new year, new hobby

A few weeks ago I saw a lovely watercolor painting and said to Sam 'I'd like to start watercoloring' Well, little did I know he took it to heart and I was so surprised to see he had gotten me an entire set with paper and everything for Christmas :) I used to paint a little back in highschool with acrylic paints but after I graduated I didn't really carry on with it. I'm so excited to start it up again, watercolor is so beautiful I just hope I can get the hang of all the blending and shading that goes into it. Here are couple of my my first attempts! I thought I would start off with something that doesnt need a whole lot of experience so I did the union jack and american flag.. simple red, white and blue then I went on to try and copy a picture I took of Keaton on a skooter. It's been so much fun!
Thanks Sam, for always listening and being so thoughtful :)

christmas 2011

We had such a fun time with Keaton's first Christmas! Keaton loved it and got a lot of fun gifts from family. We were able to Skype Sam's family after we opened our gifts to watch them open ours to them. I hope they liked what we got them, I kept asking Sam after we sent their package off 'Do you think they'll like the gifts??' I'm sure I drove him crazy but if they loved them as much as we loved all they gave us then I know we're ok :) It was so good to see everyone! We then headed over to my parents house for the gift exchange and delicious breakfast. Beautiful weather for an all-around fab christmas!

big news

Well, it's been a while since Sam and I have made the decision to move to England but until tonight, no one besides immediate family knew about it. Yep, it's true! The plan is to move just before summer next year to somewhere close to where Sam's family live in York. A lot of thought and prayer has gone into our decision and we know it needs to be the next chapter of our life and we truly just feel like it is what we need to do. I love my family so, so much and will miss seeing them as often but I will love visiting them and them visiting us. They have made me the person I am today. However, I am greatful for this opportunity and have already felt myself grow through this process. We appreciate all the love and support from others. We both have everything we've ever wanted and are so happy together, we support and love one another so much. We have a fantastic family we are going to and I am really looking forward to seeing them and growing closer to them.

(Sam and I - England 2008)

on etsy

click to take a look

I started an etsy store a while back to have a bit of fun in my spare time. There isn't much for sale at the present but I enjoy it and hope you feel free to take a peek every so often :)

little K

Today, I decided to take advantage of the lovely natural light coming through our giant front window and snap some pictures of Keaton, who turns 8 months on Christmas! As always, he was a good sport and put up with me. What a nice guy.

the stockings were hung

One of the funnest things I've discovered about getting married and starting a family is you get to continue all the fun traditions you grew up with. Since Sam told me that his mom used to always have a parachute man in his stocking, I have done it every year. In my family, it was an orange. I asked my mom about it the other day because as fas as I know, we are the only family on earth that puts an orange in everyones stocking every year. She told me it was so she didn't have to make us breakfast...genius! Just another reason why we will be continuing on with the orange in the stocking tradition. Looks like Keaton will never have a dull christmas with his parachute men and nature-made breakfasts!

nativity 2011

My mom really wanted to do a grandkid nativity photo this year for their christmas card so last night we dressed them all up and had a photo shoot. Luckily they were all very cooperative!

 Here is Keaton fullfilling his assignment as a sheep. I must say, we were very proud of him.. he took his roll very seriously, even eating the hay at times (because he is just that good) although, I'm not sure his cousin Quinney was as impressed by it as we were!

Today Sam and I took Keaton to see Santa Claus because this is his first Christmas ever so that's pretty special. While waiting in line, I asked Sam what he thought Keaton's reaction would be... we predicted that he would be a little confused at first but then slowly realize Santa Claus looked like a pretty fun guy and smile away like he usually does. We were right!