december, as told by my phone

Since I have rather recently become one of those super-cool people with a super-cool phone, I give you 25 camera-phone pictures of some of our December moments. Thank you, super-cool phone, for helping me to capture such sweet memories.

 

there was lots of hot chocolate drinking. also, I am a sucker for retro packaging.

we played piano for the old folks and loved every minute of it.



too many sleepless nights, making an exhausted mama and a tired baby boy.



decorating the tree, hanging all the ornaments in that one spot.

playdates of all sorts, some in our pj's on a cold winter morning. dear friends. (thanks to miss Lorie for this one)

 



feeling festive and fancy, breaking out the red lipstick to spend an afternoon playing piano at a lovely Christmas tea.

dancing in the living room to Christmas carols by the light of the tree.

a wee bit of crafting. actually finding the time to give a few homemade gifts, even if they weren't incredibly original, felt good.

a sleepy pup who loves to be cozy as much as we do.

happy baby boy "helping" his mom wrap presents.

shopping for presents and food, food and presents, with this little lady. no, we did not buy this huge bear. yes, I was tempted. I mean, just look at that smile!

a birthday/ family Christmas celebration at Grandma NetNet's house.

beautiful birthday girl, seven years old!





 





Bennett, wearer of bow ties and melter of hearts.

 

cute/silly Christmas cousins.

 

aftermath of crazy days, of present-wrapping, project-making, four kids and a mommy in holiday mode.

baking, lots of baking. cookies and bars and cinnamon rolls, and holiday bread, oh my.

beautiful chalkboard art by miss Emma.

attempting to take a picture of all 6 of us on Christmas day, in front of our tree...

...and succeeding!

thankful for these days, thankful for my family and friends, thankful for my Savior.

and, I must admit, glad that the craziness is over. :)

now, back to our normally scheduled lives.

whee!











a holiday hello

'Tis December (has been for twenty-one days now!) and the holiday season is full upon us, with Christmas only days away. And my poor little corner of the internet here has been sadly neglected. If only you could know the many posts that have been written in my head as the weeks fly by. They were rare gems of wit and wonder, filled to the brim with wonder and delight that would have astounded. (what? They're imaginary, they can be as amazing as I want. You don't know.)

This might not be news to you, but I have discovered that I am not one of those people who can keep up a charming and regular blog when life gets extra busy. I really admire those who can! But no, me, I cannot. And right now, life is definitely extra busy. Every year this time rolls around and every year I always feel like I'm more behind and last-minute than I should be. Except this year I also have a 5 1/2 month old who is no longer sleeping through the night and a 3-year old who has a stubborn streak in her a mile long, who fights me on every little thing. Truth be told, I'm worn out, and sometimes it's hard to find the desire to want to do all the things that should be done, much less to do them joyfully and make them fun.

But. The things that need to be done will get done. And if they don't, Christmas will still come. That is exactly what a little old lady said to me last Saturday when I played piano at a retirement home and was taking some time to visit afterwards. She looked at me as she sat there in her polyester pantsuit bedecked with poinsettias, shook a little wrinkled finger at me and said "Christmas will come this year again no matter what, and it'll come again next year, and we'll probably grumble and gripe about all sorts of things, but since it's going to come anyway, we might as well just enjoy it."

"...we might as well just enjoy it." Hmmm, that seems simple enough, but I know from experience that for some reason this time of year-- when our rejoicing should be  positively flowing out of us as we remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior, when there are so many good and lovely things surrounding us in our homes, when we are with the ones we love, when we are blessed with gifts both material and immaterial in so many ways--it is so easy to lose our joy.

I'm reminded almost daily, especially after the horrible and tragic heartbreak in Connecticut last week, to just slow down and take things in a little bit. Or, if I can't slow down, to at least have a joyful and thankful heart no matter what. So, in these days ahead leading up to Christmas, as I look at my to-do list that is still longer than I'd like, I'm going to do my best not to stress or snap, but to spread joy and share love, to rejoice minute-by-minute in God's mercies and graces, and to simply appreciate the amazing things around me, be they big or small.

Here are just a few of those things.
gingerbread toffee flavored coffee in a brand-new holiday starbucks mug.
the paper snowflakes that spin gently round as they hang above our bar.
rocking my son to sleep as he grips his blanky tight and I sing him Christmas carols.
watching White Christmas with my girls as we fold laundry by the light of the Christmas tree.
my girls spinning and dancing and twirling all over our living room to Michael Buble and his amazing Christmas music.
my sister filling the house with the smell of molasses cookies and the sound of Phil Wickham (yet another amazing Christmas album)
a sweet friend who willingly took all four kids so I could (mostly) finish christmas shopping.
stopping in at my husband's work on said shopping trip just so I could kiss him in the middle of the day.
mail that is chock full of happy smiling adorable Christmas cards from loved ones far and near.

