A Colorado Christmas

It took me forever to get around to posting this... so maybe you already saw Jerusha's, Lydia's, and Jeremy's posts about our family time? If not, go check them out, there are more stories and pictures to be had if you'd like!

Our Colorado Christmas came late, over the new year-- but it was every bit as wonderful as any other family Christmas. We were all there, together, under one roof, for the first time in years, and that made it so special. Sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, grandchildren, cousins, nieces, and nephews-- our family has grown and it was just so lovely to have the time to enjoy each other. Get ready, folks, I'm about to inundate you with pictures!!

We left on Sunday evening from LAX. As you can see, the girls were quite excited to FINALLY be on their way to Grandma and Grandpa's!


After a bit, however, they settled down to study their Sky Mall catalogs quite intently. There's some good stuff in there, apparently.


On Monday, while my mom and sisters had to go to work at the clinic, Dad, Josiah, the girls, and I took a walk in the afternoon. There's a lovely little park not far from their house, and the kids had a wonderful time running around with Uncle Josiah...


... and even playing a bit in a few patches of snow that we found!


This picture of Emma was taken minutes before she began to complain that her hands were cold (no mittens or gloves along on this walk, unfortunately). I told her to put them in her pockets to keep them warm, which she did. And then she decided she was going to "skate" on a patch of ice that covered part of the sidewalk. (can you tell where this is going?) As soon as she stepped onto that ice I knew exactly what was going to happen, and sure enough... she slipped and fell almost instantly, before I could even say anything. Hands in pockets+slippery ice patch=falling FLAT ON YOUR FACE on hard cement. Thankfully, once we got her home, cleaned her up, and removed the pebble from her forehead (seriously) she was fine. And now she has a healthy fear of ice!


The next day, we all got to take a trip to the Horner Chiropractic Clinic, where we not only got to see for the first time what it looks like now that's it up and running, but also get adjusted by Dr. Horner herself (thanks, Mom! :)) Emma and Annabelle LOVED Grandma's play table with the building blocks in her waiting room-- so much, in fact, that they wanted to go back to work with her the next day!


That brings us to Wednesday, which was New Year's Eve. Our plan for the evening was to hang out, us and the Enochs (family friends of ours for years), play games, drink champagne (or sparkling apple cider, of course), etc.-- the usual ways to ring in the New Year. But before all that was to take place, Lydia and Jerusha and I decided it might be fun to go out to coffee, just the three of us. As we soon found out, however, all the Starbucks within a reasonable distance were closed before 6:00. What to do now? We were bound and determined to have our coffee and hot cocoa and hangout for a bit. So, we did what any pregnant chick and her two underage sisters would do in such a circumstance: went to a tavern. But of course! (Don't judge, it was the ONLY place open, and since it was early, it wasn't crowded with a bunch of crazy people drinking yet. And, it was actually a really cute place.) Unfortunately, we snapped no pictures of our tavern adventure, but it was so fun and funny. To top it all off, we went to buy beer in a liquor store afterwards (at the request of Mom and Jeremy). A very classy outing for us girls!

The rest of New Year's Eve was very fun. The guys played pool (or "crud")...



there was lots of smiling and laughing (cutie-pies)...


some serious thinking (or is it possible that my dad is just waiting for midnight so he can finally go to bed?)...


we may have gotten, um, a little loopy as it got later (Elijah started it)...


and of course there was plenty of cuddling on Grandma's lap too!


Now, one thing that Emma and Annabelle were VERY excited about upon arriving in Colorado was the fact that they would get to play in the snow. Seriously, they had talked of nothing else for weeks before. So you can imagine their disappointment when we arrived in Denver and woke each morning to sunshine and blue sky with a balmy temperature of 60 degrees. Not exactly "wintery" weather. The only places that still had snow were the pockets of shady areas (like at the park), and there wasn't much even there. On Thursday, New Year's Day, we decided to take matters into our own hands and go FIND some snow. To the mountains we went! We all piled into one huge van, including Jerusha's boyfriend Chris and his sister Rebecca. Dad took us to a little mountain town named Evergreen. As you can see, it was gorgeous up there...


