Decorating for Christmas a little early

I've been trying to get a million things ready.  I'm having surgery soon and I'll be out for a few weeks.  I'm not really excited about it because it's something I've really struggled with since chemo.  So hopefully things will greatly improve and not actually get worse.  I mean, I've done physical therapy for months and it just didn't cut it. So we found the only other option and that is surgery. 

This photo turned out better than I could have expected.  Love my new lens.

Anyway, I kind of feel like I am on my own with this even though a few people have offered help.  No one can really bring meals.  I'm allergic to wheat, soy, melons, berries, and severely allergic to nuts. So I purchased aluminum pans that are recyclable and I'm making food I can stick in the freezer. I'm also trying to get as much prepared for church as possible.  I'm the Primary Secretary.  I have talks, prayers, Articles of Faith, and scripture assignments all set up through mid January. I have been organizing closets and drawers to make it easier for Tyler to find things for me if I need his help. AND I went ahead and decorated for Christmas.  I had to take apart my pre-lit tree (1/2 the lights were dead).  My daughter helped me a bunch. She loves Christmas just as much as I do. I went with the multi-color lights which I enjoyed as a kid. It's been fun and brought back a flood of memories.  I could sit and look at it for hours - which I will probably get to do after surgery. 

Here it is with the lights on, not the best angle but you get the idea.  I made that tree skirt in high school.  I really wish I could remember my home ec teacher's name.  She was an incredible teacher and loved this tree skirt (mostly the other side with the old fashioned Santa's on it) so much she made her own similar one. 

And here is my fireplace.  I'll have to take a better photo of the nativity later. Last year it was in the book shelf.  This year it's back on top of the right bookcase. You can click on any of the images to see them larger.

Anyway, I had to change my surgery date because my mom has been quite ill. She is going to have a scan done on the day I was originally going to have surgery. So we will see how it all turns out. But I finally feel like everything is falling into place and I'm as ready for surgery as it gets. Hopefully my mom will be on the road to recovery too!

It's that time of year again...

We love SNOW! Tonight my children ran outside as soon as homework was done. And they threw snowballs at the windows of our house. Then they decided to make their own snowman.  I think he is pretty cute with his chocolate chip eyes and carrot nose. 

It's a reflection of them and their abilities at this stage in their young lives. My son loves that he can see the snowman from his window. They were so pleased with their creation that they wanted me to share it on my blog asap!  I hope we get more snow soon so they can create a whole snow family.

Project Update

So my sister gave my daughter this really cute shelf about 7 years ago for Christmas. She had painted it the exact red to match the accents in her room.  The only problem is that we changed everything when we moved.  We went with lighter colors.  Mostly the pink, green, and white.  My daughter helped me paint the shelf white.  It took about 4 coats. I was worried about the white on white look but I actually love how it turned out. 

Then my daughter and I went to Hobby Lobby and picked out mismatched but color coordinating drawer pulls. I should say, I let her pick them all out.  I would have gone with 3 matching knobs but she liked all the knobs in this color range.  I think she was right.  It adds and element of fun to the project.

To be honest I think I use the drill more than my husband but I don't dare use the rest of the power tools except for the sanding mouse I purchased for working with small crafty stuff.  After I removed the hardware from the back of the shelf I hit the old knobs with the drill to knock them off.

They came the way you see on the left but I switch the brass piece around so that is would face the shelf and cover that large unpainted area where the old knobs once were. Then I attached everything to the back of the shelf. They were a little long and so my husband cut them off with the hack saw so they are flush with the back of the shelf.

You can see it a little closer here.

And my favorite.  Except now it holds her winter coat and backpack.

But that was the purpose.  Luckily it is behind her door.  I don't like stuff to be out like that usually.  If her door is closed she can see this cute shelf she helped me update even if her coat and backpack are there. After all, I want her to be happy and she is VERY happy about this shelf.

Now to update those cute deep set frames that Krysta's husband made for me a few years ago as trade for their family photos. And I have just the thing - or rather 3 things to add in.

I forgot to mention that now that I'm not taking my allergy medicine daily I am at risk for migraines.  Feel free to offer a pray for me that those don't return.  I used to get 2 to 4 a week.  But I have been way more motivated since.  I cleaned out from under the kitchen sink, the laundry room sink, and re-organized all the cabinets in my laundry room.  I need to replace my king size comforter (no more feathers). Any suggestions? I'll  have to post a photo of what my bed looks like but it's huge and painted black. My walls are a brown grey. 

PTA Reflections Grand Champion and Halloween Party!

My daughter wanted to write a poem for PTA Reflections this year.

The theme is Together We Can... 

She decided on dance.  Asked her dance teacher the names of a few steps.

Then wrote down how dance looked, etc.

She says she wants to write more poems like this but about different ideas.

This one is going to the district. Her other two won school awards.

She is pretty excited. They displayed the entries after the Halloween Parade.

She also went to a fun Halloween party with the girls in her school class.

So happy to see her making more friends.

Isn't this cute! Some room mom is AMAZING this year. 

I just couldn't make myself do that and PTA again.

That is a responsibility in addition to helping in the classroom.

I did the Easter party one year and it about killed me.

Working on more energy -trying a vitamin D supplement and gummy vitamins that are wheat and soy free! Plus I stopped taking my allergy medicine.  I was still itching and tired beyond belief.

Plus I was gaining weight even while exercising like crazy and eating more apples and grapes than anyone should. The past few days it's been easier to get up without feeling drowsy until 10 a.m.

Oh and my daughter was Astrid for Halloween (How to Train Your Dragon).

Fall Family Photos 2010

We photographed a cute family here and then the next night we ran over for our own.

Sorry Melynda but I couldn't resist. At least we live far enough apart.

Tyler set up the tripod and Grandma made the kids laugh and look in the right direction.

I love my daughter's joy in this photo.  She is so fun of life and loves to have fun.

She amazes me all the time.  She just looks like she is having so much more fun than the rest of us.

We can learn from our children all the time if we just watch them.

And of course this is the new 20x30 for our mantle this year. Hopefully it will not look as red as it looks on my other monitor. I was thinking about making it a 30x40 but we used the smaller camera.  So I am on the look out for something to replace that 30x40 -maybe a family photo, maybe a piece of art.