Little Stars..

These sweet kids had their Christmas production at church last week. I am one proud momma..

Sienna walked out on the stage completely confident! She loves performing, and we had practiced the songs together so she was well prepared!

This next picture pretty well epitomizes the intensity she had while on the stage. She was SO into it! She sang every word with all of her might, and she almost knocked all of the other kids off the stage with her BIG actions!

During one song she was the only one doing actions. I'm not sure if they had practiced any as a group or she just decided they were needed :)

Coen was perfect! All of the little ones were! The best part of these productions is when the 2 and 3 year olds come out. They don't remember the words to their songs, but it doesn't matter. Their reaction is overwhelmingly precious.

It was such a special night! Great memories!

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This weekend was jam packed with activity. I even did my first real photo shoot for my sister and her family. I have tons of editing to do, but I am so happy with how they turned out! I will share some soon! Praying you all had a great weekend!
I leave you with this.. My sweet nephew Wyatt!

Dear Friday

Dear Friday. Really? Already? I know I keep talking about time flying, but I feel like we were just here. You have a busy day in store for me. Please go smoothly.

Dear Me. Keep better track of your stuff so you don't think someone stole something when it was actually just your 1 year old. Oh, and you should really learn how to cook already..

Dear Husband. I know we spent time together this week, but because of our sleep-deprived status it felt like this week didn't really happen. Lets spend more time together, k?

Dear Sienna. I am so proud of how well you did in the Christmas production. Where did you learn to perform like that? You are one special little girl.

Dear Coen. I am equally proud of you. Thanks for not crying and running off the stage. That could've happened. Instead you did a wonderful job trying to sing your songs. Go buddy!

Dear Family. Thanks so much to everyone who came out too see the kids' Christmas show. They are immensely blessed to be so loved.

Dear Houston. We talked about this last week. SLEEEEP. That is all..

Dear Christmas Tree. Sorry we are so late putting you up this year. We will try and get to you this weekend. By the way, we will only be decorating your top half this year. Otherwise Houston will just frustrate you by tearing everything off your branches.

Dear Winter. Thanks for being so kind to us thus far. I do fear, however, that you are going to make us pay for this mild weather in the not-so-distant future. I would ask that you refrain from bringing us too many days of -40 and multiple feet of snow. I think we had our fair share last year. Thanks for considering my request.

Love,

 Brandy Jane Mabel

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Have a wild weekend!

My son is a thief..

I'm not sure where to even begin with this story.. Lets start here..

This is my coffee table. I love my coffee table. {my love for my coffee table is irrelevant to the story, 

but you can check out the link if you want to read more about this beauty..}

See these little spaces in the table...

Well, my little Houston finds much enjoyment out of shoving things down into the table and then screaming until someone fishes the item out for him.

The day before yesterday we were missing our remote control for our television. I had searched everywhere. Why do remotes always go missing?  I swear those things wander on there own. Anyways, when my husband came home he joined in the search. He looked into the sides of our coffee table, a place I never thought to check, and he found something. No, it wasn't the remote. It was ALL of my cards!!!! All of my cards that I thought were stolen {story here}. All of my cards that I spent hours and hours getting replaced! I'm not sure how it all happened, but somehow Houston must have gotten a hold of my wallet and dumped all of them out. However it happened, they have all been found. I'm glad some guy named Bob won't be slapping on a wig and trying to take out a cell phone plan under my name. Phew!

I could say we went through all of the hassle for nothing.. Or, perhaps this all took place so I could be reminded of what a wonderful person my husband is. So I could be reminded of GRACE. I am still so grateful for the lessons I have learned from this crazy/funny situation! There is nothing I can do really but laugh about it!

BTW, We still haven't found our remote control...

This is me

This is me most of the time as of late. This little one of mine has grown quite attached to me in a way neither of my other kids experienced. I will admit, there are days I tire of functioning while carrying around an extra 27 pounds of wiggly weight. Then, there are the sweet moments I am reminded of how fleeting time is.. How swiftly it is slipping away. I am struggling to embrace this concept. I do not want to mourn the loss of time. I want to 'grab it by the horns' and live intentionally and purposefully with each moment I am given. So, this is my season. My season for having a messy house but happy kids. My season for less time spent on myself and more time spent shaping these little hearts. I can choose to barrel through, or I can choose to enjoy. I am going to enjoy. Yep, this is me.