...but you can also see there wasn't much snow there either! One thing that was happening that day, however, was their annual "polar bear plunge". There were a ton of people participating, and we stood around for a while in the cold mountain air to watch the craziness.
I love this picture of Jeremy and Emma:

Pretty Rebecca, keeping Annabelle warm:


When I say it was craziness, I mean it. There was a large square hole cut into the lake, and we could see that the ice was probably about three feet thick. Not to mention some people wore nothing but bikinis or swim trunks! Add a brisk (very cold) wind into all this, and you can see why I about froze just thinking about jumping into that FREEZING water and then having to climb out all wet. BRRRRRRR.

After some time, we got back to our original purpose in driving into the mountains: FIND SNOW. We drove a little further up, keeping our eyes peeled for a good-sized amount, but all we could see was patches of snow here and there, none more than 2 or 3 inches deep. Well, you take what you can get. And, as you can see, it doesn't take much for children to have a wonderful time, no matter what.



We even managed to put together a teensy little woodland snowman! He's rather cute, don't you think?


It may not have been much, but we enjoyed our patch of snow, as well as our entire mountain expedition, to the fullest. (Jeremy was off taking pictures of the beautiful mountain scenery, so he had fun too)


My brother Tyra, his wife Christine, and their two kids arrived very late Thursday night. We got to meet this little guy, our nephew Brayden, for the very first time:


I love him, he's an adorable cutie.

Since every member of our family was finally together, we got to have our "Christmas" the next day, on Friday. All the kids were quite excited of course, and they did not hesitate to rip into their piles of presents. (this is my niece Caitlyn, whom my girls absolutely adored. They had so much fun together.)


Christine, Tyra, and baby Brayden got into it too!


The rest of our time there went by very quickly, it seemed, but oh-so-pleasantly. There was lots of game-playing, late nights, talking and visiting, pinochle (a family favorite), silliness, eating of mom's (and Josiah's!) delicious food, and quite simply, hanging out as a family and soaking up every minute of delicious togetherness.

such beautiful sisters I have


they're a bit silly, too


handsome brother


This is not a great picture of us (me), but somehow, it's the ONLY one we took of the two of us together the whole trip!


Grandma's girls


gotta love YouTube :)


Lydia-love


Uncle Elijah is so much fun!



So glad I got to love on him, finally


Story-time before bed-- a special treat from Grandma


Sweet cousins



I love our family.

All Done

the layout is, for the most part, complete. Yay! I'm quite happy with it, even though it's nothing fancy or amazing (my skills are rather limited; I'm just proud of the fact that I managed to figure out how to use different pretty fonts! Woohoo!)

As you can see, I've changed my blog name too-- good ol' Rejoicings and Ramblings has now become This Little Life of Mine. (I mean to explain at some point why I chose that title-- there is a significance.) But don't worry; there will still be lots of rejoicings and happiness over here, and a WHOLE lot of rambling, too. :)

I do have to give a shout-out to my sweet bloggy friend Danni over at oh hello friend, because I was able to find the background for my header in one of the many lovely things she linked to. Not to mention how inspired I always am by her and her amazing designs. I love the look of practically everything she makes and creates, and I wish I had just half that girl's talent!

Be sure to check back later today... I am ACTUALLY going to write a blog about our Colorado trip. I'm telling you all this so that I'll be sure to do it-- a little accountablity, you know.

Have a lovely Friday!

ps. Will you please pray? Baby London has not yet improved like everyone would have hoped and is still struggling...

Appearing soon...

... a new look here at my friendly little blog! (I hope... if I can figure this out! Steph, I may be e-mailing you :))

New layout. New header. New sidebar. A new blog title, even.

It's very appropriate, I think. It's a new year and a new season of life, complete with new thoughts, new pictures, new perspectives, new blessings, new challenges... and even new life!

What better way to celebrate than with some bloggy new-ness??

So, if things are a bit wonky over here for a little bit, I apologize. Please bear with me, lovely readers.

joining a new kind of club

"To Do Before Baby Comes: " The list that is titled as such is a looooong one, and as of now there are still way too many things left unchecked. Why rush into anything? I still have 8 weeks left, after all. (GAH! Only 8 weeks!)

I am, however, happy to report that we were able to cross one major item off that list as of last Saturday:

"Buy a minivan" -- check!!

Yay! This is our new family car, a lovely gray-ish blue 2009 Toyota Sienna, and I LOVE it. It is so spacious and pretty, it has that delicious new car smell, there are lots of really cool features that will most definitely come in handy (such as Bluetooth and a middle seat that slides all the way up for easy access to an infant car seat), and the doors close ALL BY THEMSELVES. I love this feature, really, I do. It's almost weird how much I love it and the fact that I don't have to walk around to close a car door. Hmm, lazy, much?

