her first christmas...

kevin had to work christmas day... so i told abbi that santa knew that her daddy had to work so he was going to make a special trip back to logan ... just for her!!

not that she cared ... being only 5 months old ... but it mattered to us!! :)

kevin also had to work on the 26th, but when he came home we celebrated christmas!! we did our traditional opening of the stockings... and then instead of breakfast, we had dinner! :)

abbi loved getting a play mat, teething rings, a book and crinkle fabrics from santa!

please notice her beautiful stocking!! i designed it and my mom made it!! i love it!! it is sooooo perfect!

then after dinner we opened presents!! so fun! daddy helped her... it took her a minute to get into the swing of things... and then! it was like ok dad!! i got this!! give me some more paper to tear!! :) so funny!!


she had a good time! very exciting!!

... have i mentioned that she loves opening presents? :)

i love this little santa onesie! so dang cute!

after all the madness, we piled all of the wrapping paper all around her!

she was such a good girl!

i think she had a good first christmas!!

the little family ... first christmas... 2010

merry christmas...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

may all of your christmas wishes come true...

ours did this year....

50 FREE Christmas Cards!!

It's time for me to check off one of my favorite tasks on my Christmas TO DO list, CHRISTMAS CARDS!!

I have always loved finding the perfect card design and then making each card by hand. I was proud of the fact that I made all 200 cards to send out to my loved ones. Last year I ended up only making 100 and ordering 100. This year is a bit different! Abbi somehow takes up the majority of my time! And I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Lucky for me this year, Shutterfly has an amazing offer to get 50 free holiday cards. Who wouldn't like to take some holiday photos, pick out a fabulous card, and then get 50 cards mailed to you free of charge? Thanks to the generosity of Shutterfly this offer is open bloggers like you and me.

Recently I was checking out what kind of options were online for photo cards and I really loved what I found at Shutterfly! They have some amazing card options.

I love love love christmas trees! So when I saw this card it jumped out at me!

I love the brown with it too!

I am all about including a Christmas letter in my cards. This card is perfect for that!

I like being able to put more than one picture on the cards!

With Abbi being so dang cute it's hard to choose just one picture! :)

This is one of my favorites because of the tradition red and green. Nothing says Christmas like red and green stripes!! So fun!!

I love this classy look! Very pretty card!! And scrapbooky looking!

There are so many to choose from! But that is half of the fun!!

Check out some of these fabulous things Shutterfly has to offer:

Christmas Photo Cards- tons and tons of fabulous cards!

Photobooks- my personal favorite! I think photobooks make great gifts and look terrific!

Christmas Gifts - lots of cool things to give to your loved ones!!

If you want to know more about this fabulous promotion for 50 free holiday cards click here. The deadline is December 15th. The only catch is that you have to write your own blog post about this offer. A very small price to pay for checking off one of the most daunting holiday tasks off your to do list this year!

st nicholas

In Germany, Nikolaus is usually celebrated on a small scale. Many children put a boot called Nikolaus-Stiefel (Nikolaus boot) outside the front door on the night of 5 December. St. Nicholas fills the boot with gifts and sweets overnight, and at the same time checks up on the children to see if they were good, polite and helpful the last year. If they were not, they will have a tree branch (Rute) in their boots instead.

Sometimes a disguised Nikolaus also visits the children at school or in their homes and asks them if they have been good (sometimes ostensibly checking his golden book for their record), handing out presents on a per-behavior basis. This has become more lenient in recent decades.

my family is of german decent, so my uncle steve sent abbi a box from st nicholas. there was a letter from st nicholas and presents to put in abbi's shoes. she doesn't really have shoes right now, so we put out her slippers instead. :)

st nicholas sent her... a book, socks and a little stuffed hedgehog! so fun!!!

thanks st nicholas!!

(uncle steve!)

my christmas wishes...

merry christmas!

i can't believe it is that time of year again!! wow!

where has the time gone!!?

i didn't wish for much this year...

but they are very important none the less.

time...

with my husband

with friends

to relax

to let it all soak in

health...

smart decision making skills...

it is a low key christmas for us, but that is just the way i like it.

may all of your christmas wishes come true too!

the letter...

Hello Family and Friends! As 2008 comes to a close, we can’t help but be thankful for all that we have been blessed with- good jobs, the love of family and friends, and fun adventures!
We are so lucky to have the jobs we have! Kevin celebrated his one-year mark at Flying J Inc. this year. He hauls fuel to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada. His noon to midnight shift is hard when Jennie works 5am to 1pm, but they are managing! Jennie is still at Sam’s Club as the Audit Team Lead. This years inventory was the best in the Utah region! Wahoo!
Our families have been a huge part of our year! Jennie was able to visit her Dad, Rick, in May. They had a fun week together seeing the sights in Michigan! Kevin’s sister, Carol, came out and spent 10 days with us in October. Jennie’s mom, Sally, spent her 60th birthday with us too. Jennie and Sally have had several road trips together throughout the year as they went down to visit Jennie’s brother, Sam. Our visits with him have been so fun! My best friend's mom and sister (MaryAnn and Kristine) moved to Logan in August and we were thrilled to have them stay with us until they bought a home. It has been great to have more “family” so close!
We have had a good year – together and with our loved ones! We hope each of you have as well.
Merry Christmas and Happy 2009!

