Christmas Card Pictures

Over the past couple of days we have been trying to get some fun pictures of Madison for our Christmas card. Since the year that we got married we have sent out a picture card, first one from our wedding and then a family picture of the 3 of us for the following years. This year Zach and I were not real excited to be in the picture and just were not feeling it. The couple of family shots that we have from the past few months have at least one of us (mostly Madison) looking away or doing something weird. We don't have a whole lot of all 3 of us because either Zach or I take the picture so we are not in it. It doesn't help that Madison pretty much hates getting her picture taken and our nice SLR camera broke about a month after we got it. I am so sad that it broke because when we had it I was taking pictures all the time and having fun learning all the things that I could do with it. We are trying to decide if we should fix the one we have, that we got used off of craigslist, or spend just a little bit more and get a new one. Either way it's just not in the budget to fix it right now.

 So we pretty much had to start from scratch for good pictures. We tried to make it fun for her and saying that we are playing dress up, which we are, but we just try to down play the part about taking her picture. We have gotten a few cute ones, a few funny ones, and a whole lot of the moving/looking away/jumping/etc. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!

Playing dress-up in her Snow White outfit

"Mom, this is what I think of all these pictures. No More!"

This one is my absolute favorite, it shows off her personality so well!

Sleeping Beauty

A few days ago, right before nap time, Madison was running around the house being crazy and literally as I was telling her to slow down so that she didn't get hurt, she tripped and hit her head on the corner of the table. After lots of tears, an ice pack, some juice, and some snuggle time she was doing much better except for a few sniffles or little cries here and there. I put her on the couch with her blankies and a few books while I ran downstairs to start some laundry and when I got back upstairs, this is what I saw...

So I scooped her up, and we headed into my bedroom to take a nice afternoon nap together. So sweet!

JC Penny & Salvation Army Angel Giving Tree

This year for Christmas Zach and I made the decision to "adopt" a child for Christmas. JC Penny and the Salvation Army make it so easy to find the child that is right for you, just visit www.jcp.com/angel and from there you enter in your personal preferences for the child you want to adopt. You can choose whether you want a boy or a girl, where they are from, and what age group they fall into. Then you get a list of the kids that match what you entered and you choose the child for you. Each child has a list of things that they need and things that they want. You have until the 14th (I think) of December to drop off items for your adopted child, so there is still plenty of time to jump in and help out if you feel moved to do so! There is also a bunch more information on the website if you have any questions.

It really put things in perspective to see what these children were putting that they wanted/needed. Virtually every need was an article of clothing and the wants were one or two small things, like books or a baby doll or a cd. Compare that to how many things end up on alot of kids Christmas list, always wanting the newest and best toys/electronics/etc. It was a great opportunity to take Madison with when we went shopping and explain to her that not all boys and girls have a toy box full of toys, a bookcase full of books, and a closet overflowing with clothes. I know that she doesn't completely "get" it yet, but she understands the basic idea of why we are doing this and we can build on that.

Our adopted child is a 6 month old little girl and all that her mommy put on the list is that she needs shirts and wants some childrens cds. It is possible that I went a little bit overboard and got all sorts of fun clothes and toys, but I'm not willing to admit to anything! It is just so fun to shop for a baby and think about all of the things that Madison loved at that age that this little girl might love too. I honestly think that I have gotten more out of this experience than the adopted family ever could. It truly is better to give than to receive.

Fun Fall Five Question Friday

One of my blogging "friends", Mama M, hosts a weekly blog hop called Five Question Friday over on her blog at http://fivecrookedhalos.blogspot.com It is super easy to join in if you would like to, and a fun way to find out more about each other. For me it's also a great gentle nudge that reminds me that maybe I should go do a post of my own. Often I start posts and then have to go do something else and then when I come back a few days later, it just doesn't seem to be all that interesting. If you want to join in, all you have to do is copy and paste the questions on your blog, answer the questions, and head over to Mama M's blog to link up.

1. If you could be a fly on any wall, which would you choose?I have been trying to think of a good answer to this question and just can't think of anything really. The one thing that keeps coming up in my mind is that I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall backstage and a performance of Rent. Kinda cheesy I know, but I am a huge renthead so it is kind of fitting I guess.

2. Do you budget your Christmas shopping or just get it done without budgeting?I have ballpark budget. We have a ballpark budget, meaning I know about how much we can/will spend but if we go over by a little bit it's no big deal. I usually have a list of the things that we have decided the get for each person on our list so that helps too.

3. What is the craziest fad diet you have ever done?I've never really done any fad diets, because I know that even if you see results in the beginning from a fad diet, in most cases it won't last. My best friend and I tried some diet pills that we had seen at Walgreens earlier that day, but both stopped after one dose when my dad told us that the ingredients were basically the same thing as speed. I'm honestly not sure if that's true or not, but it sure scared us away from using them.

I am thinking about joining weight watchers, but don't really think of that as a fad diet.

4. Is there a TV show that you have seen every episode/season of?There are actually quite a few; Friends, Dawson's Creek, Gilmore Girls, Boy Meets World, Law and Order SVU, and 24. There's probably even more but seeing how many I have already listed, I feel like it seems like all I do every day is sit and watch TV.

I watched all of them when they were on the air(and still watch most of them in re-runs sometimes), but I also have each of those shows on DVD and have watched some or all of the episodes of a show when I have been in the hospital. They all made a hospital stay at least a little bit more tolerable.

5. What one song always pulls at your heart?The Christmas Shoes always makes me tear up a little. And recently any of the Veggie Tales praise and worship songs that Madison can now song all the words too. It is so cute hearing her sweet little voice start singing Thy Word, In the Secret, and I Could Sing of Your Love Forever. It totally melts my heart and brings a little tear to my eyes.

The weather here the past few days has been out of this world. It has been sunny and in the low 80's while showing off the beauty of Minnesota fall. We have taken advantage of this nice weather and squeezed every last drop of outdoor fun that we can get. We have been to the park, played in our sandbox, ran around in the back yard chasing each other, and played on the swings. We sat out on the deck tonight and watched the sunset while the wonderful smell of a bonfire at a neighbors house topped off an amazing weekend. I love fall and everything that comes along with it. I love the cooler weather (but not the frigid temperatures that will be here all too soon), finding the perfect pumpkins and carving them, jumping in a pile of leaves with Madison, drinking a cup of hot apple cider or hot chocolate, and going for walks picking up pretty leaves.

We had planned on heading to the apple orchard/pumpkin farm today, but ended up staying home. We are all dealing with a nasty cold bug and decided a day of taking it easy was just what the doctor ordered. We are trying to decide if this is just a simple cold that is hanging around a little longer than normal or if it is something that we should get checked out by a doctor. I think that how we feel tomorrow will decide what we do.

I just got Madison back to sleep after a coughing fit woke her up, so I am finally going to head to bed myself.