The Price Family: Year In Review

I thought it would be fun to recap 10 fun blog posts from this year...

We've had some fun this year, and here are some fun times that stick out in my head....(just click on each title to take you to the actual post)

1. MY FIRST 5K

A definite personal goal of mine to run a 5K, and I did it!!! If I can do it, anyone can!

2. SUMMER VACATION

(Our yearly trip to Destin, Florida with 3 others families....some of the best times ever)

3. FAITH'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

(Faith started 1st grade this year...can't believe my firstborn is growing so fast!)

4. OUR TRIP TO NASHVILLE

In September we traveled to Nashville for a fun weekend...we celebrated Brooke's 3rd birthday with a Taylor Swift concert!

5. GREAT LAUNDRY ROOM MAKEOVER

I had fun re-doing my laundry room....

6. THE HALF BATH MAKEOVERI had so much fun doing my laundry room, I gave the half bath a little makeover too!

7. A PRICE FAMILY CHRISTMAS

Christmas at our house was fun, and busy as usual...

8. BIG NEWS!

I can't leave out that Brooke finally potty trained...it only took 9 months...

9. REMEMBERING WHERE IT BEGAN

Ryan and I celebrated our 10th anniversary this year...and we remember where it started here...

10. A WEEKEND GETAWAY

Remember Dirty Dancing? Ryan and I stayed in the hotel where part of the movie was filmed...The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC!

What a wonderful 2009 it was!!!!

HAPPY 2010 to you all!!!

a sweet message...or not...

I LOVE my children, I really do....

....and I hesitated to post this, due to the embarassment factor......

because.....

well,.....

because, I don't teach nor allow my kids to write/say/do things like this....

This was a "nice" message my (almost) 7 year old wrote to her 3 year old little sister (who, thank goodness can't read).....

Surprisingly enough, my daughter rarely gets in trouble at school (except for the time she was acting like Sponge Bob in line, and the time she was marching instead of walking in line to lunch)....

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry at this one...I guess if it's the worse thing she ever does, then I am one lucky mommy....

......and for the record...the word "butt" is not allowed in our house...so Faith was being a big rebel writing this one.....

*****SIGH****

a price family christmas.....

WHEW!!!!!!

Merry (late) Christmas, and Happy New Year to you!!

I hope you had a great Christmas! I know we did.....nothing makes me happier than seeing my children happy....and Christmas is definitely a time when you can see them at their happiest! Luckily, BOTH girls got what they wanted...both were happy and excited with what Santa brought.....

Sadly, our Elf on the Shelf has returned back to the North Pole...we really did enjoy having cute little "Mike" at our house...but before he left he surprised the girls with a few last messages...here are a few last pics of Mike...

I found this picture the other day....it makes me laugh every time I see it....

Sweet little Brooke didn't like Santa 2 years ago....but look at her now....


Just in 2 shorts years my girls have changed sooo much....sniff sniff....

Christmas was spent with lots of family time....we spent our 2nd year at home...and LOVED it. I want my girls to have memories of having Christmas at home. Last year was the first year we spent the holiday at home, and had so much fun. This year was just as much fun!!! The girls are really into Santa this year....Faith left him cookies and wrote him a note...and cleared out a space in front of the fireplace for Santa so he wouldn't trip over anything....





The "loot"

The girls on Christmas Eve...

Brooke got the pink dragon she had been asking for.....thank goodness Santa found a pink dragon on Ebay...

Faith got the Nike shoes with the pink "swoosh" she was asking for...

Checking out the stocking goodies... this was my FAVORITE part of Christmas morning as a child....

Faith is surrounded by toys!

The girls got REAL kimonos from my brother, who lives in Tokyo....we had to take a picture to email him back in Japan...

....and this is what my den floor looked like after the Christmas tornado went through it....


Here is my sweet family...Christmas 2009....

This is my husband's family...mom, dad, 3 children with their spouses and children....LOVE them all! I am soooo extremely lucky to have wonderful inlaws...they are all so much fun to hang around!!!! I'm so blessed!!!



So, now we are in Memphis visiting my dad and step mom and having a great time so far. It's my fist time home in 2 years....

Happy New Year every one...

It's All Over But The Shoutin'...

Am I the only one who has ever heard that saying??

"It's all over but the shoutin'!"

Well, it's Christmas Eve here, and I am having a few minutes of down time before we head to take the dogs to the kennel, head to church, then home to make a Birthday Cake for Dear Baby Jesus....and then wait on the kids to be nestled all snug in their beds so Santa can squeeze his fat hiney down our chimney... :)

So, I have a few random thoughts (thinking about Santa squeezing his fat hiney down the chimney reminded me of my favorite movie)....

Have you seen this?

I know it's not the classiest of Christmas movies, but this is what we watch on Christmas Eve or Christmas night....we laugh as hard each year as if it's the first time ever seeing this movie! Merry Christmas, Clark!

And what tree wouldn't be complete without the beauty of a "husband wrapped gift"?????? Take a look at this...

