Donuts on the brain...

Started our day with some D*nkin D*n*ts for breakfast, and my favorite cup 'o joe-d*nkin decaf...cream and sugar...shot of pumpkin...YUM! Hey, we eat healthy breakfast 6 days-a-week, gotta have some fried dough covered in sugar every now and then, right? :)

Growing up in Carrollton, TX there there were what I now affectionately refer to as "asian donut" stores on every corner...freshly fried up donuts...d*nkins doesn't even COMPARE! In Bible-belt suburbia, I think the ratio of churches to donut stores was about equal!

Alright, before anyone thinks I'm donut-obsessed, here's the reason behind donuts on the brain this morning...


I've been rackin' my brain as to what we could make for Graham's school buddies for Christmas...what else??? Arnie ornaments, of course! My buddy made the cutest ornaments for her kiddos' classmates-what a super idea...thanks, Kim!

After g**gling around for a while, I found this idea to make donuts out of polymer clay. I've never worked with clay and thought it might be a little too complicated, but the clay turned out to be very easy to work with. Inserted a little loop of floral wire in the clay before baking, added eyes and mouth with paintpens after baking and-voila-ARNIE! Only 15 more to go...the kids got such a kick out of little Arnie and Hannah Reece wanted to eat him...which led our highly nutritious breakfast this morning. My house might be a mess, but I sure am having fun makin' stuff this Christmas!

Our Friend, Sophie...

...came for a visit today! Sophie is seven, and she's a "big girl"...time spent with Sophie is very precious time to Hannah Reece.

Last Saturday, for "Kid's Night Out" at church, the kids watched a movie and had dinner together while parents enjoy an evening out. Hannah Reece ended up falling asleep in Sophies lap during the movie!

Today, Sophie patiently read to Hannah Reece, played with her and gave her ideas of new ways to color and place her stickers on the paper. I think she was even trying to teach her how to read! Honestly, it just brought tears to my eyes to watch these two little girls, sisters-in-Christ, play and enjoy each other's company. Sophie was my helper today, she kept Hannah Reece entertained and even laid out her lunch (that I had pre-prepared in the fridge) while I cleaned our filthy bathrooms, bless her heart!

So very thankful for our friend, Sophie!

December Daily-Days 3-9

*Not sure why I can't get these photos to rotate the way they are saved in my hard drive as horizontal?? Anyone know how to fix it?

Day 3: Long night for H.R. with feaver...spent today @ Dr.s office-she's ok! Spent the day watching movies and snugglin'...REST ************************
Day 4: (next to photo) UH-OH Hannah Reece created art on her body (with a green highlighter) while momma was sidetracked with Christmas projects

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Day 5: Today we finished our Christmas shopping (at Miromar)...the goldfish "koi" pond was a nice diversion for the kiddos. Later, Graham enjoyed his first "real" cupcake-post-food-allergies-at Johnathon's b-day party. ************************
Day 6 & 7: Long talks with Daddy...snuggles...finding may creative uses for the $1 santa hats..."cloving" oranges just like I used to with Nana...naps in random places...precious times.

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Day 8: "Family Traditions"

1. Weekly "lights tour" complete with popcorn and hot chocolate (in our jammies!)
2. What God Wants for Christmas...advent devotional...and the giant basket of Christmas books
3. Christmas eve worship service by candlelight...then secretly delivering poinsettias to our neighbors (doorsteps)
4. Decorating the tree as a family while we enjoy some festive tunes. :)

Joann hosted a cookie exchange for our "applesauce" (post-apples of gold) meeting. It was encouraging, uplifting, fun and DELICIOUSLY sweet! These women are a treasure...a rich and wonderful blessing in my life.

Flat-as-a-pancake meringues...stuck to the pan-but tasted yummy!

Thumprint jammies...YUM


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Day 9: We don't usually eat too many "sweets" but with the holidays upon us and no more food allergies-we've enjoyed treats for breakfast...between meals...even as a before-bed snack! :)


Bedtime...we're on box #4 for What God wants for Christmas.


Momma's been makin' lots of lists lately...and so has Reecie!


Busy days and evenings mean...pizza for dinner! (Reece is happy about that one! :)

Baby Heath

Dan received an email tonight stating that Baby Heath had been taken to the emergency room, is on a machine to assist his breathing and is now at the top of the heart transplant list. Please pray for these dear friends.

"Look Ma! No more food allergies!"

Yippee! Graham's first official allergy test confirmed, that he does not suffer with food allergies any longer! There have been many things that have led to this healing, but we are just so thankful to the Lord for the strength, support from others, and understanding that God granted in the last three years with the challenges that have come with eczema, environmental and food allergies.

Although Graham still has a moderate allergy to egg, he is only allergic to a certain protein in raw eggs (a contact allergen) that is neutralized in the cooking process, so he can eat "cooked" eggs.

It has been so much fun to watch him try new things. Today, Graham had his first Doughnut! He chose a chocolate one with sprinkles on top. I know, not the healthiest choice, but he just smiled and laughed the whole time. When I dropped him off at school he said, "Ms. Kelli, I ate Arnie the Doughnut for breakfast!" The teachers at Graham's school have been exceptionally supportive with the allergies...reading labels, calling me at home...they said yesterday he so enjoyed his veggies dipped in ranch, he wanted to take the rest of his little dip cup home in his backpack! Thank you, Lord.

December Daily-Day 1 & 2

Very excited about beginning this little project, inspired by the 25 days of Christmas/December Daily album on Ali Edward's blog last year. Nichole (extra-artsy-fartsy-crafty-sister-in-law) and I got together and made our books ahead of time, and had a blast! Thanks, Choley, for teaching me some new "tricks"! I hope to capture a glimpse of life for us in the month of December.

Sitting down to create the bulk of the album ahead of time was HUGE. So cool that it can be as simple or as fancy as one would like for it to be. This was my first time to make a home-made album. Though it was a little more time consuming than I'd originally thought, breaking out the usual scrapbook routine and using new tools and techniques was such fun!

So far, I've been printing the photos on my home printer. Aside from a few pieces of festive paper, ribbon, a few embellishments and adhesive- I've really tried to use stuff I already have on-hand in my stash. The hardest part was deciding when "enough is enough" as far as the decorating goes, because the possibilities are endless! The cover pages are made of the thin cardboard, and I decopaged paper to cover it. If I can ever figure out how to get a hole punched in this dad-gum decopaged cardboard (aside from having my hubby whip out his drill), I'm gonna put some silver rings on to hold the thing together. Happy December!

"Look at my fings!"

That's Reecie-speak for "look at my things!" Dan and I were hysterical when she walked in, pulled up her shirt and showed us this strategically-placed little gem. Hannah Reece LOVES stickers, we regularly find random stickers throughout the house. This little bikini set came from a C*eative M*mori*s beach pack that sat unused...until today!