"To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born,
- And a time to die;
A time to plant,
- And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
- And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
- And a time to buildup;
A time to weep,
- And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
- And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
- And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
- And a time to refrain from embracing,
A time to gain,- And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
- And a time to throw away;A time to tear,
- And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
- And a time to speak;
A time to love,
- And a time to hate;
A time of war,
- And a time of peace." - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

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Got a funny {or not so funny} something to tell tomorrow!

Festival Of Trees

We went the the Festival Of Trees this weekend. It was so busy. I used to enjoy busy places. My husband and I could spend hours and hours in a packed shopping mall and never once be bothered by the bustling of busy bodies pushing their way past. I'm not sure what changed for me. I don't even think it was having kids that has changed my feelings towards big crowds. Still, I did my best to take in all the sights of Christmas and the looks of wonder on my kids' faces..

How sweet are they? Too much cuteness to handle..

I loved the branches and the snowflakes together.. So earthy and warm!

BOKEH!!!

{photographer lingo for the pretty light circles}

Took a while for me to figure out exactly how to capture it!

Decorating their own little trees. We didn't do one for Houston. Is that bad? He doesn't notice yet so we saved ourselves the $4!

I LOVED this white tree!

...and this one!

This next section was Sienna's favorite! So sweet and sparkly...

Coen's favorite.. He's all boy!

We had a sweet time!

Windy Letters

Dear Blog Readers. I started this blog for fun, with no expectations, with no idea if I would even enjoy blogging. Little did I know what joy would come out of gathering my thoughts and putting them somewhere permanent. I am so thankful for the encouragement I have received from many of you. I am glad I can share a little of my life with y'all :)
Dear Husband. What can I say?  This was one crazy week. I am so glad that I get to do life with you.  

Dear Person Who Stole All My Stuff. {if you didn't hear the story you can read it HERE} Go ahead and try to spend my money.. I'm way ahead of you, buddy.
Dear Wind. Don't you think you're a little intense this morning? Seriously, wind gusts to 90 km/hr ? So much for my Costco run..
Dear Houston. We really need to figure this sleep thing out. Mommy and Daddy can't stay up all night every night anymore. Also, mommy will be much more fun during the day if you would sleep at night. So, please, SLEEP.
Dear 2011. Where did you go? How is it December? I am, however, looking forward to this month. I love the warmth this season brings {I'm not talking weather-wise people}. I love how it brings people together. I hope to cherish every last moment of you.

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My photo taking has been minimal lately, but here are a few recent shots that I thought were worth sharing...

*all  images original to Jane Mabel

{unlocked} grace..

CONFESSION

I have a really bad habit of leaving my vehicle unlocked. 

The other day my husband said to me that he had locked my van door for me. I was totally snarly and replied, "actually, I leave it unlocked on purpose because I am always the one who has to put all 3 kids in the van by myself, and the last thing I need to be doing is digging in my pocket for keys.."

Yesterday, I had left my wallet in my van, and yes, left the doors unlocked. Well, when I went to use something out of my wallet later, guess what? ALL of my cards were missing. ALL. Credit card, debit card, driver's license, birth certificate, health cards. Everything. Am I at risk for identity theft or what!

The amazing part of this story though is this.. My husband had every right to say "I told you so." Every right. But did he? No.. He didn't get upset. Not at all. As soon as I told him he just made the phone calls to the bank that needed to be made, and he found out exactly what I needed to do to cover all my bases. He left work to go and look around where the van had been to see if anything was left behind. He came with me to the police station and registry even though he had a lot that he needed to get done. He did not spout one word about it all being my fault {which it totally was!} He was so full of grace for my neglectfulness. How amazing is that?

So, I have learnt my lesson(s).. I will not leave my vehicle unlocked anymore.. I will not be snarly to my husband when he is just trying to remind me to do something I should be doing... I will show grace to others when they make mistakes even if they had been warned prior... GRACE... Awesome...

*images original to Jane Mabel