...and I could go on. I could go on! Joy. It's there. :)

This holiday hello turned into more of a post than I really meant it to, but I'm glad I could take the time to sit down and write just a bit of my heart. That's another grace right there.

And to you, Merry Christmas, dear people. May these days be merry and bright and sparkly with a million joys, imperfectly wonderful and surprisingly lovely.

"God bless us everyone!" 
 That tiny Tim really knew how to put things.

1, 2, 3, Peppermint Tree!

*sits down, dusts off this poor neglected blog, and begins to type*

I can't believe it's been THREE weeks since I last blogged. What.... how did.... I don't.... just.... GOOD GRIEF, that went by quickly.

But.... today is my birthday. This is good news for a few reasons. 1) I have a legitimate excuse to eat more dessert. 2) My birthday always marks the end of our crazy holiday/birthday season and all the busy-ness that goes along with it all. Mid-December through my birthday is just nuts. Nuts, I tell you! But. Today is January 11th. And now you know what that means. It means that the mad dash is over. It means that I can breathe again. It means that I'm back!

Go ahead and take a minute to rejoice. I know how much you must have missed me. wink wink, smile. Truth be told, I missed all of you too, quite a lot, and I'm so excited to jump back into blogging and do my best to catch you all up on all of the goodness that has gone on around here. I've got a list of posts as long as my arm (don't worry, it won't be that many, as I actually have relatively short arms), and I'm just itching to write!

And what better way to dive back into blogging after the holidays than to share with you all our Christmas card?
I would have shared it sooner, but, they didn't all get sent out till about a week ago. Every year this happens. sigh. Hopefully everyone I sent to has gotten it by now and I'm not taking away any of the fun of ripping open that envelope :)

I'm not going to lie, I absolutely love love LOVED our card this year. It makes me smile every time I look at it.


See? It's just so perfectly us. But I must give credit where credit is due.
amazing pictures by the one-and-only wonderful Lorie Chambless.
design by the simply marvelous Molly of tank and tink.
what can I say... I have really really talented friends. these girls. I love them.

I hope each and every one of you had a delightful Christmas and are enjoying a happy 2011 (!!!) so far. Stick around, I really will be back again soon.
Promise.

ps. that title was just for you, Jerusha and Lydia. :)

overwhelmed.

One Friday, not too long ago, I was driving down the road in our minivan. It was mid-morning on a gray and dreary day, and the girls and I were headed out to run some errands. It had been such a long week, a very demanding week, and I was so tired and just done. I could feel tears lurking just behind my eyes, ready to fall at any moment.

Right then, a song came on. We were listening to Christmas music as we drove through town, trying to catch the happy Christmas spirit, and the song was "Silent Night" as sung by Mr. Josh Groban. That's all it took. The tears came. Something about the way he sings that song, and something about the words.... it got me. There I was, tired and overwhelmed, stressed and desperately wanting a break... (and let's be honest, I was probably feeling a bit sorry for myself too. boohoo.) But that song... oh, that song. It was the perfect reminder for me on that morning.

And it's still the perfect reminder for me now, weeks later, as we are only days away from Christmas and things have, if possible, gotten even more hectic and crazy.

As I type right now, I have no less than three baskets of laundry waiting to be folded and put away.

I still have to finish Christmas shopping.

I haven't gotten my baking done yet.

There is not a single present wrapped to put under our tree.

I have four homemade gifts I still need to finish.

There are boxes of gifts waiting to be sent off, which means a trip to the post office.

My Christmas cards still need to be sent out (which I will do, as soon as I actually get them!)

And that, my friends, is really just the short list.

I am overwhelmed.

How many of you are feeling the same way right now? It seems like December always does this to us, doesn't it? The holidays should be such a time of joy and peace and soaking up the sweetness of having loved ones near... a time for rest and reflection, for remembering what's important. But instead, we end up with 10 millions things to do and no time in which to do it, stressed out and frazzled, running around like chickens with our heads cut off while the loveliness of Christmas passes us by... hiding in the bathroom with a book and a piece of chocolate just so you can have a little break, a little peace and quiet.

(you've all done that, right? No? That last one is just me? ahem. nevermind.)

I'm doing my best NOT to let this season pass me by, not to let the craziness and stress swallow me whole and leave me exhausted. I'm hoping and praying that, by God's grace, I will keep myself together and focus on the wonderful things for which I am grateful. I am choosing to be overwhelmed... but in a completely new and different way.

Overwhelmed by my girls, and their childish delight over every little thing that happens in this holiday season. By the fact that I get to spend every day with them, soaking them up and loving them no matter what.

