Joyfulsad

No, that wasn't a typo.

It is a new word I made up today. :)

I think it is the perfect description of some moments.

Like moments when you see your grandpa for the first time after he has been through several rounds of chemotherapy and three weeks in the hospital.

Joyful because he is still there to go see, and because he looks better than you expected, but sad because it is still so evident how hard the road has been.

Like moments when you have a great phone conversation with your mom (or dad, or mother-in-law, or grandma...). Joyful because you are left feeling so happy and grateful she is your mom, but sad because you couldn't have the conversation in person.

Like moments when your baby is just about to turn five. Joyful because she is SOO excited for the parties and presents and you love celebrating the wonderful little person that she is becoming. Sad because...hello! She's FIVE?!?

How on earth did that happen!?

Yeah, I think joyfulsad is a pretty valid word.

Let's add it to the dictionary, shall we? :)

Better Late than Never, right?

My poor Joshua.
He has been so blessed as to have a birthday that comes right before Christmas. He really doesn't mind at all, which is good.
Unfortunately he has also been so blessed as to have a mom that goes a bit crazy trying to do it all at Christmas time. Thus the birthday post more than a month late...so sorry Little Man! :)

We did have a very fun time celebrating Joshua's birthday last month. He was so easy to please when it came to party plans; he was pleased as punch with the simplest of things. It's one of those things I just absolutely love about him!

This year he wanted a football birthday party, and he had 5 boys that he wanted to invite (plus Grace, she was the only girl allowed!). It was so fun!
The boys really just wanted to go outside and play football, but since I had gone to the trouble of making party games, I made them play my games first. :) We played 'pin the football in the goal post' and a football version of a cake walk, using different football jerseys instead of numbers. The boys also got to make their own jerseys, which was a lot of fun! Then we opened presents and sent them outside to play a little football, after which we had cake and ice cream...which nobody wanted to eat, because they just wanted to play more football. BOYS!

Here are a few pictures of Joshua on his special day:

He had to make sure he was dressed appropriately for the occasion! :)
The party guests:
And the birthday boy about to open his presents:

We are so grateful to have Joshua in our family! I love celebrating his birthday and being reminded of what a special boy Heavenly Father has blessed us with! I'm so glad he is ours!

Lucky Winner!! (oh, and a new layout)

Happy Monday to you!

I don't know about you, but Mondays are always CRAZY around here! We have story time at the library, and then we run to the grocery store and do any other errands we need...today that included a stop at the school, the paint store, CVS and Braums for milk. Poor Grace wasn't so thrilled by the time we got home!

Anyway...on to why you are really here! :) With the help of random.org I have picked a winner of my set of handmade cards and that is Tracy! Congrats Tracy!! I will have them in the mail as soon as I get your address. Thanks to all those who participated in our blog hop!

Also, My Scraps & More is having an awesome sale right now, you really won't want to miss it! Tammi is offering 65% off your order, plus $6.95 shipping...fabulous, right?! Just use code IRS65 and shop to your hearts (or wallets) content! :)

And here is my favorite layout as of late...love the bright colors I used and the pictures of my kiddos I love even more!

Thanks for stopping by...have a great day!

A Jolly Holiday

Well, I know Christmas has come and gone (it does that quicker every year, don't you think?!), but I had to post some pictures and thoughts about our Christmas this year. If I had to use three words to describe our Christmas, I would use surprise, family, and joy. Here's why:

SURPRISE: This year we surprised the kids by taking them to Utah for Christmas to see their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!! It was the BEST! They had no idea until we drove through Amarillo and kept going. We were about 10 minutes west of Amarillo when I started to wonder if they were even going to notice. After all, we had all the presents in the back, the Sequoia was packed to the top and they hadn't thought much about it, so it wouldn't have surprised me if we had made it to New Mexico before they began to wonder where we were! But Grace was finally observant enough to say "wait...where are we going?" We asked where they thought we were going and the first guess was Lubbock, but then they figured it out. "UTAH!!" Oh, the look on their faces...Joshua's draw dropped wide open! It was such a great moment!

But wait, it gets better! We also surprised our parents and siblings...they had no idea we were coming either! It was so fun to just show up on the doorstep...and thankfully we have parents that like us enough they didn't mind a few unannounced visitors! It was so fun to go around all afternoon, showing up unexpectedly at all the different houses...causing a bit of a scene at Maceys where my sister and her husband were working. Definitely a Christmas I will never forget!!

FAMILY: It was so great to spend the holiday surrounded by so many family members. I thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas at home last year, but this year was equally as wonderful being surrounded by many, many family members! This year I just felt like we need to take these opportunities when we have them, and I am so glad we did. Here are a few pictures of our fun family moments:

Christmas eve pajamas:

Cousin Huxley and his sweet guitar:

My cute family:

Henke cousins:

Skyping with Sister Henke:

Great Grandpa Henke looking at our gift:

"Helping" Great Grandma and Grandpa Larsen open their stockings:

Playing football with the Guymon boys:

Guymon grandchildren acting out the nativity:

Our crazy angel...loving her halo!:

JOY: I think this Christmas I came to understand the word joy more fully. I learned that joy is a happiness that is deeper than happy. Joy abides even in hard times because joy comes from the Savior Jesus Christ, from His atonement for each of us. I am so grateful for my Savior and for the wonderful season of true joy that we experienced as we tried to remember Him and his life, His teachings, and His ultimate love for us!! He truly brings "joy to the world!"

Best Christmas EVER!