Thankfully, we were able to get a really great deal on this van-- it was actually cheaper than some of the older models we looked at. Things like mileage and safety features were very important to us, since this is the car we will hopefully be driving for years and years to come. We wanted to be a little bit picky for that very reason, and God was so good to provide us with the perfect vehicle for our growing family. Buying a new vehicle was a necessity for us, as my little Ford Focus simply would not hold three carseats. We're very grateful for our new ride!

It's weird, but having this van and driving it around town has really hit it home to me-- we're going to have three kids. THREE. And something about that seems like a whole new ballgame, so to speak. I don't even know how to properly put my thoughts into words, without them sounding incredibly dumb... it's just this feeling like somehow we're entering a completely different stage of our lives. We're going to be parents to not one, not two, but three kids-- we must be grown up! I mean, I drive a minivan now, for pete's sake!!

See what I mean... That makes no sense at all and doesn't really do my thoughts justice. Do any of you out there have the slightest clue what I'm talking about, moms or otherwise? Or am I just crazypants (as Sarah would say)??

Anyway... I'm quite happy to join the minivan club and joyfully embrace the season of life that is upon us.

Especially since it comes with magical self-closing doors.

31 weeks

My goodness! The last time I posted a "belly shot" was when I was a mere 21 weeks along. I had no clue it had been that long! Well, there has definitely been some growing since then. Ten weeks makes quite a difference to a pregnant belly:

(Sorry for the really cruddy pictures. I'm rockin' the sweats and no-make-up look today. One of these days I'll have some really nice, pretty maternity shots for you all to see, I promise.)

Just for fun, I went back and found out all the posts that have belly shots in them. I literally laughed out loud when I saw my first one, I was so tiny. It seems eons ago! Would you like to see? All right, here, watch me grow:

7 weeks

12 weeks

15 weeks

18 weeks

21 weeks

So yes, as you can see, Rosalie is in there just growing away, and giving her mama quite the tummy in the process. If I'm being completely honest, I would tell you that I weigh more now than I ever have in my life. And while I'm very glad our baby is healthy and growing, that number (which you shall never know, I'm not being THAT honest) on the scale does freak me out just a little. But! It also makes me that much more excited to get back in shape once Rosalie is here and I have my body back to myself. (Can't WAIT to join in on Kerri's Work It Out Weekends! Whee!) I'm trying to be as healthy as I can during these last months of pregnancy, while still just enjoying it and the fact that it's ok to indulge just a leetle bit more right now. And usually, it's easy to be content with the size and shape of my ever-growing body.

Except... when this happens:

Nice lady who sees my pregnant tummy: Oh, so when are you due?

Me: The middle of March.

Nice lady who gives me and my pregnant tummy a funny look: Really?? Not until then?? So, are you having twins then?

Me: No, but thank you for making me feel absolutely gargantuan, and I hope someone calls YOU fat today! Pardon me while I go cry now.

(I didn't actually say that. Don't worry, I was nice and sweet. But it was a temptation.) The funny thing is, I have gotten the "are you having twins?" question twice. On two completely different and separate occasions, from two completely different people who don't even live in the same state. Not to mention the number of sweet little grocery-store check-out ladies who exclaim "Ooh, you look ready to pop any day now!". I know I'm nice and round and yes, even a bit large, but come on, people... I still have two months left, and trust me, there's only one kid in there.

(really, most of that is for amusement's sake. I'm not bitter. And I'm sure every pregnant person has experienced something like this at one point or another, no matter how big or small they may be. Apparently, being "with child" opens your entire body up for discussion by total strangers...)

Since this post is already way too long, I might as well make this the complete pregnancy update and tell you all how I'm feeling, since some of you have asked. I'm doing great really, aside from the usual weariness and uncomfortableness that comes with the third trimester, and a sore back and leg. This has been bothering me for a little over a week now, and I'm not quite sure if there's anything I can do to make it better, as I've tried going on walks, stretching, laying a certain way... all to no avail. Still, all in all, I feel good and am grateful for it.

