this first christmas.

it's still christmassy over here
because i was sick for the first few days before, during, and few days after christmas
and who am i kidding? i'm still sick. going over a month strong. it's a pesky cold that has, like, a crush on me or something. if it doesn't leave me alone tomorrow, i'm filing for a restraining order. or making a doctor's appointment. either one.
point is: christmas is being carried on for my sake and i'm a very grateful girl.

and so,
about christmas...

adam & i spent christmas eve with my family. my mom is such a great cook and always decorates her home so wonderfully for christmas time. i wish i had taken more pictures but i had fingers to lick and a husband to cuddle.

i will hold the memories of this christmas eve so dear.
i had dreams of spending it all with my husband and having our first christmas with our own traditions and our own gift exchanges and pies and treats and everything nice,
but what happened instead was so delightful i could burst.
it was the first time in a very, very long time that we had all my siblings together
so we boycotted the annual talent show in favor of lengthy chats and mild wrestling matches.
adam seemed as though he was walking on air spending time with his new brother and sisters
and i had "i love my family!" running like a marquee through my head while watching them interact.
watching him so delighted made me feel like that marquee was running right on into his head, too.
*sigh* i loved it.

a rarer than rare group shot! ^^^

adam had to work on christmas morning,
so we took advantage of the fact that brotha works at a hotel and stayed the night so we could have a little christmas morning of our own in the room.

i love hotels, man.

 a couple of gifts pictured above:
some family from los angeles were visiting over christmas and they brought us some lemons that they grew in their very own backyard. and the hotel kindly gave us some yuletide taffy which has occupied me both in the golly-this-tastes-wonderful sense and the why-does-this-so-easily-stick-to-my-molars sense. my mouth is a dental hygienist's nightmare after the stuff.

we high-tailed it to my mom's house for christmas festivities after adam was done working
and i sort of love that i have very few pictures of christmas day
because that itself is evidence of a day well-spent.

i tried to soak up the last few days that bruno could wear his christmas sweater
but, truth is, it's still on him as he's laying at my feet right now...
and i don't even care about all the eyerolls we get from neighbors when we walk him.
he looks so darn cute in that thing.

exhibit A:

by the way, this is him looking at adam because he loves him. more than me, probably.

so, i'm off to bake some more cookies and sit under my pretty tree and listen to jingle bell rock a hundred times.
how some people can pack christmas up so quickly, i don't know!

xo.

because we didn't send out a card this year.

here is husband's choice for our christmas card picture this year.

if adam had his way, all of the pictures i ever posted would resemble this one.

too bad that i like seeing your face too much to do that, eh adam?

anyway...

have a very lovely holiday!

a few pro tips, or rather, a few things i need to remind myself to do this holiday:

+ hum christmas songs at every chance. loudly.

+ forget anything anyone has ever told you about calories.

+ give everyone an unforgettable hug. or squeeze people so hard they can't breathe. whatever suits ya.

+ just don't even try to unwrap presents nicely. rip em. get fierce. 

+ remember you don't need mistletoe to get a-kissin'. a good ole kiss on the cheek does a body good, for both parties involved. 

i will be spending the blessed day with these lovely people...

i've got a gut feeling that this might be the best christmas yet,
given that it's a guaranteed white one
and i am married to a wonderful husband
and i have some of the most marvelous people to share the holidays with.

merry merry merry christmas!

xo.

dc at christmas time.

while we were in dc, we spent most of our time with family,
but we got out to do a few christmassy and otherwise delightful things together.
we snapped only a few (sometimes blurry) photos around town
because our limbs were mostly occupied in hand holding and pointing at beautiful things.
christmas time is the best time to be just about anywhere, i think.

(side note: i think adam looks so much like a bob cratchet-y character in the photo above and it makes me happy.)

[i feel like they must have laughing gas coming up from the streets because i'm always so happy here!]

[the reason i reconsidered vegetarianism right here.]

[where i used to live!]

[the cutest little pie shop called pie sisters. a shop with pies and pies only. what a novel idea.]

