December Daily 2009: Day Eighteen

Cookie day! Today was a day for baking. Grammy came over and we made chocolate chip cookies, and only screwed up the first batch. The smell of cookies baking always reminds me of Christmastime. In the evening we traveled into town to see Santa with our friends Kelly, Teagan and Addison. Sean was hesitant but willing to sit on Santa’s lap. Addison not so much. Sean most enjoyed getting a lollipop, but was very sad to say goodbye. Maybe he thought of one more toy he forgot to tell Santa?

December Daily 2009: Day Seventeen

This picture is from 1971 when I was the same age Sean is now. I can see him in my eyes. . . and in that lollipop in my hand.

December Daily 2009: Day Sixteen

Do you see what I see?

A Christmas tree full of stories. The cutest little boy that ever lived. No more teaching for eight weeks. A beautiful advent wreath focusing on the reason for the season. Multicolored sparkly lights that look so cool when you squint. Visions of a sweet baby in 2010. The spirit of my dad in every corner of my house. Perfect and pure white snow that reminds me of God’s awesome power and beauty. Me wondering how I’m going to get through Christmas, New Year’s, Sean’s Birthday and prepare, plan and pack for our trip to Disney all in 30 days. Dreams of leaving the everyday behind on vacation and let the magic consumer me.

December Daily 2009: Day Fifteen

This morning I set out to do my Christmas cards. Sean was dying to help, so I set him up with some alphabet stamps at the table with me. After a while I looked up and saw he had stacked them six tall. The kid amazes me with his creativity! The rest of the day was consumed with final grading on the laptop. I’m officially on break! No more school until February. Today was all about lists and order and accomplishing things. Such peace & tranquility.

Credits: Ali's December Daily Template (Vol 1), Katie Pertiet's Between the Lines Journaling Brushes; Katie Pertiet's Santa Baby papers, Fonts: Ali's Handwriting & Rockwell

December Daily 2009: Day Fourteen

A typical Monday in our house. Laundry, Sesame Street, allergy shots, and grading. This is my final week of class, and the end cannot come soon enough. Jeff installed our new Wii game system over the weekend. A family Christmas present. After dinner we took a break to play bowling. I won 2 games to 1. YES!

I lifted this from MajicInOz in the December Daily Flickr group. Since I didn't take any pictures today I figured it would be a good creative experiment. I'm not totally sure if I love it or hate it yet. But me thinks it's going to stay this way.

Credits: Katie Pertiet's Santa Baby Paper, Jesse Edwards Simple Flourishes Brushes & Stamps No. 6

December Daily 2009: Day Thirteen

I caught Sean this morning reading his Pajama Bible in bed. What a sweet memory. Today we’re enjoying a quiet day at home enjoying all of our Christmas decorations.

OK, I admit -- these pages are nothing like what I originally designed! Shame on me. But the story of today just didn't fit into the design. And I love how it turned out.

Credits: Katie Pertiet's Santa Baby papers, Ali's Grid Template Pack No 1, Ali's 31 Days Brushes; Fonts: Mom's Typewriter & Susie's Handwriting

December Daily 2009: Day Twelve

What's so fun about the month of December is that it's not ALL about Christmas. Normal things happen. And special celebrations too. Like this day where we celebrated my nephew Corey's 11th birthday. A fun, relaxing party. Sean had a blast playing with his cousins, trying out all the musical instruments, and putting angels on his head.

I forgot my camera... again!... you would think I'd learn?!?! Luckily my brother has a good camera so I was the official photographer for the day. The bummer was I didn't realize his point and shoot was set for 800x600 resolution. Ugh! So while I captured an awesome shot of Corey blowing his candles out, I couldn't enlarge it very big. I had visions of the shot filling up alomost the entire spread, but had to settle for this smaller version. Even this one is going to be a little grainy when printed since it's about 200% the original size.

I have to remember... it's the moments captured that matter!