Monday, December 20, 2010

here comes santa claus!

we are counting down the days,
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it's that time of year again...

my step feels lighter; smiling at strangers becomes a real sport (by golly, i will smile and spread some holiday cheer on that person before they do it to me...yes, i will:) people seem nicer and i turn each corner wondering what i'll see in preparation for the upcoming holiday.

it's that time of year that our kids dream about the big guy climbing down the chimney, or use the magic key that mama bought at hallmark last week bc who knew their was a magic key for santa?

we talk about elves and whether or not they will dance on their heads when they sleep. peyton has made it clear that she does NOT want any dancing elves in her room the night before christmas and beckham fiercely agrees with this idea.

magical dancing elves not welcome.

after a busy holiday work season for myself, i think it's time to 'snow' myself in and drink in the magic of the holidays.

we have been cooking and scurrying around like crazy people...but starting yestersday...the babies and i sat in the middle of the cold kitchen floor amidst crinkled tissue paper,spools of velvet and glittery ribbon, scissors, tape...

hmmm, maybe i shouldn't have bought that last spool of ribbon. we didn't need it...
we used the dickins out of it!

we unraveled and unraveled and created little homemade gift tags for homemade gifts. when my bottom was numb from the cold and sitting in one spot for so long...the kids took the gifts they had wrapped with their little hands and used too much tape on, and placed them under the tree.

proud little smiles were etched on their sweet little melons and promises were made not to spill the beans to the daddy.

peyton thinks she's hot stuff because she has secrets. honestly, though it's just tearing the girl up that she can't tell anyone what the presents are. it may be the cutest thing i have ever seen. and the funniest but she's good at keeping her mouth zipped...i'm proud of her!

a big pot of shrimp chowder, fred clause and good girlfriends later...and we have ourselves an official christmas vacation!!

so for now and for the rest of the week, we are tying bows and wrapping gifts, cooking, laying on the couch under big blankets watching christmas classics.

traditions, hot cocoa, and oprah's favorite things-oh my! spending this time with my babies and doing these traditions together...nothing will be more important than that until santa arrives! not nuttin' i tell ya!
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we are filling our time with driveway picnics, playdoh, lazy breakfasts of cheerios with a budding pirate!

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a special christmas performance by our little guy had his mama in tears and his sister bored out of her mind...
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at one point peyton and i moved closer to the stage to get a photo and while i tried 'quietly' to get my little guy's attention, beckham spotted his big sister and only had eyes for her. a smile lit up his face. he seemed so surprised to see her ...and thrilled. i just cried a little more and prayed they would love each other like this until the end of time! they will.

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we drove through the old community that lights itself up like a christmas each and every year

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it's fabulous...and a tradition and i am all about traditions!!!
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we've had breakfast with santa too!
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if beckham looks scared out of his mind...it's because he was a tad nervous!

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but the airplane toy santa gave him made up for any fears!

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tongue depressors painted white, some orange and black felt, a few bells and buttons and...hello, one of my new favorite ornaments on the tree! we did these for our girl scout daisy troop and i love how they turned out.
(thanks, jenn for the idea! xo)

mommy had other ideas and one was to decoupage a glass ball...i love how it turned out, but it was a PITA. can you figure that one out?

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***

and a few sneak peeks of a couple of my recent holiday shoots. i'm behind in getting these out, but i promise to have a sneak for everyone this week!!!

this lovely and beautiful family! had such a great time on this super gray day that turned out to be a great shoot! these boys had me at hello!

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and their mama and daddy are pretty cute too!
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and another family that almost, i mean did get rained on...our friends and so i thought it was pretty funny...
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their the newest member of their super cute family...little lucy!
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we love us some lucy!
***
enjoying this year and feeling so grateful for what we have and for our health. most importantly, our health! i hope all of you have a happy, comfy and safe holiday! whether you celebrate christmas or not...may you have love in your life and happiness in your heart.

xo

28 comments:

Patti said...

i love the pics of the kids reading in bed... such sweeties. Merry Christmas from ALL of the Rice's:)

heather said...

PITA. Love it. And not sure if that makes me extra smart or extra trashy that I knew what it meant right after reading "P".

Anonymous said...

I hope you and your family have a magical Christmas, Heidi. So glad to have found your blog this year.

PS.I wouldn't want elves dancing on my head either, so I totally get your girl, P.

Lafleche
xoxo

Monique said...

My older boy (9) was reading that very book to his little bro (6) the other night! Love shared time!! And we too have the Santa key...as we do not have a chimney for the old guy in red to slide down. Both boys have inquired "how can Santa open our door with this key, it doesn't fit" Well, I respond in excitement, it's the Magic of Christmas! Placing wonder and magical moments in their hearts is a favourite of mine!!

Love your photos, your adoration for your family and your spunky spirit.

Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family
Monique

Rhonda said...

Those are some lovely traditions. Love them!!
This is really a magical time of year! My tears flow pretty easily when I realize how blessed my life is!!
Have a wonderful holiday, 5 days and we are off to see Mickey Mouse in your part of the world!!
Want to meet up at Animal Kingdom and take the babes on an African Safari....The kids are excited...but this Momma is over the moon!!
Enjoy your holidays!!
xo

Lisa Hewlett said...

