I WON!!!

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth, and yes I am still alive. I can't believe the grief I get when I don't blog--who wants to listen to little ol' me ramble on??


Well, I've got good news! I have FINALLY won a blog giveaway!!! Yep, see these cute babies below--the beautiful burlap pillows (oh, how I love burlap these days)??? I won 'em! I was so excited this morning when I found out that I was jumping around screaming and Abby finally came over to me and put her hand over my mouth to shush me! She's such a little mother--even to the mother! :)







Anywho, I won them from The Country Chic Cottage which is one of my newest blog finds! Angie, she and I are tight now btw, makes a ton of cute things that are totally do-able, even for me!!! Her blog is on my sidebar or here at http://thecountrychiccottage.net/.


I have some projects I'm working on with burlap that I'll show you later on this week. Oh, and it's official--I'm addicted to spray paint, specifically Heirloom White spray paint. "Hello, my name is Andrea and I'm a spray paint-aholic!" Bill is starting to think that nothing in the house is safe from my can of spray paint. More on that later!

Need a Massage?

Need a massage? Well I know just the person for you! Cute Liz Dowdle Felix has just graduated from Massage Therapy School and is open for business offering great rates!! Pop in for some post-holiday stress relief!

Do you Covet?

Hi Friends. My cute niece has just started a new blog of all her finds while shopping the internet called Classy Covet! She has fabulous taste that stays within a budget...what we all need! So drop on over to her site here http://classycovet.blogspot.com/ and show her some love!



P.S. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten I need to finish my recap of 2009. I've been a little busy having a hysterectomy! :)

2009 Year in Review (Part 1)

Happy New Year!! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to 2010! I'm excited to get Christmas cleaned up, purge my house of junk and start getting organized again! My cute friend Dee Dee was taking a look back at 2009 on her blog and I loved it! With her permission I'm doing the same, so enjoy a first look back at our year.



Jake and Abby went snowmobiling for the first time this year in Midway thanks to Rob! We love you! Thanks also to Liz, Celeste and Kent for making that happen! The kids and Bill loved it!





The kids were looking good in their layered looks! Thanks so much Julie and Mark for the darling jacket for Sophie!





The kids did some serious sledding on the sleds they got from Santa. Bill pulled them around the neighborhood behind the small John Deere tractor A LOT!






We enjoyed watching Jake play Junior Jazz. He had a great time!






Abby got to get all dressed up for a night out at The Roof and the symphony for her best friend Lily's birthday. They ate shrimp, flirted with their server, and ate a ton from the dessert bar!




Stay tuned for my next installment of our year in review!

Christmas on Millstream

Oh, what fun we've had!! It all started Christmas Eve with the jammies--all homemade by yours truly, except for mine. The kids' jammies had a sock monkey theme going this year, while Bill's were of course Utah Ute red. And keeping with the theme, Bill gave me some cute red jammies. Sophie's are ginormous, but cute all the same.


Love a good jammie pic by the tree, don't you?


Santa came right in the front door thinking, of course, that we were already in bed. Boy was he surprised when he found that we were still up! So, he talked to each of the kids for a minute then he was on his way, promising to come back when we were all asleep!


We put a little TV in Jake's room so in case they woke up too early the next morning (that is, before 7:30am) they could watch some Christmas movies to pass the time!


This is what Sophie came down to the next morning--a dollhouse that is taller than she is! Jake and Abby also got their wish from Santa--Ihomes for their Nanos!

Christmas day night we moved the diningroom table and all slept by the 14 foot Christmas tree in our entry. Needless to say, Bill and I didn't sleep very well with 2100 lights shining in our face all night, but it was so fun. The kids have been sleeping there every night since!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you all the best for the new year!

Feeling a Little Stressed?

So, you all know that I don't normally post pics of myself...don't really like to, but I felt a pic sometimes can say a thousand words (plus, I went out to lunch today and had my hair and make up done, so I was feeling somewhat ok about a pic).

I love Christmas. It's my very most favorite time of the year--even more so since I've had kids. Every year I have grand dreams of getting my shopping, sewing, decorating, etc.....done early so I can enjoy December without stress. And every year my dream of a perfect Christmas begins to unravel at about December 1st. I started out well this year, but then began procrastinating projects that needed to be done, presents that needed to be wrapped and so on. So, while I'm loving Christmas, I'm a little frazzled--exactly what I try to avoid each year!

I've decided there just isn't a perfect Christmas and the less I try to make a perfect Christmas happen the more I, and in turn my family, can enjoy it! I want to focus more on the things I'm thankful for--for the birth of our Savior, for my family and for the wonderful life I have. So, this post is to myself for next year..."Self, don't try to make a perfect Christmas--it doesn't exist! You have a wonderful life & family! Enjoy them! And enjoy the spirit of the season!"

Merry Christmas everyone!

PS Feel free to tell yourself the same thing next year!

What?? Sophie's Three??

So, I'm a little behind. Yes, it's true, Sophie's birthday was November 29th, and yes it's December 14th, but hey, I've been trying to get ready for Christmas after all.

Sophie had a great birthday with not one, but two celebrations. My brother and his family were in town for Thanksgiving so we first celebrated at my mom's the night before her birthday. Sunday was her actual birthday, so we had a little celebration at home, with just the five of us. That means I made not one, but two cakes! (for those of you who know me well, know that baking is NOT my thing, so for me to make 2 cakes in as many days is quite something!)

First try blowing out her candles...

...and a second try...

...and finally got it on the third try! Almost singed her eyebrows, but hey, she got em all!

Sophie is such a joy to have in our family. I love this little girl so much! She has such a sweet disposition and funny little quirks. I can't imagine our family without her. Happy Birthday sweet Sophie and thanks for choosing to come to our family! We love you!

p.s. Notice the ancient highchair Sophie is sitting in. That was not only mine, but my three older siblings' as well!!