Christmas Memories 2009

My mom and brother left us today and headed east on I-70, back to Ohio after a week here in Denver visiting us for Christmas. Why does it always seem like visits go by so quickly?

Christmas cookies were baked...
And eaten...

We went to church on Christmas Eve and watched The Nativity Story...

Made The Pioneer Woman's homemade, amazingly delicious, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls for Christmas brunch...

Gifts were opened...

We chatted with my other brother in Ohio over iChat and opened presents with him...

We went to Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo...

Truman and Evan hit the slopes at A Basin while my mom and I hit the stores for some after Christmas shopping...

Games were played, movies were watched, and a lot of good food was eaten.

We had a fun week together and I was sad to send them off and say goodbye this morning when they hit the road!

Merry Christmas!

Deck the Halls

Christmas is one of my most favorite times of year. I can't wait to break out my wintery Christmas decorations and cinnamon candles just after Thanksgiving to deck our home with festive holiday touches.

I love to add a few new creative decorations each Christmas, and this year I was inspired to make a sparkly ornament wreath for our front door, following this tutorial. It uses a wire hanger as the base, and with ornaments I found at the Dollar Tree (plastic so they wouldn't break in the wind or opening and closing the door), I created it for less than $6.00!

Here are a few of the other holiday touches around our home:

I already have sketches in my idea book for projects to work on for next Christmas. And plans to get an earlier start on my additions next year!

I hope you are enjoying this holiday season with your loved ones and making sweet memories together.

Celebrating my Handsome Hubby

Truman's birthday falls in the middle of December, and amidst all of the holiday festivities, I want to be sure to take a day just to celebrate him! We had a full day of fun to celebrate.

The night before his birthday, I snuck out of bed after he fell asleep to decorate our dining area for a birthday morning surprise. It took him a few minutes to notice through his sleepy eyes, but after he saw all the decorations, surprise filled his face. We opened presents before taking off for the day.

We saw The Blind Side that afternoon before heading to a birthday dinner of Brazilian Barbeque...one of Tru's favorites.

After dinner, some of our staff team friends came over for Cold Stone cake and an evening of playing Cities & Knights.

I am so thankful my sweet husband was born. I look forward to many more years of celebrating his life together!

Snowy Family Photos & An Awkward Moment Caught on Camera

Some friends of ours from church needed a family photo for their Christmas card, so this past weekend, we decided to head to a nearby park for a snowy family photo shoot. Their two girls are adorable and we had so much fun shooting this family! It was cold (only in the teens!), but they were such good sports and we got some really cute photos.

My all time favorite moment from the day was captured by the following before & after shots. This is what happens when you are swinging your child with cold hands in the snow at the direction of your photographers. *Note: No children were harmed in the making of these photos!*

(You have to zoom in on that second photo and check out the absolutely classic expressions on Tim & Leanna's faces.) The adults were all laughing hysterically as soon as we knew she was ok. Later that afternoon when we uploaded the photos, she kept asking to see "the picture where I was flying," then she would laugh. Even now, looking at these 2 photos in sequence makes me chuckle out loud.

Thanks for letting us capture your family, Tim & Leanna!

Riverdance Date

Riverdance is one of my all time favorite shows. I had seen it twice before, but Truman had never seen it, and they are currently doing their farewell tour, so I knew we had to take advantage of our last chance to see it when they came through Denver last week.

We turned it into a fun date night and went out for dinner before the show at a restaurant a few blocks from the Performing Arts Center. (Love restaurant.com! It makes nice restaurants so much more affordable! If you've never used it, you should check it out.)

The restaurant was festively decorated for Christmas and we had a booth right in the front window with a view of some of the downtown lights.

Riverdance did not disappoint! Every minute is full of phenomenal talent and high energy performance. Truman loved it. I think every time I looked over at him he was shaking his head in amazement.

My camera battery died at dinner because I forgot to charge it, but a sweet lady who was there to see the show with her mom took a photo for us and e-mailed it to me. It was such a fun night out!

If you have never seen Riverdance, don't miss this last chance to see it! Check the tour schedule to see if it will be coming to a city near you. I don't know anyone that has seen it and doesn't love it! It is truly a spectacular show.