the many faces [wordless wednesday post]...

Falalala [a recap of Christmas]...

we spent a majority of last week getting ready for Christmas!!  we received lots of goodies from ohio throughout the week from my family back home!!!!

if you couldn't tell --- ava is really into chapter books!!!!

our christmas weekend started on thursday afternoon, when ava and i headed to mansfield to spend the night with preston & sarah.  little mister got his second set of tubes and an adenoidectomy on monday,  and had a really rough couple of days :(  we thought he might like having ava to come and cheer him up ;)  we took the kids to kroger and they loved the car underneath the cart!

we had dinner and just hung out!  a perfect night ;)  on friday we spent time getting sarah's house ready for the first annual emerson cousin Christmas in between episodes of Barney and Elmo [p is obsessed!]

 i don't have any pictures from that night, but rest assured we had a blast!  We all brought an appetizer, drank wine [or whiskey depending on who you ask:)], played quelf, and had a chinese gift exchange.  fun times, people:)

on saturday, we had christmas with my mother-in-law at brad and sarah's.  the kiddos had fun opening presents.  there was also some good kolaches, donuts, and breakfast casserole!



we headed home on saturday evening and ava got to open her Christmas Eve present --- new pj's ;)  i struggled finding her Christmas PJ's, but thought these were super cute!

then we made santa his cookies and set them out on his special plate.

we still use ava's note to santa from two years ago.... pretty precious if you ask me :)

soon after it was time for bed, and time for santa and his elf to come and deliver ava's christmas present :)

santa left her a few goodies under the tree, and a big dresser in her room.  it cracks me up that she mentions the wii being new in her room [even though we've had it for a year, its just been in the living room!] if i would have know it was that easy, i would have told santa to not bother with the dresser :)

ava got to open her gifts from nana & papa [my mom & dad] on Christmas Morning too...here she is opening her nerf gun :)

we spent the morning lounging and playing with all of her new stuff before heading down to brad and sarah's for another christmas celebration with her [and my adopted] family :)  sadly, i left my phone at home so i don't have any pictures!  sarah got a few though --- and i am guessing they will be on her blog sometime soon :)

we had a wonderful christmas with family!  here's to a great 2012!!!!

let's have a [winter] party...

i was able to surprise ava and join her for her class party at school!  all the kids came in and it took her a good five minutes before she even realized we were there!  she was so surprised!  we had fun decorating penguins, playing pin the nose on the snowman, and eating snacks.  she even got to leave with me afterward!

i'm so glad i still get to participate in these fun things with my kiddo!  time goes by so fast, and i know we only have a limited amount of time to make these memories!



ava's christmas concert...

tuesday, december 6th was the annual whistle stop station Christmas concert!  ava was a dancer, and had a speaking part!  she did a great job :)

"He gave a promise on the night he was born, and He kept that promise at the cross.  Jesus is God's word --- He will never leave us, He is always with us, He is our Emanuel."

sissy & greg, gigi, and mom & dad were there to cheer her on :)

Christmas Card Carousel 2011...

I'm linking up with Faith's Christmas Card Carousel to share our 2011 Christmas Card.

  We skipped out on cards last year, so i am SO glad we did one this year!  I was also super excited that Sarah  was also able to get some cute pictures of all of us this year --- we've never actually had family pictures taken!  without dragging this out even further, here is this year's card!

*Card from Snapfish.  All pictures by Sarah Emerson*

Merry Christmas!!!

on the saturday after thanksgiving, we headed to the ranch with our favorite emersons for a little photo shoot.  sarah agreed to snap some pictures of us, and in return, i took some of their trio too.  perfect mini-session for christmas cards!  i was nervous that we wouldn't get good shots, but i was nervous for nothing.  sarah and i decided this might be an every 6 month thing.  we are already scheming a photoshoot with ava and preston :)

here are some of my favorites...

i made the chalkboards out of pie tins from the dollar store & martha stewart's chalkboard paint.  sarah came up with a fun way to use them for our card this year :)

here are some of brad, sarah and preston!



and one of the only ones we got of the kiddos together [it was freezing and windy and we were able to wrap it up in an hour --- next time, we can just do the kids :) ]

make a hand-made gift [#24]...

to me, there is nothing better than a hand-made gift.  i kind of love them.  and even better, i love making them!  i started brainstorming ideas for my nephews and niece in ohio for homemade goodness.  last year, i made DIY ornaments.  this year i was thinking of something made from wood.  my fabulous sister-in law, sarah , suggested something with their names on them. brilliant.  we headed to hobby lobby for chipboard letters & scrapbook paper.  after the kiddos went to bed, we grabbed our wine and modge-podge.  it was time to get to work! 

Name Plaques

here's what you'll need:

• modge-podge
• chipboard letters [you could also use stickers or vinyl]
• scrapbook paper
• 2x4 cut to size
• sponge brush
• hot glue gun [and glue]

luckily, by brother-in-law already had 2&4s on hand, and was willing to cute them to the sizes i needed.  we did 12" boards for the plaques with the initials, 15" boards for the "emerson" plaques, and a whopping 32" board for my mom & dad {hello LIVENSPARGER}.

then we got to work.

Step 1: cut scrapbook paper to size of board. {helpful hint: make sure a little bit of wood is showing on all sides so that the modge-podge has something to seal the scrapbook paper to.

Step 2:  apply a coat of modge-podge to the wood.

Step 3:  apply the scrapbook paper directly on-top of the modge-podge.

Step 4:  apply a coat of modge-podge to the paper.  {small, firm strokes will help keep away the bubbles in your paper!  don't stress too much though. after all, it's hand made!}

Step 5: let dry.

Step 6:  apply chipboard letters using a glue gun.

Step 7:  stand back and admire your work!

seriously, this is a super easy DIY.  I made [with Sarah's help] 10 plaques for under $30! 

a few notes:  you can choose to paint the wood before hand, or leave it natural.  for my plaques, i did a bit of both!  if you choose to paint them, that would be step #1[obviously]. you can also have them sit on their own, or add a hook to the back for hanging.

happy crafting!

read elf on the shelf [#1]...

nana bought ava her very own elf on the shelf two years ago, and we have been loving him ever since!  we were excited to get him back out this year!  we brought him down to brad and sarah's so preston could meet 'fisbee'.  ava and preston sat in front of the christmas tree and read.

so cute! 

 i think i know a little boy who needs an elf in his life :) 

happy holidays!