our halls are decked.

I think that the first Christmas in a new house is always extra exciting.  With ideas flooding in your head of how to decorate, the possibilities are endless!  Then reality hits.  How exactly are we going to hang the lights like we envisioned?!  Well in our case, Brandon's dad tied a rope to him and sent him out on the roof to get to work.  I, of course, was a nervous wreck so I snapped this picture then walked away.  Ignorance is bliss, of course.

In other random crafty news, I made a wreath!

And stockings!

Remember my love for burlap stockings?  I can't believe I actually did it this year.  I love them!  Brandon's mom helped me figure them out logistically, but for the most part I did all of the sewing myself!  It's amazing how productive you can be when someone is entertaining your toddler.

Our tree was decorated with love and care (and a few not so nice words when the star and half the lights wouldn't come on.)

The little people nativity made it's debut!  Lucas loved it and was very into playing with baby Jesus.  And changing his diaper. And making Lightening McQueen kiss him.  It was a rare occasion for the angel to be on top of the stable, most of the time it was the donkey or the sheep.  Lucas got bonus points for creativity.

Brandon ended up making a new addition to our nativity.  I am in LOVE with our pallet wood stable.  

He knows me and loves me so well!

I love using scraps from the tree to bring a little Christmas to the rest of the house.

Gifts this year were wrapped simply, brown craft paper and baker's twine with the tags being cut up pieces of a tree trunk from our back yard.

Nana and Poppy brought Lucas a train for around the tree.  A definite hit!

A little garland on the banister:

And our dining room table (which I think was my favorite)

The place settings with Christmas tree folded napkins! (thank you, YouTube.)

Surprisingly, these two crazies actually behaved with all of the decorations!

Our Christmas card display:

And just because this his hilarious, this is Lucas at a tacky sweater Christmas party!

From our home to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS!

lucas and ella: christmas edition

Really guys, this post is just to show you a few adorable pictures of Lucas and Ella.  We adventured at the mall and discovered a giant Christmas tree.  They both ran up to the big ornaments yelling "BALL! BALL!" 

And then they started dancing which turned my heart into mush.

We've had a few slumber parties and they are just too cute together.  Kids, I know you'll kill me one day (like at your rehearsal dinner) for posting these, but how can I not?!

They have movie dates:

And even brush their teeth together.

They are adorable together.  The say each others' names (Ella calls him "Coo-Cus" and Lucas calls her "Ellyyyya").  Their personalities couldn't be any more different.  Lucas is the wild one and Ella is the quiet one.  He runs around like a maniac and she just watches and smiles.  It has been so fun to see her blossum in an adventurous way and begin to do a little bit of the crazy stuff!  They really do play together and I know they miss each other when they are apart.  

I can't let myself think of the time that is quickly approaching when they will have to leave again.  These two are best friends and I know will miss each other as much as the grown ups will miss each other.  

I am so thankful for their family and that our kids are being able to live this part of life together!

impromptu santa visit!

We visited Crabtree Valley Mall the day before Thanksgiving and stumbled upon the big man in red.  We had no intention when we went to the mall to pay Santa a visit, but a short line and a fascinated Lucas made us say "why not?"  We weren't quite sure how Lucas would react.  

He started out curious.

Then was a little shocked or ambivalent...we're not too sure.

Then he was almost okay with it.

Then he was not.

So then Santa invited the whole family up onto his lap!  

And all was right in the world.  Maybe next year!

oh christmas tree! oh christmas tree!

The day after Thanksgiving, we headed out in search of the perfect tree.  This year was a little different from our last few Christmas tree hunts since now we are living in a different city.  The first year we were married, we bought our tree at Food Lion.  Yes, the grocery store.  We were newlyweds and super excited for our first tree and there was a Food Lion right by our townhouse.  So, winner winner!  The next year, we were in our new home in Durham and found a delightful little place near our house that we bought our trees for the next 3 years from.  Now we are in Raleigh and realized we needed a new and closer tree place!  So we wandered around town and stumbled on Boyce Tree Farm.  Perfect!

We headed over there with Brandon's parents who were still in town after Thanksgiving.  Armed with warm coats, toboggan hats, and a camera, we were off!  I was sure this was going to be a magical experience with our little explorer, weaving in and out of the beautiful lush green trees in search of the perfect one.  Ha.  Nope.

Lucas was a maniac.  Running away from us, chasing the dogs, trying to climb on tractors, etc.  So our trip basically involved Brandon's parents chasing Lucas around making sure he didn't die and Brandon and I trying to agree on a tree.  [We are both pretty opinionated when it comes to our Christmas tree.  It has to be perfect, you know?]

 The only time Lucas stayed remotely still was to flirt with these little girls.  Apparently these are the Boyce grandaughters and they set up a hot chocolate stand at the farm.  Lucas spotted them and stopped in his tracks to flirt at their cute little booth.

We again made another attempt at a little family photo, but due to really bad sun light and a crazy toddler, this is about as good as it got:

Maybe next year, Lucas will be a little more sentimental about picking out our tree.  Maybe not.  Merry Christmas!

happy thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving this year was spent at our home in Raleigh with MiMi and PaPa. We were so happy they were able to come in town for a few days and spend the holiday with us and kick off the Christmas season.  We chose to forego the traditional cooking of the meal and headed to the Angus Barn!  Have you ever been there?  If not, it's magical...especially at Christmastime.  Settled in the busy heart of Brier Creek, the Angus Barn's beautiful rustic decor and unbelievable food makes you feel removed from the world and like you're in your own little beef eater's haven.  [In fact, that's exactly where their sign says you are.  mooooo.]

We had dinner down in the pavilion, which is a charming little [big] place down by the lake.  We got there early to enjoy the outdoor space.  They had a bonfire roaring in a giant fire pit and kids running around throwing footballs. We walked around by the water and attempted to get some pictures for our Christmas card.  Here's the winner:

And I'm not even going to try to put the food into words.  It was absolutely delicious. Let's just leave it at that.

And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I saw the mini Chocolate Chess Pies.  Then I died.

 Lucas was a champ for most of dinner, but towards the end he just needed some MiMi loving.

So, would we do it again?  Buck traditional cooking and eat out for Thanksgiving?  If it's at the Angus Barn, heck to the yes.  

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!!

fall fun

Some of my favorite things about fall are the leaves (duh), the fair, and football.  We first headed to the North Carolina State Fair again this year with Brandon's parents.  Lucas was much harder to wrangle this year, wanting to walk and see and do everything!

Bless his heart. He wanted to ride the big boy rides.  But you had to be 42" tall and he wasn't even close.  Try explaining that to him!

With fall comes cuteness in the forms of jeans, pumpkins, and vests.

a boy and his dog.

Aunt K is the best.  She watched Lucas for us one day and they had craft time!

We spent the morning at the Museum of Life and Science.

And the trees.  WOW.

Lucas loves crunching in the leaves!

 And what is fall without football?!  I love everything about this picture except Lucas's outfit.  His daddy dressed him.  Go heels.

Now the leaves are falling like snow and soon they will all be on the ground. It's so nice to be reminded of the beauty of the changing seasons and count our blessings during this time of thankfulness.