Christmas at our house !!

[I know, I'm already deviating from the 30-day challenge, but this is my blog and I want to post about my Christmas decorating skills! :D So, we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this blog about my house :D]

I have always loved Christmas.

And even more, loved decorating for Christmas!

At home, I was always the one to dig out the Christmas tree and ornaments.

I was the light tester and the bulb replacer.

I was the one who would line my bedroom with Christmas lights - only to give my Mother a heart-attack because I was going to "light the house on fire" :)

I even had my own personal, 3 ft. Christmas tree in my bedroom with all the trimmings :D

I love Christmas time :)

And this year is so super special. Not only because it's Derrick & I's first year together - altho' yes that is special :) But because we have our first house and for the first time EVER, I get to decorate without anyone saying anything about where I put my lights :D [but the electric bill in mind, I've used moderation this year]

 

Our tree !!! It's a real live one :D And - I truly do not understand why I argued against a live tree so heartily every year back home - because this thing is FABULOUS ! It smells soooo good and I don't have to worry about forcing a "fake" tree look "real" ! :D

A few of my Disney ornaments :D I want to go back soo bad.

My Grandpa found a whole box of these little houses when he was cleaning out his brother's house and he brought them home thinking my Mom would like them. Well, Mom didn't have any place to put them and so when I found them while decorating my family's house - I snatched them up because I knew they would make a perfect little village on my mantel :D

Annddd - to keep up with the Jones's across the street, we hung lights outside too :) haha They were another "left-over" from my parents, otherwise, we wouldn't have lights outside this year :D So, thanks Mom & Dad !!

A 30 Day Challenge

Remember when people used to send around those survey/questionnaire emails? They usually started with: "What kind of socks are you wearing?" and ended with "Who do you think will respond to this with their answers first?"

Remember those?

I hate to admit it, but I used to spend hours filling those things out. At first I did them because I felt so important to be receiving emails that I could reply to. And then I did them because I was bored. And then I did them because I felt obligated to [I mean, my friend spent an hour filling the dumb thing out, I should too].

I don't know, maybe they still float around out there somewhere for 12-year-olds to fill out and send to their friends. But I'm definitely glad that I no longer receive them - and consequently feel bad for not replying :)

But I'll be honest - secretly somewhere deep down inside I truly enjoyed filling those things out but hated the huge amount of time I wasted.

So, recently I've noticed a few of my Facebook friends doing this 30-day photo challenge thing.

And it kind of reminded me of those surveys.

And I was intrigued.

And tempted.

And decided to give in and do it too :)

The first one is:

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with five random facts about yourself.

So, here we go :)

1. Derrick scored free tickets for us to go see "Tangled" this afternoon - he's such a fantastic husband I know :) :) And it's my new favorite movie !! Instant Disney classic all the way - totally adorable and heartwarming and Disney-classic-ish [meaning they randomly burst into song!! yessss!] And yes: I cried .. twice =X

2. I collect books and love to read - but haven't had time to truly sit down and enjoy a good book since I got married. Sure I have still read a few books in the last 7 months, but it takes me wayy too long and I kind of lose the story in the muddle of time. And that's just downright depressing.

3. I want a puppy really bad. But, I am reasonable too - I know it's really hard to house-break a puppy in the winter [on the owner at least]. But, I still want a puppy really really bad :)

4. I love to cook but I get really nervous when it comes to cooking for other people. What if what I make doesn't turn out yummy like it always does? What if they simply don't like it and are put in the awkward spot of: smiling thru the pain of eating it? :P

5. And ... Our house is FINALLY fully decorated for Christmas! D just hung the last lights and now I can officially go around and photograph our first Christmas together at our first house !! Those photos coming soon :)

Mr. Rocky Canyon

I'm getting ready to go to bed - right? It's late, it's been a busy and full day, and I'm tired.

But quickly, I want to look through the photos I took this afternoon of D's aunt and uncle and cousins. They invited us down to for dinner and for some family photos - and looking through I found a pair that I just HAD to share :D

Introducing: the little man of the family - Nate [aka: Rocky Canyon - from the Rescue Heroes :D] He and I have been buddies for a long, long time.

The very first weekend I ever spent with Derrick and his family, was a July 4th weekend back in 2008. It was just over a month since we had met at Paul and Naomi's wedding. During that weekend, the church had a picnic and D's cousins came to that picnic - which is where I met Mr. Nate. [You can read about that first weekend here :D because I blog about everything :)]

And just in case you don't believe me - here we are back in 2008:
(and yes, it was back in the day when I was still blogging under my "pen-name" of Tiffany Scott)

Well, the little man has grown up quite a bit. He's now a whopping 3 years old.

And, almost as if he was embarrassed to be hanging out with me? He made sure to let me know that he had a girlfriend.

And her name is Christine.

And she goes to his church.

And she is 12 years old.

And when confronted about being told young to have a girlfriend. He said "No I'm not!" and so we asked him, "Well, how old do you have to be to have a girlfriend?" and he so sheepishly responded with a big smile on his face: "Three" :D

So, all I can say is, watch out ladies ! :D

And so here he is: with his "football" helmet on. Because his big brother Josh (who is 9) plays football, and Nate wants to be just like his big brother :)

More photos to come soon !! I'll be blogging a full post about the afternoon later on this week :D The photos turned out sooooo cute !!! :D


PS - My blog is kind of freaking out - not sure what it's problem is, I'm hoping its just a problem with blogger and it fixes itself =X

::Family Photos:: The Z Family [Monroeton, PA]

Last night I got to spend some time with the Z family !! They go to the same church D&I go to and o.mi.gosh. Talk about adorable-ness.

Kloie is almost 4 years old and Bella & Sophia are the twins who just turned 1 !! They are THE sweetest family ever :) 

Kloie was so camera shy when I first arrived, but after about 5 minutes she warmed right up and was such a cute little model !! She kept coming up with poses, "How about this?" "Take a picture of me smiling like this!" I have soo many cute shots of her - but this is my favorite.

And the twins - wow are they adorable !! It was so hard to pick up my camera and take their pictures because I just wanted to cuddle with them !! This is Bella - she's the peanut of the two and super cutie. Also the friendliest of the bunch - she's quite the social butterfly :D

And Sophia - she has never come to me at church, never let me hold her - but after being in her house for a little while she warmed right up to me and now I think we're going to be good friends :D She's equally precious and it's funny how different the girls are. They are only a year old, but their little personalities are beginning to shine through and it's so fun to see !!

I think they're sending a silent message to each other - I don't know about this Kara-girl and her big camera :D

And one of Samantha & Jeremy - they are the sweetest parents - these girls are so blessed :) They love these kiddos with every ounce of everything they have. I asked Kloie if we should have Mommy & Daddy in a picture by themselves and she took right over. "YES! Mommy, you move over closer to Daddy - like that - uh huh!" It was so cute :) I told her she could come with me on all my shoots to help me out :D

And another one of Sophia, because I couldn't resist.

Well, we had a splendid time, but by the end of the shoot, kiddos are always kinda tired. You can always tell when they are just done - ya know? They are tired of sitting still and being cooed at to smile. They want out of their dress clothes and they want to be free - and this was Bella at that point :P hahaha

Hope you enjoy Samantha & Jeremy !! I had a blast hanging out with you guys !!

Getting ready !

So, D&I are hosting our church's Youth Group's Christmas party at our house tomorrow night !!

And that means lots of "omigosh we have to get the house decorated!!" moments.

And cleaning.

And organizing.

And baking cookies :D :D

But what's more fun than decorating the house for Christmas?

[our very first Christmas too!!]

Getting to show off that house at the end of the week of course !! :D