scenes from christmas day 2 0 1 5

christmas was so wonderful, but honestly i'm not sure i remember a time when it ever wasn't. this year was especially sweet because our kiddos were excited for it along with us. they are seriously at the perfect age for fun things like christmas morning + tearing through gift wrap. they woke us up at 6 am... we were super surprised, as they are not usually super early risers, but the minute abel's eyes even peeped open, he said it's morning time, we get to open our presents now?! it only added THAT much more magic :) reminded me of when i was a little girl + we would always wake our parents up at the crack of dawn when santa had come. santa did NOT come to our house as we had thought he would ha! abel had firm orders in the months leading up to christmas that santa was not welcome here, and he better not come down our "chim"... so, we didn't push that + everyone was perfectly happy. maybe next year! both our kiddos got a few sweet little gifts from us that we thought they'd enjoy, and abel made sure to tell us that "Jesus came to save the world, and he was tiny..." it's been the sweetest thing to hear this season, and also a little comical. He did in fact come to save the world, and He was in fact tiny when He got here, Abel really clung that that little "tiny" bit of information + always felt it was important to disclose... aside from being adorable, it also really hit home for me this year. i don't know if it's because i have children now or what (because obviously i've had them for a couple years now) but envisioning Jesus as a baby, and not as the miracle working man i usually think of, really sparked something in me this year. God didn't send us an immediate savior, He didn't send us a quick fix... like most good things, it took time. He sent us an infant, similar to yours or mine... "He did not arrive as a warrior, a king or a hero... God's presence arrived gentle and small, like a whisper." that felt really special to me + was refreshing in this season.

after a sweet morning at our own home, we went to my mom + roger's house and enjoyed christmas with my family. gifts, food + good company.
these two below, looked like this most of the day... i LOVE THEM.
hope you all had a merry christmas, enjoy a safe new years eve! 

christmas with the sals

christmas up before new years, huzzah!!
we are lucky to celebrate a couple times since family is close + i'm not mad about that one bit! on top of that, we got to host for the first time in our house! we had a great time with chris' family + salvaggione homemade meatballs were on point per usual. lucy scored this bunny outfit and it deserves it own post is so stinkin' cute. merry christmas, hallelujah. 
^^^the bubble wrap, even more exciting than the gifts, duh.
salvaggione christmas from last year! HERE

i love lucy


lucy is a firecracker. a whooooole lotta special in a little tiny package. 
at 15 months, she is the sweetest, most snuggliest little angel on the planet. complete with raspy voice, vocabulary way extended for her age, and mohawk/mullet hairstyle that just won't quit. i haven't found a quality in her that i don't like. she would have you read to her, all day... the same few books on repeat... i'm beginning to think it's all about the page turning. my early riser, up with the sun + always smiling. she's willful, and rambunctious, and WAY to interested in things that aren't for her... like EVERYTHING abel does. one going on three...she climbs and rolls and runs and screams and still sadly, leads with the head. for being so coordinated, the girl just can't catch a break when it comes to physical accidents... usually to the face, oy. my favorite thing she is saying right now is "hi... do?" and when i answer with what i'm doing she says "oh." she loves toys like blocks + things that work her brain, and will play on her own and be perfectly content with them. she loves her daddy so much; always has, but these days it's unbearably heart warming. just over one year is such a fun + challenging age, i remember when abel was this age thinking to myself that it's when parenting actually began (whoa) + also that he was the coolest ever... i'm feeling all those same feels round two, except maybe a little more seasoned as a parent + not so "what the heck is going on here?!" still a little "what the heck is going on here?!" though, don't be fooled.
raising children is full of so many lessons, and boy do we need Jesus to do it. my biggest prayer each night is that i do right by them, and by God. that chris and i can discipline strongly + love gently at the same time. that we don't ever crush their spirits, that we (I) can always CTFD before responding to melt downs + bad behavior, so that i can respond with love, and always show them what an in control person looks like (heaven help me)(embarrassed monkey emoji). i pray that we teach them how much jesus loves them, and how special they are, AS they are, and that the Lord continue to equip us and hold us tight as we journey through. 
lucy girl, i love you so much. i've loved you since the minute i knew of you, even more when i found out you were my gift of a daughter, more so when you were born, and my cup runneth over and over every day since. your beauty stops me dead in my tracks on any given day, and your light is always shining bright like the morning sun. i'm thankful for your crooked grin, your little hands around my neck or in my palm, the way you love frosty, your brother and your daddy + i, and the joy you carry with you wherever you go. thank you for blessing us, i love you sweet girl.

