Adventures in La La Land

1. We got off to a great start with our Advent activities this week. On Sunday, we got our tree. It was a beautiful 50* day, so we didn't freeze our booties off for once! The kids all had great attitudes and we were able to agree on a tree pretty quickly. I even got some cute pictures. Levi missed his nap for the excursion, so he got to keep his Binky. Tentative cooperation Cooperation is over The Binky makes everything better. The dolls had to help decorate. Levi with no nap . . . Every year, Lena wants to put the angel on top, but every year she's too scared to be lifted up high enough. Haha. 2. On Monday, the kids got to open their special ornaments. Levi got a car ornament of course. And the girls each got gymnastics ornaments. Our history with gymnastics was actually quite tumultuous this year, but it was the only noteworthy event I could think of to document. I had to drag Lucy kicking and screaming to gymnastics again only a few hour...

Affiliate Link Amazon synopsis: To the world it seems obvious: Kaylene Adams killed her daughter and then was shot by police. Attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story: Kaylene would never hurt anyone and was looking for a way out of a controlling, abusive relationship. Her death shakes Emilie’s belief that she can make a difference for women in violent marriages. Self-doubt plagues her as she struggles to continue her work in the wake of the tragedy. Reid Billings thought he knew his sister—right up until he learned how she died. He discovers a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would support an uncle instead of the father in a custody case, but Kaylene’s letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him. Thrown together in a race to save Kaylene’s surviving daughter, Emily and Reid pursue the constantly evasive truth. If they can hang on to hope together, can they save a young g...

1. Tuesday has become my "errands day" since both girls are at school. This week, Levi and I shopped for 5 straight hours. I got some awesome deals on Christmas presents at the Thrifty Outlet, got some 25c books at the World Mission 50% off sale (people were lined up out the door when I got there - apparently it's a big deal!), picked up some online orders, returned some stuff, and got a few groceries. It's amazing how much I get done with only one kid. Haha. I also spent way too much time (and money) searching out Cyber Monday deals the day before. Between my two days of shopping, I think it's safe to say I'm 98% done with my Christmas shopping. I just have to get a couple teacher gifts and some stocking stuffers. Woohoo! 2. I also started organizing and wrapping presents this week. Every time I get something I chuck it in my closet. So I finally sorted through and counted everything. Last year, I spent the same amount on the girls within like 50 cents. Thi...

This is my plan for this year in case you're looking for ideas (includes affiliate links): Dec. 1. Unwrap a “First Day of Advent” gift.   Adventures in Odyssey Countdown to Christmas  - my goal is to listen to these at night during dinner Dec. 2. 7th annual Birthday Party for Jesus Dec. 3. Get and decorate Christmas tree Dec. 4. Open special ornament and put it on the tree Every year I buy each kid an ornament that is indicative of something they enjoyed or did that year Dec. 5. Buy presents for your siblings Dec. 6. Write/color/make something for Judie (our Compassion International child) Dec. 7. Paint/decorate ornaments  Buy cheap clear ornaments, squirt paint inside, swirl around - hours of entertainment Dec. 8. School Christmas program Dec. 9. See The Star movie Dec. 10. Church Christmas program Dec. 11. Make tea light snowman ornaments Dec. 12. Dinner with Great Grandma and Grandpa, see the trees and trains at Frederick Meijer Ga...

1. You guys. A celebrity commented on my blog last week!! Remember I wrote about the Pepper Basham book I read and didn't like as much as some of her others so I didn't leave a Goodreads review? She commented on my blog! Pepper, if you're reading this, I love you. Not only because you're an incredible writer, but also because you have an awesome name. I've been a Dr Pepper devotee for over 20 years and have an affinity for all things Pepper-related. My local library is part of a collective with 19 branches. If you can't find a book in their system, you can request they buy it. You can thank me for all of these being added to the collection: 2. We had a nice Thanksgiving with Justin's side of the family. I made a delicious sweet potato casserole full of sugar and marshmallows. We had all the traditional Thanksgiving favorites. But I think my favorite thing was a cheesy Brussels sprouts gratin. I heart Brussels sprouts. We had an intense Wizard tournamen...

Affiliate Link 2.5 Stars (Rounded up to 3 because I hate giving bad reviews.) I loved Dani Pettrey's Alaskan Courage series, but for some reason The Chesepeake Valor series just isn't doing it for me. I think part of it is that they're best read one right after the other. The characters' relationships build and develop throughout the books. And because I'm reading these as they're released, by the time the next book comes out, I've forgotten the details of the last one. I read Christian fiction mainly for the romance element. I love a good suspense story, and I appreciate learning new things, but if I'm honest, what makes or breaks a book in my opinion is the romance. And romance was sadly lacking from this book. Of course there was an attempt. And maybe if I went back and read book 2 of the series, I'd remember the foundation of Tanner and Declan's relationship. But in this book, it fell totally flat. After apparently loving each other...

1. Lena read her first book this week. Her school is awesome, and since she has mastered naming and pronouncing her letters, she gets to move on to the little Kindergarten readers. I love watching the wheels turn in her brain and seeing her learn to read before my eyes. It's adorable. 2. I'm getting into high Christmas planning mode. The packages are starting to arrive . . . My gift closet is getting full! I've also planned out this year's birthday party for Jesus and figured out what we're going to do for Advent activities. We're getting in the spirit!! 3. I read Pepper Basham's newest book this week: Charming the Troublemaker . It wasn't my favorite by her, but still a solid work with the humor and character development I've come to expect from Basham. So here's a little confession. I almost always review the books I read on Goodreads. But Pepper has liked or commented on every one of my reviews of her books. Since I didn't lik...