A Colorado Christmas

We spent Christmas in Colorado.

It was the first time our children ever saw mountains.  They were awed by their beauty and it was so much fun to experience the mountains again for the "first" time through their eyes!

Here was the view upon our arrival in Estes Park, Colorado...

Rosy cheeked children in the "warming hut" at Hidden Valley Sledding Area, 

Rocky Mountain National Park...

And a mini tour of our cabin.  We stayed at The Timber Creek Chalets.  

I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of our master bedroom...we had our own fireplace!  We rented a 3-bedroom cabin...one room for Mom and Dad, one room for Mary, and one room for the boys to share.

A few other moments captured...

Downtown Estes Park, Colorado at night.

Hot chocolate after sledding and snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park...

Family Game Night means Trouble!

Beautiful memories created together and captured to last a lifetime.

Linking up with The Farmhouse Porch for their Cowgirl Up! Link Party.

 

XXX OOO

 

Candid Christmas (A Quick Review!)

As you might have noticed, I took a step away from Our Someday Farm to celebrate the Christmas holiday.

We traveled to both St. Louis, Missouri and Estes Park, Colorado during a 9-day window, via CAR, but it was a lot of fun spending time with both our extended families and as a family of five.

Here are just a few pictures capturing Christmas around Our Someday Farm...

Large photo...Santa's elves love to wrap gifts...especially  using grosgrain ribbon!

Top to Bottom (L-shape...counterclockwise)
1:  Mary Catherine showing off Suzanne's winter snow boots. (Suzanne is Mary's American Girl Doll.)
2:  Luke's most-loved gift of all...a wooden car carrier from Doug and Melissa.  (Don't you just LOVE wooden toys?)
3:  Benjamin playing harmonica...a simple and highly loved stocking stuffer!
4:  Luke on Christmas morning.
5:  Benjamin insisted on wrapping his own gift to Mommy!  I love Kindergarten print...and that he spelled out our last name!!!)
6:  Mary Catherine showing off her new ear muffs from Auntie Julie and Uncle Johnny.  Adorable!
7:  Mary Catherine insisted on feeding Santa's reindeer, but we were out of oats.  She improvised with cherry tomatoes...labeling one per reindeer!  ;)

A few other captured moments...

A sweet moment shared between Father/Daughter

How DOES that Santa know???!!!

Aaaaargh, Matey!

So many moments captured on film...and so very grateful for the advent of the digital age!

XXX OOO

A Little Bit About Us

Although this blog is mostly about home decor, party planning, and everything farmhouse-ish, every once in a while I hope to share some sweet photos of my three precious kiddos.  And to start off this new year, I thought that I would share some family pictures that we had taken in early December!

Our firstborn, Mary Catherine, is 8 and a true delight to us.  She was a looong-awaited gift from God (nearly 11 years of marriage to be exact!) and it is hard to believe our "baby" is now a 2nd grader.  (And, yes, I really did keep her home an extra-year not only because she has an August birth date, but also because I just loved her company!!!)

Our middle child was the gift that wasn't supposed to be!  Doctors told us that we could never conceive on our own (okay, less than 1% chance!) and you can imagine our surprise when we discovered we were pregnant with him!  At 6, and in Kindergarten, Benjamin also delights us with his sense of humor and kind-hearted disposition.

And last, but certainly not least, is Luke!  At 32 lbs. and 30-months old, he is our strapping young toddler!  He tries to keep up with big brother and big sister and does pretty well holding his own!  At 41, he was definitely another surprise, albeit, a blessed one!

This year, 2013, my husband and I will celebrate 20 years of marriage!  While it hasn't been all "wedded bliss" it has been an incredible ride.  I'm so glad God brought the two of us together and that I get to be on this amazing journey called life with him.  Here we are in 1993...

...clearly taken before the DSLR was invented!  LOL  In fact, our photographer retired and before closing his business, sold me all of the "negatives" he shot that day for $50.00.  There are hundreds! 

I hope you enjoyed getting to know our little family of five a bit better.  Wishing all of you that drop by for a visit (whether you leave a comment or not) a very blessed and peaceful 2013!

XXX OOO

The Nutcracker Ballet

In light of this morning's tragedy in Newtown, CT, I'm not feeling particularly up to blogging about holiday decor...breakfast casseroles...sewing tutorials.

And while all those little things are important, because it is those little things that add up to make our days, I'm feeling a need to keep the television turned off, the radio dial tuned to Christmas music, and the computer shut down so that I can truly focus on being present with my loved ones.

Tonight, my sweet daughter and I have a date, compliments of Daddy!  We are headed downtown to see the evening performance of the Kansas City Ballet's The Nutcracker.

And while part of me feels guilty for going out and having a good time in light of a national tragedy, a different part of me feels it is necessary to show my daughter (who doesn't know what has happened) that life continues on...we don't stop living or loving or celebrating with those we love.  There is certainly a time to mourn, but there is also a time for celebration.

Tonight, I am honoring her innocence.

I leave you with these two sweet photos captured by our family photographer last Sunday...

...all the more meaningful today.

Our precious 8-year old.

Mama holding her sweet boys close to her.

I will be back tomorrow to visit all of you at the various linky parties I joined up with and to share a delicious breakfast casserole.

XXX OOO

Family Picture

Yesterday, we had family pictures taken at an outdoor park.

Can you say, "Fastest Photo Shoot Ever?"

It was really cold, but the kids did really well!

Here are a few proofs to share...

Mary Catherine, Age 8

Benjamin, Age 6

Luke Alexander, Age 2

Family Picture, 2012

I can't wait to see more..especially the edited versions!  These are just some proofs I pulled off of Facebook.

We rarely splurge on family photos...so mama isn't in many pictures...but we are working on making some changes around our Someday Farm and celebrating who we are...exactly where we are...is one of our first steps!

Happy Monday!

XXX  OOO