Jennie and Kevin

Merry Christmas!

i hope that each of you have a very merry Christmas! this is such a wonderful time of year!

i am so blessed to have such a supportive family and good friends!

i am grateful for the Savior, Jesus Christ and the love my family feels from him.

may you each remember the true meaning of Christmas on this special day!

Merry Christmas!

happy december!

happy december everyone!

i can't believe it is here already! so many things to do ... but i am sick!

i woke up sunday morning with a cold! and i haven't been able to shake it!

there are so many things i need to do and errands to run!

* my tree is up, just no decorations- haven't had the energy to put them up!
* some of the lights are not working on the tree and i saw this handy thing at home depot that detects where the problem is! i should have bought it then, but i didn't... and now i need it!
* kevin's bday is this week and i have everything for it, just need to do some last minute touches! we are going to celebrate tonight... but... i am sick!!! that's no fun!
* the good news is that i think i am completely done christmas shopping! i just need to wrap everything! but the tree is not done!!! one thing at a time....
* my christmas cards are done, i just need to buy envelopes and stamps.
* my mom and i are going to see my little brother on saturday! i am excited! i just hope i feel better soon!
* i have bananas that need to be turned into banana bread! just not in the mood to do it!
* i think i am finally ready and excited for christmas to be here! just wished i felt better!

hope all of your holiday planning is going well!

Merry Christmas!

merry christmas!

i hope that all of your wishes came true!
i am so grateful for this time of year!
a time to remember what the Savior did for all of us!
a time to be the best we can be!
a time to reflect on love, sacrifice and peace...

may this be a time for each of you!

Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance-
a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.
Augusta E. Rundel

merry christmas to you all!

christmas tag...

i was tagged by my cute friend emily... i love these questions! thanks em!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

i LOVE wrapping paper! i have so many different kinds and a million tags to go with all of it!

2. Real tree or artificial?

artificial. i always grew up with an artificial tree... only had a real one once... maybe twice! we just bought a new 7.5 foot pre-lit tree! i love it!

3. When do you put up the tree?

i usually decorate thanksgiving day...or the saturday after! the longer it is up the better!

4. When do you take the tree down?

as i just mentioned, the longer it is up the better... so i usually take it down the middle of january!

5. Do you like eggnog?

i do like it... not something i have very often, but still good.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

i have had many wonderful gifts, but the first one that comes to my mind is a homemade doll that my mom made for me when i was in kindergarten or first grade. she was simple, but pretty and i loved her! when i took her to school for show and tell all of the other girls had dolls that talked, ate, went to the bathroom and cried... mine just had a hand stitched smile on her face. i was a little sad that the other girls weren't as excited over my doll as i was, but it didn't change the way i felt about her! she was beautiful and made just for me...

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

i have the willow tree nativity. i love it. i am pretty picky when it comes to nativities. it took me a long time to find the one that i felt represented my Saviors birth.

8. Hardest person to buy for?

my dad... he has everything he could ever want... what i am going to give him that he can't get for himself!

9. Easiest person to buy for?

my best friend, ann. she loves anything...

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

i honestly don't think that i have ever gotten a horrible christmas present...

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?

i am all about mailing them! i love the excitement of getting cards in the mail! i can't wait for the mail to come everyday!!

i will be mailing out 120 cards this year... crazy!!!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

i love most all of them... but i have to say my favorite is a hallmark movie that came out several years ago called... "A Season of Miracles". white christmas is my #2.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

probably all year round, but i don't push hard until after my birthday (oct 15th). lol!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

ya... on occasion... don't tell oprah...

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

when i was growing up, my mom would make christmas wreaths out of corn flakes. the recipe is similar to rice crispy treats, but with corn flakes. we used red hots as the holly berries! yummy!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

i have always love blinking colored lights... but this year (with our new tree) we have solid white lights. i like it... didn't think i would... but i do.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

i am all about the christmas cds... there was a hallmark christmas cd by trisha yearwood a few years ago and i love it! i could listen to it all the time! i really like the song "Mary, did you know?" by clay aiken and am really enjoying celine dion and josh groban's christmas cds too!

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

i love to stay home. i never have really had anywhere to "go". so i have made my own traditions and memories just staying home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

maybe...

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

i have a little homemade lace angel. i am not sure if i made it or if my mom did... anyway, i love it! even with my big new tree, i can't bring myself to get another topper...

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

when i was little we were able to open one present on christmas eve. now, i just want to save them for christmas day!

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

the stress people feel (including myself) about what to do and when to do it! they get a little grumpy. i work in retail and see it tons! i wish we could all just slow down a bit and remember what it is all about!

24. Do you buy gifts for your pets?

don't have any pets, but don't think i would if i did...

25. Have you ever been Christmas caroling?

yes! it is very fun! i don't think that i have ever been caroled to... though... hmmm!

26. Hot chocolate or hot apple cider?

i am a hot chocolate addict! i love it! matter of fact i am drinking some now! i normally don't like the cold weather, but i don't argue too much when i get to pull out my hot chocolate!

I am tagging maryruth, dawn, emily s, brenda, joy and amber... So if you see your name here copy these questions onto your blog, delete my answers and fill in yours!! or something like that??