Overwhelmed by the beauty of winter, with its snow and (for us) rain, its quiet peacefulness and somber gentility.

Overwhelmed with thankfulness that, one year after my mom was diagnosed with her lymphoma, she is healthy and fine, here with us and more lovely than ever. And, she and my other family will be here in a matter of days!

Overwhelmed by my husband, who puts up with me and my craziness and grumpiness. I love him.

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of amazing people we have in our lives to love, both friends and family... and by just how really wonderful they are.

Overwhelmed by the loveliness of everything around me, from the sounds of the Christmas music we play to the twinkly lights we string here and there and everywhere.

Overwhelmed by how much I love my pajamas, and by the fact that this time of year is so cozy and I get to wear them quite often, all the time. (I really do love my pajamas. And slippers. We're MFEO.)

Overwhelmed by the goodness of God.

Overwhelmed by thankfulness.

By contentment.

By delight.

By joy, pure and simple.

And most of all, overhwelmed by the truth of what it is that we celebrate in this season, the truth of that silent night so long ago.

Silent night, holy night,

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight,
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavely hosts sing alleluia;
Christ the Saviour, is born!
Christ the Saviour, is born!

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

just in case I don't get a chance to say it later:

Merry Christmas, to each and every one of you.

I hope you are overwhelmed by joy and delight. :)

xoxo

Tucked away.

I was looking through some of the many un-published and un-finished posts sitting in my draft box last night, and just so happened to come across this one, written in November 2009 (not quite sure why I didn't just post it then...). At first, I wasn't going to publish it until the season seemed more appropriate... but upon further thought, I realized that thoughts of cool winter days, holiday joy, and glimpses of peacefulness might be just the thing someone might find lovely to read on a hot August day. Enjoy. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I write, it is November 30th. However, in a matter of just two hours, it will be December. December. As much as I love and look forward to this time of year, I can hardly believe it is actually here. And if I could, I would grab time firmly and tell it, with no uncertain tone, to slow down, already! Considering how quickly November whizzed right on by, I can only assume that December will fly by at an altogether impossible speed.

Sometimes, between school, piano students, housework, projects, three children, going to the gym, church activities, errands, Christmas decorating and shopping, and all the other little ins and outs of daily life it is hard to catch my breath. I will admit that I get stressed and overwhelmed. I get snappy and grumpy. Boo.

But what I dislike the most about all this busy-ness paired with time's fleeting tendencies is that I start to feel like things are escaping me. Little, but oh-so-important things. Things that I want to remember. But alas, I have neither the time nor the ability to capture those moments in beautiful photographs (this would explain my sad lack of blogging).

And so, I find myself storing up these gems of a moment, tucking them away in my mind's eye, a mental snapshot of a time or a place or a face.

We all cuddle on the couch under one big fuzzy blanket and watch Elf. Annabelle especially seems delighted with Buddy's antics and she giggles and giggles and giggles. Her face is alight, her nose crinkled up with her grin that reaches into her eyes and beyond. Golden hair in wispy curls brushes my face as I laugh with her, this delighted daughter of mine.

Emma presses the button on the bottom of the little white piano ornament and tinkly music plays. Arms stretched out, she dances, her very own brand of ballet. She twirls and twirls until the music stops, and then she presses it again. And again. And again. Dancing and dancing, not caring that it's always the same song or that the living room is scattered with toys.

My husband grabs me and hugs me for a moment as I flit from room to room, moving from task to task. We linger, my head on his chest, and I breathe in the smell of his cologne and relish the feel of his arms around me.

It is early morning, and I am driving home from the gym. Ahead of me I see the mountains, hazy and shadowy in the cold light of dawn. Mists lay across the fields, wispy and white. Everything is in shades of gray and purple, soft and still before the sunshine wakes the scene. It is so peaceful, so quiet-like, so rare and beautiful. "Be still, and know that I am God" comes to my mind.

Rosalie pulls herself up on one of the bins of Christmas decorations and grabs at a branch of golden berries. As she catches my eye, she grins like she just accomplished a wonderful feat, like she knows she shouldn't mess, but oh wow does she feel like a big girl! I can't resist that smile or her happy bounce, so I scoop her up and she giggles.

I am awoken by two tousle-haired girls on a cold morning. Which, of course, calls for cuddles in bed, even if briefly since there is a baby needing to be changed in the next room. We squeeze together close, their little figures warm and soothing, our legs and arms all tangled and criss-crossed under the thick comforter.

As Rosalie drinks her morning bottle I wrap us in a blanket and sit on the couch, just to hold her close to me. Her head rests against my chest, and I drink her baby-ness in. Her long dark lashes, her perfectly round and ever-fuzzier head, her dimpled chubby hands as they eagerly grasp her bottle. I think I could keep her warm little self there on my lap, cuddled up with me, forever.

