John Ryman's Christmas Tree

It was so much fun to have John Ryman help us put up his Christmas tree this year!   I loved bringing him home to a festive room on Christmas day 2011, but I'm quite sure he didn't notice the tree in his room :)  (here is the post from last year)  He "helped" by playing with the animal ornaments and exclaiming "wooow" when we turned on the lights.  So adorable to watch him walk around the corner and see the tree a lit up.  He gets this quiet voice, kinda puffs air out of his mouth and repeats "hot" or "wow" while slowly getting closer.  Can't wait to put up our big tree this week!  He is doing really great with this tree and is so proud that he obeys and doesn't touch the tree- he walks around it clapping haha!  I think the rocking chair helps to act as a barrier.  Just waiting on the day when it gets pulled over, so thankfully there is nothing about it that is unsafe or fragile.

That's tree #2 up in our house so far!  Getting ready to decorate the rest of the house this week.
How many trees are up in your home?

"Little Man" Baby Shower

We had so much fun celebrating with Annagrace & Steven as they wait for their baby boy to arrive!  She is due Dec. 31 so it won't be long.  Can't wait to meet you sweet Kingston!

I tried to make the menu a little "manly" in honor of the baby boy and the husbands that joined the party...

Here are some of the recipes:

Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream from {here}- These were so easy!  Wrapping the bacon took a little extra time, but SO worth it.
Corn & Black Bean Salsa: (1 cup corn, 1 can of beans (drained), 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, cilantro, 1 green pepper, 2 tsp garlic), salt & pepper)
"It's a Boy" Cigar Pretzels: Dip Pretzel Rod in softened Vanilla Icing tub.  Swirl around until covered to your preference and place on a plate.  Put on the sprinkles before icing hardens.
Apple Cider Punch (6 cups Apple Cider, 2 cups Sprite, 1 cup Orange Juice, 1/8 cup lemon juice-served cold)

I made all the banners & signs to match the invitation- super easy!

I am hoping to post some template PDFs on this post if I can figure it out one day, but 

until then feel free to email me if you want to use something & I can send you the document file.

Kentucky Leaves

I forgot just how beautiful Kentucky is in the fall!  Our family even said that the leaves looked better a few weeks before we arrived, but we will take any color we can get :)  Some trees are just now starting to turn in Texas- I love spotting those random colorful trees here, but they come so late in the season and won't last long. 

Hope you are enjoying these fall days... It's been in the 80's here and GORGEOUS but I am pretty happy to see it could be in the low 40's next week :)

too early?

When is too early to decorate for Christmas?!  

I'm seriously dying to get out all of my boxes and start decorating, 

but our tradition is usually Thanksgiving day...

so until then I will be keeping myself busy with cleaning and organizing as much as possible, decorating for a "little man" baby shower this weekend and rearranging my fall decor daily :)

Stay tuned next week for shower pictures and maybe even some 

PDFs and printable templates for you 

-mustaches included- if I can figure it out!

Meeting Jack Henry & Hadley in Louisville

I was so excited to meet our dear friends new twins while we were in Louisville!  We have prayed for these babies for a long time and while I loved seeing their pictures... I couldn't wait any longer to hold Jack Henry and Hadley!  And it is always such a joy to spend time with Kathleen. {InThisJoyfulLife}  I love watching her as a mom and she is just so calm and sweet with her babies.  Wish we lived closer because she could teach me so much!

They were already 10 weeks old and absolutely precious!  
Jack Henry:

 (John Ryman found Jack Henry's paci and popped it right in his mouth! )

 Here is half the group:

It was a beautiful fall day!  We were supposed to celebrate Halloween at the Louisville zoo, but when we got there realized it didn't start until the next day & the zoo was only open for one more hour!  So we saved tons of money and decided most of the kids wouldn't know the difference between a park & zoo :)  Patrick's mom & sister met us up there with her sweet 5 kids (more cousin pictures to come) and we all enjoyed time at the park in the leaves and on the playground!

 Hadley was too cute with her bow and sweet little expressions :)

 Love you Kathleen...  Look forward to many more adventures with our kiddos!

Happy Halloween 2012

JR spent his first Halloween dressed up all day!  He was a cheeseburger during the day and then turned into a little chicken for our Halloween/Chili Cookoff Party that night.  It was so funny to see him walking around the house and playing as a cheeseburger!  Patrick and I were going to be chefs (to go with our little burger) but couldn't find a good costume, so when I came across this chicken jacket I knew we could easily make a farmer outfit :)

I found the chicken jacket at a consignment store (all of their Halloween costumes were $1!!!) and then I picked up some orange tights in the girls section at target because I couldn't find orange pants anywhere.  I also picked up 2 other $1 costumes because they still had their tags on them.  You know I can't pass up a good deal ;) Maybe one day we can use the cute little horse costume to add to our farm!

Don't forget to stop by a few stores or consignments shops this week to get some clearance Halloween items for next year!  It is always a treat to open up new decor the next year that you know was a good deal.  And some things the stores consider "Halloween" can even be used for fall/ Thanksgiving decor too!  It's a great time to plan ahead for next year and save money on some pricey costumes.

Hope you all had a fun & safe Halloween!  We had a party at our house for 2 community groups & neighbors.  There were lots of cute costumes, delicious chili & lots of sweets!  Wish I had taken more photos, but I'll be posting my chili recipe soon.