Merry Christmas Heidi!

Anonymous said...

Heidi,
Great Christmas post.....Loved it! I hope you all have a fantastic holiday!
Love ya, Donna

Kris said...

Traditions are the best...especially around Christmas time. Love all the pics...my fave being the kids reading together. LOVE! Merry Christmas to you and your beautiful family! Enjoy every minute of it.
xo
Kris

Becky at lifeoutoffocus said...

Heidi, these photos are so fab. The whole post is fab. I can't wait to hear about how it all went after! And your babies are so freakin gorgeous. Have a VERY Merry Christmas.

Anna Ruth said...

I love all the holiday ideas. Breakfast in the driveway, what could be better.

The Manrings said...

oh how cozy and festive.....love the pic of them reading the christmas books in bed together. such a great time for traditions and making everything extra special. we drive around victoria park each year to look at the lights too. my parents live on the main street there! we are going tomorrow night! okay see you soon! xo

April said...

How I just love all the sweetness that oozes from your blog! And I have to say it took me awhile, but I did figure PITA out ... too funny. Loved the sneak peeks of your most recent clients. You are doing an amazing job! A Christmas vacation? Where will you be heading? You must like secrets, too, huh?

Happy Christmas week ...
xoxo,
April

Maria said...

Heidi~I so love your blog. Could your kids be any cuter?? I think not. Love all the pictures & this whole season in general. How lucky are you to have picnics in the driveway at this time of year? Can you say frigid?? It is so cold up here but we may have a bit of a white Christmas so I guess I can tolerate it for a little while longer.
Wishing you a warm & wonderful Christmas.
Hugs,
Maria

Jill said...

Heidi- Cutest.kids.ever!

The decoupage ornament looks like it would have been a PITA (took me about 5 minutes to figure this out!!) but imagine just how much you will love pulling it out next year for the tree. Or, looks like it could be kept out year-round??

Wishing you a very merry Christmas!

Jill B (Overland Park, KS)

Amie said...

Those two angels you've got WILL love each other like that until the end of time. It's a good feeling. Merry Christmas, Heidi!

patsy said...

love all the pics of you all soaking up the holiday season...it is sooo wonderful, right?! and just so you know i had to google PITA because it was driving me crazy...i couldn't figure it out!!! too funny!!! but it turned out really cute! hope you all have a great Christmas and can't wait to see the pics!

Aysha said...

Wishing you and your beautiful family a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy every minute of it (I know you will!).

Nicole said...

Ah, Christmas....can ya ever drink enough of it in?? Peyton reminds me of one of my gal pal's kids....She insists Santa leaves the gifts on the front porch because no one should be coming in the house while they are sleeping!! So yes, my poor friend gets up extra extra early, and sneaks all the wrapped gifts out onto the front porch in the cold Pittsburgh winter morning. Kids are great. Great post darlin', Happy Christmas to you and yours!! xoxo ~nicole

April said...

I'm back and just had to say ...
I love that first b&w picture of your cuties. And, those PITA ornaments, adorable!

Merry Christmas, friend!!
xoxo,
April

PS - I don't think I ever commented on your "new" header ... yellow is my favorite color ... very cute!

Anonymous said...

Heidi:

Wow you relly do have love bugs!

Thank you for keeping us in the loop. I can hear Peyton sounding out each work for Beckham.

Love you all! Sito

Sarah said...

Beautiful!!! I hope you have a merry Christmas...so glad I found your blog this year!! cheers....Sarah

Proud Mommy Tara said...

Heidi,

Love the ornaments you made! Absolutely beautiful!! Your traditions are amazing! Your kiddies are lucky little ones! :)

I also wanted to thank you so much for your lovely post on my blog. Your kind words meant so much! Gotta love the world of blogging! We get to see into different lives that inspire us. And you have definitely done just that for me!
Can't believe the Love necklace is no longer! It's absolutely gorgeous!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy every bit of it! :)

Tara

iColossus / Monster said...

Hey girl, just checkin' in on you and your life and your loves. Beauties, all of yous.

You must be so excited about all the preparations for the big day!

Miss you, love ya...and....

SEE YOU SOON!

Kelly Hutcheson said...

Oh that Beckham in the sweater vest is just too much! I love how they sleep together and keep each other safe! HOW SWEET IS THAT??

Anonymous said...

I don't know how I missed three of your posts! December was a very busy and at time exasperating months...it was a PITA kinda month. But as soon as Santa showed up on our doorstep Christmas eve all went back to lovely!!
Loved this post...made me smile from ear to ear. I also cried at Gracee's piano recital and Christmas play..and I must I was in the company of more than a hand full of front row weeping momma. Love that Peyton likes keeping secrets..Gracee did keep my gift a secret this year, but her father let it slip so I still had to pretend that I was shocked that she got me my heart's desire. Your photo shoots are amazing and inspiring.♥

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