[decorations on all the federal buildings.]

adam told me that even though he grew up in dc,
he had never ever seen the national christmas tree!
so we had to jump over there.
i wish i had gotten better pictures of the area
because there were so many model train sets chugging along around the base of the tree.
i have never seen anything so magical.
well, lies.
the kiddos that were there just marveling at the trains topped the trains themselves.
i'm fairly certain that is what santa's workshop must feel like. ;)

xo.

a couple o' grainy iphone pics + words.

if i could write a whole post of this:
"christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas! christmas!"
i would.
i'm saving that outburst for verbal encounters with my loved ones.
you're welcome. 

i am so, so excited for christmas.
the day we got our veryfirstgrownupmarriedcouplewithourownhouse tree, i kept clapping my hands together and sighing. adam kept poking fun at it, tilting his head ever so slightly when he mimicked me
and telling me that it was like looking at a seven year old version of his wife. and he liked it.
i told him to stop being creepy,
but i imagine it's true.
it's just the way christmas makes you feel.

i am so blessed to say that one of the most difficult problems i have right now
is that i am terrible at keeping secrets
and i simply do NOT know how i will wait until christmas day to give adam his presents. it's hard.
i almost spilled the beans this morning. and about 10 minutes after that. and during my lunch break.
and on the phone a few hours ago. and... probably later this evening several times over dinner.

i am so blessed that i have enough to be able to give the excess i have to people who sorely need it.

i am so blessed to be married to adam
and to have such wonderful sisters
and parents
and in-laws
and i am so blessed to be able to celebrate all of this light in my life during this season.
#soblessed

now,
first things first.
can anyone recommend some duct tape that won't hurt when you rip it off, say, bare lips?
asking for a friend.

xo.

a few holiday goals.

am i the only one scampering around trying to prepare for the holidays?
with my last final being the 20th, i found myself with less time than ever to get into the spirit of the season.


here are a few yuletide things i hope to enjoy over the next week and a half (!):

+ wrapping presents. we are lucky enough to have most of our shopping done, thanks to adam. i love this paper and these homemade gift wrap ideas.
+ seeing the lights at temple square and getting hot cocoa with my love.
+ kissing the husband under mistletoe.
+ pie baking. specifically this one.
+ drinking as much of starbuck's caramel apple spice as my belly can handle.
+ sporting a christmas vest. yes, i said vest. before you try to talk me out of it, it's in my closet waiting to be draped over my shoulders.
+ cuddling and watching it's a wonderful life and meet me in st. louis. the latter is obviously for this.
+ completing a service project. we are almost done! if you live in utah, check it out here.
+ holding hands with my husband and taking a walk with our bruno around the neighborhood to see the lights.
+ making a christmassy garland or two with my mama and sisters while we listen to carols. while, we are at it, maybe a batch of cookies or two.

what's on your list this season? christmas is so very soon!

xo.

music yule like.

our friends amelia + christopher johnson (amelia was responsible for these, remember?)
are the most delightful people you could ever meet!

they do delightful things at every turn
and currently christopher (known as "puppy" by amelia, adorably)
will be sharing christmas music each day until the blessed one
on this wonderful corner of the internet.
so far, each snippet of music has been golden so i recommend you follow along!
go for the music, stay for the cleverly titled url.

aaaand
while we are on the topic of christmas music,
i'm working on a killer playlist on spotify
so any suggestions are welcomed with open arms!
that playlist can be found here, if you're into that sort of thing.

what are your favorite christmas songs?
i dare you to find one better than this one.
it just can't be beat.

xo.

merry christmas from my family to yours.

this time in my life is so difficult.
i have so many things going on that i wouldn't wish on my worst enemy
and it got really easy for me to be selfish.

i told my dad i didn't want Christmas. i asked him to make it go away.

this is what he sent me in response:

"I think about the families in Connecticut and their Christmas. I think about the family who went sledding the other day and lost their little boy. I think about the tsunami victims. Those who lost their children the day after Christmas. The thing they want most for Christmas is something they can't have. Their children. Their loved ones. Breaks my heart. I even feel guilty. My family has never been touched by tragedy. There are things I want in my life. We sometimes feel lonely. Our jobs eat at us. Dark clouds hang over our heads. But the things we want are trivial compared to those others. So what do we do? What can we do? Here is what those other families would want us to do: help as many people as we can and be ever so grateful for what we have. One reason we are blessed is to help others. As for celebrating christmas, those families would want us to enjoy our own families. They would want us to gather, share gifts, play games. I'm reminded of the end of saving Private Ryan. "Earn this." So I'm going to try and earn this. Be so, so grateful. God wants us to celebrate His Son's birth. Do that by giving, sharing, and being grateful."

my family was able to help more than 50 children have a better Christmas this year.
we are all together and happy
and so, so blessed.
i cherish them.
what i did to deserve being born into this family, i will never know.

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

xo.

* c h r i s t m a s *

in pictures!

needless to say, we had such a good christmas.

sitting around in the family room talking about Christ & his life,
exchanging gifts,
getting books on being creative, a new lens, a fort kit, word games, cozy and oh-so sturdy boots, and plenty of things to make my life that much better,
new pajamas,
singing hymns,
playing just dance all day,
snuggling up with each other and just being together with my family
{even if it's making me super fat}
...
nothing compares.