a b e l


Abel is so special. I've truly never met another child like him. he's kind and gentle, thoughtful and funny. he's wild & willful & naughty too... but as he gets older, all of his very special qualities that I love so much, stand out more and more and it's so awesome to watch unfold and think to myself, "that's my kid! how'd I get so lucky?!" he's the very best & at any given time can be heard telling me I'm pretty, or saying that he loves someone "so much" ...and always delivered in his sweet Abel voice. for Christmas he doesn't want any part of Santa, "no Santa, just mama give me presents" and when asked what he'd like, his response is either "presents red & green (with books inside)" or "a big snoopy & lights on my tree"... so simple, so sweet... 

he loves cookies, and almost any time he's given one, exclaims in the most hysterical voice that I wish I could describe, but an impression is really the only way to get it across... "I love cookiessss, they're my favoritttte"

he and Lucy both... frosty FANATICS. breakfast, lunch and dinner it's frosty the snowman. I couldn't count the number of times I've drawn frosty for them, complete with two eyes made outta coal, a button nose, corncob pipe, scarf, magic hat with flower, three buttons, a broomstick in HIM hand, and occasionally feet... just depends on the day. if I short cut and leave any of these features out, Abel will be the first and only one to let me know. also, the frosty mix tape I could make with the number of videos of them singing and dancing along with these pictures in their hands is dying to be put together. maybe next year ;)

miss miss tree, amen.

alllll the fings (things) :)

eat it alllll up in my tummy (with arms stretched making a big circle gesture)

he's currently asleep next to me with his hand draped around me in a snuggle...

does it get better than this?! 

on this night two years ago...

on this night, two years ago, I remember being afraid to go to sleep, for fear that when I woke I would receive news that my dad had passed in the night. I didn't know the heartbreak I'd experience the following day... 

No, I hadn't missed his last moments while sleeping, an act that felt so selfish in the midst of it all. Instead, God allowed me to be by his side when he took his final breaths... & I, along with the members of my family wept beside him as his spirit left him. 

I was and am forever changed. Changed in ways I didn't expect, changed in ways I wish I weren't, and though few, changed in ways I'm thankful for. 

"Missing" my dad is an understatement. I am still, two years later, utterly heartbroken over him. It doesn't make sense and it doesn't seem fair, and I'm still mad about it. 

What I AM thankful for is my family that is still here with me, my sweet kiddos that light my world every day, my loving loving husband who can hug away my hurt & who's shoulder can soak up my ugly crying tears, and for a God who loves me through my anger & brokenness. I somehow still, even after what felt like betrayal, when my deepest prayer was not answered, have faith in Him and His unconditional love for me. I pray anyway, I believe He will answer prayers and protect my family and be with us always, I love Him. 

So no, I don't have my dad, my earthly father, the one who helped raise me and took care of me when I was sick, the funny one, who's voice and walk and hands and hugs and silly faces I'll never EVER forget. my dad, who's wisdom was captivating and who's heart was full for his family. He is gone, a memory now. He is with angels, praising my heavenly father, who like my dad (but even more so) loves me endlessly, comforts me, and cares for me always and unconditionally. He will never leave me, and I'm thankful for that.



our time at the tiny tot trick or treat!


hello! happy monday, and november too! halloween is done + gone over here, and the christmas tunes are in full swing! it's taking all i've got not to put up our tree, but i'm hoping + praying that our little house can be finished by christmas and that i will be putting it up in that space, so it's helping stall me! plus, i want a real tree this year, don't they just smell so good?! i couldn't let too much time pass before i got this post up from our time at the tiny tot trick or treat! what a great way to trick or treat! all of the cute shops in old town come together + give out candy, and it was such a fun and safe way to take the kids out :) we loved it, and will definitely do it again in the years to come. 
abel was "super abel", and everyone kept calling him the flash... he had no clue what they were talking about, as he was just super abel to him, and to me too! he wanted red, and this is what we found! he wore it for both the week leading up to, and following halloween... best $20 i've ever spent. it's now finally been peeled from his body + washed, and it makes me so happy that it makes him so happy. lucy was a little fairy, and i can't believe she's as old as she is. she is such a little, big girl. little in size, and so much more advanced than you know in the brain department. basically 1 going on 3. i love them both so stinkin' much, i don't even have the words.
family is the very best + holidays are that much sweeter with them around! now on to thanksgiving, and my very favorite, christmas eve! xoxo