Tucked away, all of them, these beautiful scenes from this beautiful life. Tucked away, safe and cherished for always.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm so glad I found this in my draft box. It was like a cool little spritz of joy and refreshment in this hot and busy week. Such precious memories, all of these...

sometimes great pictures just happen...

... and sometimes they don't. Because sometimes, managing to get one-- just one!!-- decent picture of your three little girls in their matching stripey pj's is harder than getting them to eat brussel sprouts (which I've never actually tried to do, because hello, brussel sprouts are gross. ew.) The proof is in the pictures:















Aaaaaaaaand she's gone.
So that was that.

But you know what?? I think I kind of like the way THESE turned out. Who wants a perfect picture with all three kids sitting still and smiling perfectly, anyway? Does such a thing even exist???

I love my little striped munchkins. Even if they don't appreciate my efforts at preserving memories for posterity's sake. :)

A merry little Christmas

Christmas came and went all too quickly this year, in my opinion. I felt like I was playing catch-up all of December, especially after our unplanned trip to CO (which I would not have missed for anything), and trying so hard to get everything done... and then whoosh, all of a sudden everything WAS done and Christmas was done! And I can't help but feel like maybe I missed something, maybe it wasn't exactly what I hoped for. It was Rosalie's first Christmas. Our first Christmas as a family of five! Did I make it special enough? Did I soak it all up like I needed to? Will I truly remember and cherish the things that made it wonderful?

Well, it may not have been EXACTLY what I had in mind, and I'm sure that there are plenty of things I could have done differently, but one thing for sure is that I most definitely WILL remember and cherish it. It was simple, low-key, and merry in just the right kind of way.

On Christmas Eve we had a lovely little gathering here at our house with our family on Jeremy's side. It had been a while since we'd all been together, and it was so wonderful to see them all and just hang out while we ate large amounts of food and opened quite a few gifts. I simply love having our home filled with family!

Jeremy's mom (Grandma NetNet) and her husband Randy


Thomas and Caitlyn looking all cute, Brent hiding quite conveniently behind his knees, Steph giving Cale a rather quizzical look as he comically attempts to undo the ridiculous packaging on Emma's doll. I love this picture. :)


Rosalie and Brent. what a great pair.


On Christmas morning we always go to church, so we wait and do presents once we get home. However, we did manage to squeeze in time to open our stockings, all of us in our pj's. Even Rosalie got excited about the stockings, and she quickly fell in love with her new little dolly.


Unfortunately, pictures of our kids opening stockings and presents are sadly lacking from this year. But I did take a few videos here and there. This one is from right after we did stockings. Nothing too groundbreaking, but at least my girls are cute and you get a glimpse of Jeremy's bright blue Wii pj's. Whee! :)

Christmas Morning 2009 from Talia Bridgman on Vimeo.

After stockings we all got dressed up in our Christmas finery (per Emma and Annabelle's request), and Daddy took some pictures while Mommy rushed around trying to finish getting herself ready.

I literally squealed when I put this hat on Rosalie. Can you see why??


Cheeeeeeeeeeese. (but they sure do look pretty)


We enjoyed a joyous service with our church family, and by this time Emma and Annabelle were absolutely DYING to get to the presents. But first, I made us all take some more pictures while we were still dressed up. Mostly, because I wanted to give up being cute for the rest of the day, since we were going to be home, and change into my yoga pants and a sweatshirt. (which is exactly what I did.)

My loves. So much wonderful in one picture!




A rare picture of me with all THREE of my girls!


A bit of silliness. Always a good thing!


And that is pretty much how we spent the rest of our Christmas-- being lazy and relaxed, simply enjoying our time at home. Opening presents, having a few family members drop by to our delight, watching movies, playing with new games and toys, coloring, napping, spending time on the phone with all of our family in Colorado (whom we missed oh-so-VERY-much), and eating more than our fair share of fudge and other goodies. It was lovely.

Emma was thrilled with her new Polly Pockets and paper dolls, and Annabelle received a plethora of Tinkerbell things which made her little self quite happy. And Rosalie crawled in and out among all the wrapping and new things most determinedly and curiously, creating trouble as well as smiles from the rest of us. And that night as we got ready to tuck them into bed, we talked about the very best present of all: that of Jesus, God's Son. I am so glad that they can begin to understand this wonderful truth.

It is so comforting to know that no matter what each Christmas may bring, or with whom we may or may not get to spend it, it is still always about the JOY of that truth. JOY is always present and alive. JOY to the world, the Lord is come!!



JOY. An abundance of it!