My Christmas budget just got a little bit bigger

Prior to getting married, I debated every year on whether to send out Christmas cards. It seemed so difficult finding the perfect card that said what I wanted it to say, had the right colors and wasn't over sized to the point that I would have to pay double postage. And every year I would receive a handful of Christmas photo cards from friends and family and I always thought, "when I get married and have children, that is the kind of card I am going to send out."

Mike and I were married on December 22nd--wouldn't this have been a fun card to send out?

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

I started using Shutterfly several years ago to save all of the pictures we have taken of Anna Claire. Although we have an external hard drive, my OCD tendencies lead me to save the pictures in several places...you know...just in case. I've bought my Christmas cards through them the past 2 years and am in the process of putting together our 2010 card. In fact, my favorite card of all time is the one we sent out in 2008 to announce that Anna Claire was a girl. I don't have the picture saved anymore (boo-hoo), but Mike and I were holding a card that said, "It's a Girl!"

When I heard that Shutterfly was giving away 50 FREE CHRISTMAS PHOTO CARDS to bloggers, well...need I say more. All you have to do is share about the offer and you've got yourself 50 free cards! Just click on this link to register: http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/. They have tons of layouts for Christmas cards (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards) and for other gifts like desk calendars(http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars). In fact, my sister gave our parents calendars last year for Christmas and they loved them.

Everything they have is at a great price--plus, everyone loves to receive gifts that include pictures!



Whisk up a shower

This weekend I had the privilege to help throw a bridal shower for this beautiful girl (the one on the left). Lauren and Arthur are getting married next month before Christmas. We wanted to make sure this was an extra special party for Lauren since not only is she planning a wedding, but she is also in school full time! Since setting up house for the first time can be a bit overwhelming so we thought a kitchen shower would be the best way to bless her!

It was all things kitchen! The centerpieces were Kitchen Aid mixers (collected from the many cooks in our church) with gorgeous red roses in the mixing bowl! 

 
I put together a garland out of vintage aprons, dishcloths, napkins and potholders to serve as the backdrop for the gift and cake table.

 

For the bride-to-be, all of the guests brought their favorite recipe to share.

And the cake....there is little to say except WOW! We have a professional cake baker/decorator/maker :) who attends our church and she graciously made the cake to go along with our kitchen theme.

Everything was edible, including this part of the cake that resembles the utensil holder Lauren registered for.

We all had such a wonderful time celebrating Lauren and all that her future holds with her new hubby!

Daddy, I want a pony.

This past year my sister has been reunited with one of her first loves, horses. On our recent trip to celebrate Christy's birthday, we were able to meet Elvis, the horse she rides. 

Elvis is a retired Thoroughbred race horse and despite his racing background, he is extremely gentle and seemed to want nothing more than to be loved on. That included Anna Claire.

I was nervous that she would be nervous about not only being around such a big animal, but actually being on top of him.

Once again, my little girl amazed me with how fearless she is. She laughed and smiled the entire time and kept asking for one more time around. It was when she had to get off that she upset.

It is an amazing moment when you see your child experience something for the first time, something they find pure joy in. I will never forget this look on her face as she rode Elvis.

On This Day In Christian History by Robert J. Morgan

It always amazes me how God uses people from different places, different times with different stories to impact the world for His glory. From the Roman Empire to modern day theologians, this book gives us a glimpse into not only how He works, but WHO he works through—many times the most unlikely people.

It is through these daily readings that Robert Morgan (Then Sings My Soul) exposes us to individuals, that many of us have never heard of, who have significantly impacted the way we, as believers, live today. This would be a great gift book for those who love history and more importantly want to learn about our Christian heritage. Even though it is set up as a 365 daily read book, there are stories that you will want to revisit time and time again to be challenged and encouraged by. There is a topical index in the back to use as a help for pastors and teachers as well.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.