Merry Christmas to all

I love it when my friends get me...do you know what I mean?  I have a wonderful friend here in Fort Collins and her name is Barb, she has been my walking partner for the last 4 years and I absolutely adore her.  She is one of those people who really listen and doesn't judge, and I love that about her.  Yesterday, I went to her house, and she presented me with this beautiful gift, I love it!!  She knows how much we love her cooking and baking, and she made all of the yummy goodies in this gift, her granola is to die for!!  She knows how much I love those old Christmas ornaments, and she included those!  I know that I have been blessed to have Barb in my life...some days she has been my life saver just by listening to me!  This time of the year, I know we all reflect on our lives, and I know that I have much to be grateful for.  I am thankful for all that I have been blessed with, especially for my family and my wonderful friends.  Merry Christmas to all!!

Christmas Cheer

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!  I finally got my Christmas decorations out and decorated the house.  This year I went very simple, I only used the traditional red, green and gold colors.  The first 2 years that we lived in Colorado we got real trees and they died within a week!  The trees get so dried, even though we watered daily.  This year, we put up the tree that we usually put in Brentons room up in the living room, it is a small tree...I don't even have a skirt on it yet!!!  I am almost done with my Christmas shopping, I am never done this early! 

My beautiful family

This Thanksgiving, our daughter, Britnee and granddaughter Caralynn came out to visit us here in Colorado.  Chris wasn't able to come because he had to work, but we sure miss him!  He is the greatest son in law a mom could ask for.  We loved our little short time we had with the girls, it is always hard having them go home.  Bristyn also came home from college for the week, she is growing up and I am proud of her, she is doing very well in college.  Brad also came down for a couple of days, so I had all of my children with me, and I absolutely loved it!  I am so thankful for my beautiful family and my husband who gave me my wonderful kids, I am very blessed!

Hmmmm, is this illegal?

This is Brentons room, I know that he is 15 years old, but he still loves his monkeys!  He started collecting them when he was 6 years old and had an emergency apendectomy, everyone seemed to get him stuffed monkeys!  Before Bristyn left for college, she "found" this sign at the back of where she works and bought it home.  I noticed it in the back of our truck and I thought that it would look "cool" in Brentons room!  Everyone thinks that it looks awesome, especially Brenton....but are those signs owned by the city???

The living room

If you know me, you know that I have been wanting a white slip covered couch from Pottery Barn for about 3 years now!!  However, when we went in and had it priced it was almost $4000 and my husband was like, "Heck NO!"  Don't blame him, that is alot of money!  Then I was settled on getting a couch from Ikea, but I just felt like they were so uncomfortable, and we are a family that really lives in our living room.  Everyone thought that I was crazy to want a white couch because we have little kids at our house daily, not only that, but we have teenagers and friends here all the time.  I have been searching for a long time for a couch and this past weekend, I finally found one that I really love and is so comfortable.  It fits our condo perfectly, it actually makes the living room look alot bigger.  It looks like a dark brown in these pictures, but it is not that dark.  Everytime I lay down on the couch, I actually fall asleep, it is that comfortable! 

Homecoming 2012

I forgot to post these pictures of Brentons Homecoming from September!  Brenton went with this sweet girl named Emmalee, and they went with their friends, Halee and Taylor Van.  Emmalees mother made the kids a delicious meal, then drove them to the dance....after the dance, myself and Kenna Van took the kids out for dessert!  This was Brentons first high school dance and I think that he had a wonderful time!!  Do you think he needs a haircut?

Bristyns first piece of painted furniture

Our Bristyn loves to paint....as a matter of fact, she has paint drops all over the carpet in her bedroom!  One day, I casually mentioned that she should paint this ugly wood table (which is an antique), and she jumped right on it!  I used to have this table hiding in the basement because I always thought it was ugly and useless, but i love it now!  I have it in Brentons bathroom and it is the perfect height to grab a towel.  Since she painted this table, she has also painted a chair, I need to have the cushion fixed then I will take pictures.   Have I mentioned how much I am missing Bristyn?

I forgot to mention...

Remember a couple posts back when I mentioned that I organized my laundry room closet and was wishing for a new washer and dryer?  No joke, the day after I posted that, my washer totally broke!  I was so excited, it would have cost about $500 to fix it, so Mike gave in and said we could go look for a new washer and dryer.  We actually got them the weekend of July 4th, so we got a great deal on them!  Now that Bristyn is in college, I try to do laundry on Wednesday and Saturday, 2 loads each day.  I love these, I know it is a simple thing, but they really are wonderful.  And yes, I do have a year supply of laundry soap, snuggle and fabric softners!

I love this time of the year!!!

I love this time of the year!  The trees are so beautiful here in Fort Collins, and fall is definately here!  I had to wear a sweater today because it was so chilly.  I did just a little decorating this year...we only have Brenton left at home, and I don't think that he gets excited about Halloween decorations!