ideas for us kids to give them...cuz let's face it, every anniversary is kind of a big deal.

This year I thought of the perfect gift.

Inexpensive.

Meaningful.

Something they would never do for themselves.

I recruited all of my siblings and we sorted/put all of the printed family pictures into albums (they were previously kept in a cardboard box in the storage room).

What I didn't anticipate?

The hours and hours and hours and HOURS of sorting, and re-sorting, and putting pictures in chronological order just to find a new stack of pictures that needed to be inserted and then there was the album stuffing, and the vinyl cutting...

But in the end, we had an inexpensive, meaningful gift that both of my parents love (well, they better!).

And 16 albums later, I give you this...

Whew.