Christmas came early! (But not as early as last year).

If you'll remember, last year, Colin gave me my Christmas gift very, very early. This year, with some restraint, we made it until today, December 21st! Colin was home early from work, we turned our Christmas lights on, and exchanged gifts. Perhaps my favorite gift, though, was this coming out of the guest room with presents, saying a lot of "HO HO HO!"s...

ummm, yeah. How much do I love my husband?

Once I got over the initial shock and crazy amount of laughter over this Santa get-up, we exchanged cards (the best part) and gifts. The highlight for Colin?


His new Robin van Persie Jersey :) Colin is such a minimalist, so he's really hard to buy gifts for... I knew this was something he'd want and enjoy. Score.

For me?


A diaper bag!! As lame as it sounds, I am super excited about this bag. For one, diaper bags are usually not attractive at all (And attractive as well as functional? Please). Two, this thing will be my purse for years! I had a really hard time even thinking about them, until one fateful night... we were watching the tv show Up All Night (with Will Arnett and Christina Applegate). In one 3 second shot, Will Arnett's character is pictured carrying this amazing diaper bag. It stuck out to me, and I went to Mr. Google immediately! I must have typed the most random things into the search engine, not knowing anything about the bag, but somehow found her.


Petunia Pickle Bottom's Springtime in Surrey Boxy Tote. Which just happens to be discontinued. This thing is not only adorable, but BEAST. It's really well made, has tons of pockets and compartments, a changing pad that folds out from the back, the works. It can also be worn as a backpack OR a messenger bag. I am thrilled! Such a geeky mom already.

Hope everyone's enjoying themselves in these last days leading up until Christmas! Safe travels, everyone!

brrrr.

1. this week has been so busy, non-stop! typical holiday season. between applying/interviewing for jobs (pretty sure i landed one!), seeing friends (and their sweet babies!), Bible study, Colin's work Christmas party (where we won a $40 giftcard to Arizona's steakhouse at Sandhills! yay date night!), a graduation party, a wedding, and tonight our church's Christmas ball... whew. it's been a lot of fun, though!

2. two nights ago, at a graduation party, i was standing around with a few guys and one other girl. we soon realized through talking that there is a great disparity between what women men find attractive and what women think. It almost reminded me of the Office episode where they have a debate on whether or not Hilary Swank is "hot". In my opinion, these are some of the most beautiful women i've ever seen:

a. Camilla Belle.


b. Emma Watson.


c. Zooey Deschanel.


anyways, i'll bet most of you can guess some of the women that the guys named. what do you think? agree, disagree?

3. Saw this article this morning on A Cup Of Jo. How fun! A columnist for the NY times and his son did dough art. here are some of my favorites:

via.

4. also, peppermint mocha coffeemate creamer > anything else. i still like black coffee, but this creamer is delicious and so festive!

6 days until Christmas!

the wife.

it's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees...

winter is upon us! high of 37 on wednesday?? aah. moving our little space heater into our bathroom for when i get out of the shower was one of the best ideas i've had in forever. toasty. also, a sprinkle of cinnamon in your cup of coffee does, in fact, brighten your day, just a little bit.

this looks really good right about now.. 43 degrees. BLAGH.

via Oh Joy!

what. the. heck. what is this? so cool! when Colin saw it, he said, "No. no. NO." haha.

the Wood between the Worlds.


why have i not been listening to Joni Mitchell all my life? I love her! I'm finding more and more lately that I love the sound of music from earlier days. If anyone has good recommendations for other artists, please let me know.



James Taylor at Christmas, also. I will always have love for sweet baby James... always.

trusting in Jesus in the midst of sorrow does not go unnoticed by Him. As a sweet friend instructed me, "you just walk." I have found a compassion that is incomparable to anything else. It is such a sweet truth that He is near to us in our grief. i am hungry for His presence. thank you, Lord, for grace to trust You.

grace and peace.

christmas came early.

Colin and I have never been the couple to give each other extravagant christmas gifts. To us, it has always been more valuable to exchange meaningful but smaller gifts, and then treat each other to a nice dinner out (usually sushi) and spend time together around christmastime. we're usually much bigger on spending money to do things together rather than just giving things.

Colin is a funny guy. There hasn't been a special occasion in our marriage or our dating relationship that he has held off on giving me my birthday/christmas/anniversary gift until the day of, simply because he is too excited and can't keep it from me any longer. it's really cute. i thought this year would be different for some reason, but of course i was wrong :)

last night, after telling me (twice) that my breath stunk and that i needed to swig (how sweet), i finally give in, walk in the bathroom, and there is a little tiny drawstring sack sitting in the sink. I had no idea what it was, but all of a sudden, Colin is behind me, grinning like a fool, telling me that my breath really didn't stink, and to open it. this is what was inside..

the bronze and gold river rock ring i have been eying on etsy for over a year, with four skinny silver bands to put around it! you may remember, i blogged about it here. it's so incredibly dainty, unique, and beautiful! he did so, so good. my mouth just fell open, i was almost speechless. very unexpected, especially since it was only december 5th (haha).

hope everyone's enjoying the chilly weather and the beginning of the christmas season!