I want to share our 2014 Christmas photo with you! Thanks to my mom for gifting us some cute, color-themed outfits! Our cards are going to be a little late this year, since it’s harder than I thought to use a self-timer with a young family of four. Examples are below ;)
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
Christmas Eve holds so many special memories for me.
My two very favorite December 24s were:
2008—Steve gave me the world’s most beautiful diamond.
And 2010—we found out that I was pregnant with Nolan :)
I don’t expect anything of such magnitude this year,
but I’m so excited to spend time with our sweet little guys,
and our adorable nieces.
We’ll attend the candlelit Christmas service at church,
listen to the story of a brave Mary,
and of a tiny baby Savior.
We’ll come home, drink hot chocolate, and wrap gifts.
Typically, we’ve unwrapped presents on Christmas Eve (Scandinavian tradition),
but this year we’ll open on the 25th because babies need their sleep.
I can’t wait for Ephraim’s first Christmas!
Merry Christmas Eve to you and yours! Make sure you soak up the next two days!
Christmas only comes once a year :)
There are only three days until Christmas! Our houseguests are on their way, and we are ready for an amazing week spent celebrating Jesus’ birth and relaxing with family! Last night, Steve and I took a few photos of our little buddies in their matching Christmas jammies! There’s nothing cuter than little kids in comfy, cotton holiday pajamas :)
It is TOUGH to get these two to pose for the camera. But I think we got some real winners here :)
Ephraim is so ready for his first Christmas!
They love their Carter’s reindeer pajamas! I’m glad they aren’t TOO Christmasy, so they can wear them all winter :)
This year is special because now that Nolan is three, he is understanding so much about Christmas! I heard him singing “Away in a Manger” last night, and it was the sweetest thing :)
These two have my heart!
I think we should make the Christmas matching PJ photoshoot an annual occurrence! It will be so fun to look back on years past.
I’m linking up with Ashley, Darci, Jenny, Julie, and Natasha for their Christmas Pajama Party! I can’t wait to see everyone else’s adorable kids in their festive jammies!
Happy Friday, everyone!
We don’t have too much scheduled this weekend, but I am excited nonetheless! I need to brave the stores for last-minute Christmas gifts, and Steve is doing some remodeling jobs (our kitchen and bathroom) now that he’s on the university’s Christmas break. (Yay!)
As usual, I am joining the gals for the Friday Favorites linkup! Let’s get started :)
Nolan had his first trip to the dentist on Tuesday! I wasn’t sure how he was going to do, but it went so well! He let the dentist count his teeth (all 20 were present and accounted for), and more surprisingly, he sat still for the electric toothbrush and water vacuum :) We treated him to a visit to the ice cream store. Believe it or not, we can still get quality $0.75 “Death by Chocolate” cones at our favorite diner!
I shared my favorite new vest with you on Wednesday! If you missed this post, here it is. My friend Hannah in Dallas won the vest for me on Instagram! Also, right now it’s being featured on sale on Groopdealz—so if you are looking to snag one, the price is right.
I posted this adorable chocolate mice recipe this week! They’re chocolate covered cherries with Hershey Kiss faces, mounted on Oreo bases. Yumm! Go here to see the recipe!
I’m loving our new Salted Caramel B&BW soap! Christmastime has so much to do with scent—peppermint, gingerbread, pine—and now salted caramel :)
Somehow this little man keeps ending up in my bed every morning at 5 or 6. Ephraim wakes up so much throughout the night that I end up bringing him back to our bed so he doesn’t wake up Nolan. It’s not my favorite situation, but I do love waking up to his little face next to mine.
A few more favorite shots from the week to wrap this up:
What are your plans for the weekend?
Are you traveling for Christmas or cozying up at home?
Follow me on Instagram @floralandfudge
Linking up for Friday Favorites with Andrea, Erika, & Narci.
Thanks for stopping by!!
This post may contain an affiliate link.
There is something pretty amazing about this blogging world. I have met some of the most incredible women, and we’ve really clicked even though we’ve never even met face-to-face. One of these women is my friend Hannah in Dallas. She was the one who got me started with FlyBy Promotions (my Christian book and movie reviews). She has sent me some really fun mail, including a super cute Christmas card of her, her husband and their two sweet boys. She gave me breastfeeding advice when I was two seconds away from mastitis. And the other day, she entered us in an Instagram giveaway to win two designer quilted vests. And we won! Our vests came from Lucy and Lyla–an online boutique with gorgeous clothes. I first ordered from them back in August through Groopdealz, and I was really pleased with the maxi dress I bought. Now, I feel like a million bucks in this vest. I love that it is embellished with gold zippers. It is perfect for Christmas festivities :)
Vest | Lucy and Lyla in “Tan”
Jeans | American Eagle
Shirt | Lands’ End
Shoes | Tom’s Desert Wedges in “Brown Herringbone”
Thanks again, Hannah! And thanks to all of you who are reading—I appreciate you so much!
Follow me on Bloglovin
Find me on Facebook
Instagram: @floralandfudge
Have you ever made a dessert that is almost too cute to eat? If you have a Christmas party to attend in the next nine days, I highly suggest these adorable chocolate mice!
I first got the idea from my step-grandmother, Gayle. She has made these delicious little mice in the past, and she slipped me the recipe years ago. I decided to make them for Nolan’s Christmas program, and although I will admit they are a bit tedious, they are so much fun!
On Sunday morning, after I had already made the mice, my friend Nina passed me a magazine clipping of the mice she likes to make. I loved that they were mounted on Oreos with little sprigs of holly drawn on them! I made another trip to the grocery store to buy Oreos and icing before the program on Sunday night :)
Ingredients:
Bottle of at least 24 maraschino cherries WITH stems
Chocolate for dipping—I bought Baker’s milk chocolate dip (see photo below)
24 Hershey Kisses
Small package of sliced almonds (You need 48)
24 Double Stuf Oreos (about 1 bag)
Small tube white gel icing
Small tube green icing
Small tube red icing
Directions:
Drain the cherries, and let them dry on a paper towel.
Hold the stems and dip them in melted chocolate.
Stick a Hershey Kiss on the end opposite the “tail”.
Place two pieces of almonds into the chocolate behind the Kiss to form small ears.
Store in the refrigerator until they harden.
Put two dots of white icing on the Kiss to make eyes.
Twist all 24 of the Oreos apart, and save the halves with cream filling.
Place the mice onto the Oreo cream, using a little bit of the white gel as glue.
With red gel, pipe holly berries on the cream. Using green gel, pipe holly leaves.
Nolan loved these mice, and I think it’s a tradition he will definitely remember from year to year :)
Store in an airtight container. Yield: 2 dozen.
Enjoy!
