First Day

It's officially the first day of December and I'm getting in the mood to watch a bunch of christmas movies! Here are a few of my classic favorites and some that I plan on watching:

1. Gremlins: I watched this one last year for the first time and although it doesn't seem like a very "Christmasy" movie it still is one of my favorite holiday movies.
2. Home Alone: One of the Christmas classics that I'm sure everyone has seen.

3. Die Hard: I've never seen any of these, but my husband claims he loves them. So since the fist one takes place on Christmas Eve I thought it would be fun to watch this year!

4. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Chevy Chase at the top of his game. This is definitely one of my favorite classic Christmas comedies.

5. Elf: Two of my favorite actors in one great comedy that I can watch over and over!
6. Scrooged: I hope to catch this one this year a modern twist on The Ghosts of Christmas past with Bill Murray!

7. Miracle on 34th Street: I don't remember seeing the original or redone version of this, but I hope to watch these again starting with the 1947 version.
8. It's a Wonderful Life: A major classic!
9. A Christmas Story: This has to be my ultimate favorite classic Christmas movie of all time. So funny. And if you haven't seen it you might want to take time to watch this one this year, even if you HAVE seen it before it's always great the second (and third) time around.

A Girl Can Dream

I hope most of you are a head of me and have already made your Christmas lists. It took me a long time to come up with things to put on mine, because I really do already have so much it's hard to figure out what to ask for! Here are a few things I scrounged up even though most of them are out of my prce range, but hey, a girl can dream :)

(click for links)
1. Ivory Dress
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) [Kindle Edition]
3. Striped Sweater
4. Flats
5. Triangle Drinking Glasses
6. Wide Angle Cannon Lens
7. Kinect Workout
8. Mineralize Skinfinish Lightscapade
9. Zebra Umbrella
10. Buddy Holly Readers
11. Naughty Fair Isle Glove
12. Imac
13. A Very She & Him Christmas on Vinyl
14. Glass Water Bottle

Life this week (according to cell phone pictures) #18

I still haven't fixed my phone or bought a new one, but I did manage to get a few photos this week. If you don't know, today's Cyber Monday and so I've been spending a good part of the day online Christmas shopping. My sissy comes home in only ONE week! Other than that, I've been Christmas decorating, more Christmas shopping, planning my sissy's birthday and a Christmas party.

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1. Looking for the ball
2. Big boy car seat
3. Excited to brush his teeth
4. Worn out PJ's

Popcorn Christmas Tree Garland DIY

Yesterday we put up all the Christmas decorations which always turns out to be a lot more work that I perceived. I made a popcorn garland for our tree this year and it turned out pretty cute. I really like the look of it on our tree this year! Here's a little tutorial on how to make one yourself.

1. Gather all your supplies. You'll need:

• thread 
• needle
• popcorn popper
• popping corn

2. Tie a knot around the needle just like it's pictured above. The smaller the needle the less the popcorn likes to fall apart.

3. Pop your popcorn

4. Begin threading your popcorn just as it's pictured above.

5. Continue to thread until you have a good sized stand. It's easier to make small strands at a time (pictured below) as you put it on.

Giving Thanks

This year we hung out with my family and ate A LOT! My great Grandma (Everett's great, great Grandma) came in all the way from New Mexico this year, so it was really neat to see her and her to be able to meet all her great, great grandchildren!

I didn't know this when I dressed Everett in his Thanksgiving outfit, but after we had all met together my Grandma excitedly explained to me that she hadn't seen this outfit in years and that it was originally MY dad's from when he was a baby! The little pants (under the jacket) are actually little overall suspender things. I never would have guessed it was originally from the sixties (besides the style) because it's in such great condition. It's definitely a favorite of mine and will be cherished for a long time!

This is probably less than half the food there. This didn't include all the salads and deserts! We definitely didn't go hungry this year. I wish so much that I would have taken more pictures, but I was so busy trying to entertain the kiddos

Everett's Christmas List

I promise you, Everett hand picked these all himself. OK maybe not, but if he could I'm sure he would loves these.

1. Striped cardigan
2. Kid's acoustic guitar
3. Tiny Toms
4. Read to me T-shirt
5. Pound tower
6. Vintage stuffed Pokey
7. Cowboy gun and holster
8. Red flanel plaid shirt
9. Kids radio and karaoke
10. Of course BOOKS!(we can never have enough!)