Now, this is actually a HUGE step for my loving husband...last year it was a gift wrapped in blue and yellow wrapping paper with sunflowers all over it, tied with a red bow. He's stepped up in his wrapping paper selection...although I am not sure the green/red polka dots go with silver/blue ribbon.....but hey, I am giving the guy credit... it was one less present I had to wrap!!!!

Our elf on the shelf got a little Western this morning!! Look how we found him!

He even left the girls a little note reminding them to remember the real reason we celebrate the season!

It looks like my few minutes of "me" time is now over....sigh.....

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!!!

Remember...this is why we celebrate....

"Fall on your knees! O hear the angels voices! O divine! The night when Christmwas born!!!!!"

Crazy Lil' Elf & other ramblings....

Well, the Elf on the Shelf is gettig close to the end of his visit here at our house.....the girls love him....but he's running out of places to hide.... AND, he's tired of stressing to REMEMBER to hide in a new place each morning! (can i get an amen?!?):) Honestly, we LOVE Elf on the Shelf at the Price house....I can't imagine the Christmas seaon without him!! I know it's something my kids will grow up enjoying, and possibly even carry on the tradition with their little ones.

So, we have 1 more day after today with "Mike" our Elf.... I really want to come up with something fun to do for the last day.... so PLEASE give me any ideas you have... cuz' this house is OUT of ideas! :)

Here is where we found our sneaky little elf this morning...

Have I shown you these other places we have found Mike??

I really should have taken pictures of all his fun hiding spots...maybe next year!

..............................................................................................................................................

In other ramblings.....

Brooke thought she was in trouble the other day (she wasn't) so she tried to hide so I couldn't find her.....see if YOU can find her!!! :)

Faith drew this picture for me the other day, and I thought it was sweet....it's nice to see this drawing instead of a long list of " I wants" for Christmas....

Lastly, here is a sweet shot of my girls with my grandmother. I adore my sweet sweet grandmother. She will be 87 in March, and is slowing down physically, but is sharp as a tack mentally....you know how those grandmas like to always put their 2 cents in all the time?? That's her...but you can't help but love her to pieces!!!

Happy December 23rd!!!

Just A Lil' Christmas Decor...

Every year I tell myself I am going to go shopping after Christmas and get my Christmas decor for the next year.

And every year the After-Christmas decor goes on sale for 60-75% off, and I find myself either

A. not wanting to spend the money because I feel like I have done nothing BUT spend money on Christmas

or

B. I ask myself, "Where on earth am I going to store all this extra Christmas stuff?"

or

C. I get there too late and everything is picked over.

Well, let me tell you....this year I WILL be buying some Christmas decor after the season. I realized, while trying to decorate this year, that I don't have that much Christmas stuff....

So, until next year.... here is a peek into this year's Christmas decorating..(I know, it's pitiful)....

Instead of a wreath, I put this Santa on my front door. My mom gave him to me when I was first married. She used to keep him on her front door. Now that my mom is no longer here, I keep up the tradition with Santa on my front door. He's a nice alternative to a wreath....this decoration will probably never change!

I saw this on another blog (can't remember which one since I read sooo many)...this is a fruit dish I had in my cabinets. I just filled them with ornaments I already had, and wrapped some garland (I already had) around it. The table runner is some extra fabric I bought a few years ago. I planned on using it to make a dress for my girls, but never got around to it. So I just folded it and laid it on the table...WA LA.. it's a table runner....

Another idea taken from a blog....it's a cupcake stand with ornaments on it....simple...and very cheap to make....(I already had the cupcake stand and ornmanets..)

Our skinny tree. Every year we go out and buy a glorious, fat, $80 tree....but not this year. We went to Lowe's and bought a $30 tree....not a fat, full tree this year, but we have an extra $50 in our pockets and the kids don't know the difference...

A fuzzy glimpse of our mantle...I'm trying really hard to use the natural light in my pics...but they are just too fuzzy...but nonetheless, this is my mantel this year..

Here is a non-fuzzy glimpse of my mantel. The tree on the left was another hand-me-down from my sweet mom, so I feel the need to display it every year, even though it is something you would see back in the 80's. The stars came from the Dollar Tree this year, the stocking hangers from Wal-Mart, the poinsettias from Michael's last year, and I have NO clue where the Santa came from....he just appeared...

Here is Faith's stocking. My sweet neighbor's mother in law made this for Faith...I just LOVE it...I'm glad my girls have stockings like these...they will have these the rest of their lives, and they will always have that timeless look.

Brooke's stocking. Another timeless one.

These are my candle holders that stay up all year long...I bought little mini-ornaments and put in the bottoms. I think they look cute!

This is where I display all my Christmas cards I get from friends and family. My kids have a hay-day with the cards, taking them out of their holders and scattering them all over the place...so I have given up and just started stacking them inside the mailbox. My girls love to take them out and look at all the pictures....


So, there you have it....my inexpensive (lack of) Christmas decor. I PROMISE to have more fun stuff next year.....Can't wait to see the after Christmas deals I come across!!