Rosalie is a very active baby, kicking and punching, twisting and somersaulting, stretching and moving all the time. I love feeling her move, and being able to let others feel her. It's so reassuring and special, and as long as she stays away from my ribcage (which she doesn't, really, the little stinker), we get along wonderfully. I can tell she's running out of room in there, which makes me that much more aware of how close her arrival is getting. Only two months left before she's here!! This is both incredibly exciting and also a bit stressful. Now that the holidays and all their busy-ness have come and gone, I'm seriously thinking about all I have left to accomplish in what is seeming like a very short amount of time. Scrapbooking to catch up on, cupboards to be organized, closets to clean out, lists of needs to be made, baby items to be bought, a baby room to be painted and decorated, other decorating and painting projects to finish up, cleaning of all sorts, clothes and toys to sort through, aboutamillionother little things, and ohmygoodnesshowamIgoingtogetitalldone

whenI'dreallyratherbenapping??

But then I take a few deep breaths, calm myself with a few peaceful prayers, make another list or two which makes me feel so much more organized even if it doesn't actually accomplish anything, and realize that even if all these things don't get done before our baby arrives, it won't be the end of the world. Simply put, it will be the beginning of our little Rosalie's life here with us, clean cupboards or not. And it will be beautiful. And wonderful. And amazing. A sweet blessing beyond words. And we can't wait!!

one of those kinds of days

one little girl running around in her underwear

another one missing her pants

uncombed heads of unruly hair

a messy kitchen

and it's already 11 am

yep, that pretty much sums it up.

How's YOUR Wednesday?

(right now as I type my two girls are just sitting half-naked in the lovely patch of sunlight coming in through our sliding-glass doors... they're "getting brightened up", according to Emma)

{tasty tuesdays} Cupcakes!

This may not be the most practical (practicality, schmacticality, right?) Tasty Tuesdays ever, but I thought this recipe was worth sharing. I made cupcakes for Emma's birthday party-- strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate-- and the vanilla ones were actually my personal favorite. Besides, cupcakes are just so fun, aren't they?? When I think of "cheerful" or "happy" foods, a cupcake is one of the first things that comes to my mind.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Buttercream Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, very soft
7-8 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the flour and baking powder and add in four parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla extract, beating well after each addition.
Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Spoon the batter into the cups about three-quarters full. Bake until the tops spring back when lightly touched, about 20 to 22 minutes.
Remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on a rack before icing.

To make the icing - place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (you may very well not need all of the sugar). If desired, add a few drops of food coloring and mix thoroughly.
Use and store icing at room temperature, as icing will set if chilled. Can store in an airtight container for up to three days. NOTE: this frosting recipe actually makes enough to frost more like 30-35 cupcakes, since I only doubled it and was able to frost all 60 cupcakes I made, with frosting left over!

As you can see, I left my frosting white and placed flowers I had piped in advance (made from a different frosting recipe I learned in a cake-decorating class) on top. Simple, but oh-so-girly and cute. Emma loved her cupcakes!

The beauty of cupcakes is how the possibilities are endless... if you go here, there are lots of really fun and super-cute ideas for decorating them. Or, get creative on your own. Either way, a cupcake is sure to make you smile.

Have fun! :)

ps. I would like to dedicate this post to MY cuppycake. hehe.

How can it be??

She's Five today.

My first baby is FIVE!

I can hardly believe it, that she's really five years old... but it fills me with joy when I think of the years I've gotten to spend with our sweet Emma Joy. She's the daughter God used to first make me a mother, and there are no words to describe just how much I love her.

Happy 5th Birthday, beautiful little girl of mine.

Home again

We're back.

The week in Colorado flew by much too quickly, and I already miss our family so much.

We had a simply wonderful trip, filled with lots of fun, memories, and beautiful things.

But it is good to be home again, good to sleep in our own beds, and good to get back into our normal routines. Today is, of course, filled with laundry and unpacking, catching up with dear ones here at home, and trying to get some extra rest as we recover from all the late (but very fun) nights!

I can't wait to share our amazing trip with you all, and to get around to all of your blogs to see what you've been up to, what I've missed (there were 125 unread items in my Google Reader as of yesterday... it might take a while...). I'm not making any rash promises on how soon that will all happen; it promises to be a busy week. Among other things, there are still all my Christmas decorations to take down finally and a certain little girl's 5th birthday party to plan and prepare for!

But soon...

Missed you all.

Just a little sneak peek of the fun (and incredible cuteness) that is to come