How We Met V.7

I hope you all are finding some deals today if you went out black Friday shopping. I, however, have decided to stay home in a sane environment. I'm kidding! Anyway I love this story so much this week! I'm SO glad that Sharice took time to share this great story and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thank you so much Sharice for sharing!

There seems to be so much to say about Chris and I, but I will try not to write a novel. When I was 16, I got a job at Chuck E. Cheese. My first night on the job was August 26, 2005. Little did I know but I was about to meet the man I would spend the rest of my life with. Several boys came into CEC that night to talk to the boss. I didn’t know it at the time but these boys worked there. Anyway, Chris was one of these boys. That night began the rollercoaster of emotions that I had never felt before. There were things I did and did not like about him. I remember thinking he was so cute. He was outgoing and goofy. But he was definitely not a Christian. I did not think anything more of it that night. The next day, I had to work the morning shift. Well who was there, but this cute boy from the night before. He was working the kitchen. Inside, I was so excited that I got to work with the ‘cute’ boy. Later on that morning, I found out that he was dating the girl that trained me the night before…bummer.  I only worked weekends and he only worked morning shifts. So the only time I ever worked with him was Saturday mornings. I began to really enjoy working with him. He was fun and made me laugh. About 4 months after I started working there, Chris got promoted to a manager. On Saturday mornings, our boss would buy us Starbucks. Guess who were designated to go get it. Chris and I. That is where our friendship really began to grow. We’d walk to Starbucks. We would talk about any and every thing. We would laugh. I started enjoying him and his company more and more. I found myself having a crush on him. He was unlike other boys in that he respected me and my beliefs by watching his language around me and would apologize when he slipped up. I thought “why would this 19 year old ever be interested in little ol’ me.” I knew I could not like him because he was in a relationship and was not a Christian. I determined that I would not like him but would just be friends with him. I kept it up for a while. I was good at deceiving others (and myself) into believing I did not like him. We were friends at work and that was it. Well our friendship continued to grow and on Memorial Day of 2006, he text me for the first time ever. From then on, we started talking all the time. I had to keep increasing my data plan because we text so much (This was right before they came out with unlimited). I worked on the 4^th of July. Chris asked if I had any plans after work, and I said no. So he invited me over to his place to watch fireworks because he lived right by Lincoln Park. Never in a million years did I think my dad would let me but I called him and he said yes! So I went and watched fireworks with Chris, his girlfriend, and some of our coworkers. I had such a good time. One night in August, he text me and was really upset. He and his girlfriend had broken up. We talked for a while. I do not remember exactly what I said but I remember saying the words “I care about you.” I invited him to church the next day. Never did I think he would show up but he did. Not only on that Sunday but on the next Sunday as well. Over the next few months my feelings for him began to grow again. I think I felt I was allowed to like him since he no longer had a girlfriend. I knew there was still one problem:  he was not a Christian. I began praying for Chris and his salvation. You might say that I prayed for him for selfish reasons; but he was my friend. Whether we ever ended up together or not, I wanted him to know the Lord. One day, I was talking with one of my coworkers. He mentioned that Chris was seeing someone. I thought it was impossible because surely he would have told me. So I text him and asked him. He told me he was not seeing anyone but was just interested in a girl at work and that they had been talking. I was so disappointed. Little did I know, he actually was very interested in me but thought I was out of his league. Well in October, he and his ex ended up getting back together. I was heartbroken but continued to be friends with him. In November, Chris came to a ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ play at my church. The message of the play worked on his heart, and he ended up getting saved that night! Over the next few weeks, his girlfriend did not like the changes Chris was going through so she broke up with him. My feelings really began to grow, but my parents did not like the situation. They wanted Chris to talk to them if he was interested in me. One night, I was just so overwhelmed with my emotions (teenagers and their emotions!) that I prayed that if Chris and I were meant to be together, that God would work it out; and if we were not supposed to be together, that He would take my feelings away. About a week later, Chris talked to my parents.  That was April 30, 2007. He left for a 9 month discipleship training program in August of 2007. Our relationship grew stronger with the distance and with the trials that come with being apart. He got back home in June 2008. Later that year, on October 30, we were engaged; and about 4 months later, on March 7, 2009, we got married.

I am so happy the Lord has brought Chris into my life. He is such a wonderful man and husband. He is my best friend and has been for the last 6 years of my life. -Sharice Pena