Christmas Already?!

I am not generally one of those people who breaks out the Christmas music and decorations right after Halloween ... or even Thanksgiving! We're lucky to get our Advent calendar up on time - December 1st! One thing I do like to plan ahead on, though, is Christmas cards. I don't always send them out, but I am planning to this year. I love sending (and receiving) photo cards because you get the card and family picture all in one! I save the ones we receive from the previous year in the Christmas decorations and it's one of the highlights of decorating - seeing the pictures of everyone's family and how much they've changed over the last year.

When I do order Christmas Cards, the first place I look is Shutterfly - they have a great selection of cards that are beautiful and whimsical; modern and traditional. I'm trying to narrow down my options for this year and here are my favorites:








If you would love to order Christmas cards from Shutterfly, too, you're in luck! They are having a fabulous Black Friday special - 10 FREE cards! The details are that the offer is valid for one-time redemption per billing address and valid for 10 free 5x7 flat stationery cards OR 10 free 5x7 folded greeting cards only. Customers must choose only one of the two offers. Taxes, shipping and handling will apply. Offer ends November 25, 2012 (11:59 P.M. PST). Just click this Black Friday Special link to claim your cards. Use the coupon code BLACKFRIDAY.

If you don't usually send Christmas cards, Shutterfly also has lots of other special offers available!

****
Just so you know, this post is sponsored by Shutterfly! 

Crazy Child

The other day I found myself telling our littlest blessing, "Don't pile things on top of the cat!" 

Here is a list of what she had managed to balance on our poor old (almost 15) cat: a pair of boots, a coat, a necklace, a toy gun, a pair of sunglasses, a cane, a baby doll, Legos, part of a tea set, and an index card. Bless Daisy's heart.

"'Ook, Mommy! Daisy's wearing a neckwace!"

As an added bonus, I would like to give you your very own autographed souvenir photo of our little rockstar, in case she is one day famous.

Go Tell It On The Mountain

Saturday Jeff took us all on a drive into the mountains. We drove up farther into North Georgia, then up into North Carolina, about 2-1/2 hours away. Of course, we didn't drive straight there, so we were gone most of the day!

Our handsome boy.

Kaity with her "Just Like Me" doll, Ally Kate

Selah, refusing to look at the camera.

Me and the best lookin' fella in the US of A.

Selah was fascinated by this little "house", a bridge over a little creek.

The bridge was at the little place where we ate lunch, Bella's Junction Cafe. Our food was delicious!

Exact quote from this little mess: "See that cow! That's MY cow! I'mma ride that cow!"

Dry Falls in Highlands, NC.

Walking behind the waterfall!

While we were driving, Joe kept asking Jeff to speed up, and Kaity kept asking him to slow down!

Sisters! Kaity and Joe climbed up the mountain so little sister had to go, too!

Hail the conquering hero!

At one point on the drive, Joe was chatting with Kaity when he paused and said, "I just used unproper grammar!" We all laughed and teased him about that!

A New Creation!

Yesterday morning, Kaity, Joe, Selah and I had our usual Bible time that begins our school day. At the close, we always take turns praying aloud. When Kaity and I finished, it was Joe's turn. After a moment of hesitation, he prayed  the sweetest prayer ... "God, please come into my heart and forgive me for my sins."

"...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." Romans 10:9-10

We are rejoicing in Joe's salvation! He's been asking questions for quite a while, and usually concludes with telling us he's not ready yet. It's been some time since he asked us anything, though, so this prayer was definitely a surprise! The next step for him is going through a "New Christian" class for kids at our church - a four-week study of salvation and Christian growth and discipleship. After that, he'll be baptized -a Greek word meaning "immersion in water" - symbolizing his new life in Christ. Baptism offers a beautiful picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ:

"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 19:4

I called Jeff to tell him the news, and when he arrived home, he asked our son about what had happened that morning. Teary-eyed and shy, Joe said, "I repented of my sins!"

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Pulitzer Is On Its Way

Joe wrote a composition today, using adverbs, adjectives, and simile. It's completely brilliant, if I do say so myself.

Mommy's brown, long hair is blowing gently in the cool breeze. Her hair is as long as a cat's tail. Her eyes are as green as the grass.

I let him have ice cream for an afternoon snack. 

It's Bigger on the Inside

My latest project has been to redo a bookshelf. Someone gave us the shelf, and the paint is some I had put away for such a time as this. The aqua paint is actually some that my parents bought to use in a bathroom but ultimately it didn't work with what they wanted to do ... so I got it! I have more plans for it, but for now this is it:

Sadly, I had to give up having aprons hanging on that wall - I'll come up with something for them, I'm sure - but we desperately needed more shelf space for school. 

Here you can see I hung the aprons on the laundry room door with an over-the-door "robe" hook. Plus, the shelf with stuff on it - Lego pencil holder (I commissioned Kaity to make it), mason jars with stuff, drawers with school supplies, pencil boxes, VW hubcap, puzzle books, Selah's books. The shelf above has our French press, coffee mugs from our travels, my Star Trek S&P shakers, a recipe box and trivets.

The Lego House

Kaity and Joe made a Lego house on Joe's Lego table, here are some pictures.

a bedroom, with a lava lamp and a computer

the living room

 The living room has lava lamps, a TV and Wii, and a phone. The oldest boy in the family, Jeff, is sitting in a chair drinking coffee. Zach, the 8 year old, is playing on the Wii.

the backyard

 Kelsey, who is 12 is playing in the backyard.                                                                        Kaity was here

the kitchen

 in the kitchen is a sink, cups, a table, the fridge, and the Mom cooking dinner.

the indoor pool

 This is Ariel, the family mermaid.

the bathroom

close up of the toilet

Lego Wii!

The other rooms in the house are the school room, the Mom and Dad's bedroom, the twins' bedroom,  Zach's bedroom, the baby twins' bedroom, the two borders' bedrooms, the dining room, the other bathroom, and the 2 storage closets.
The family members are, Cassie and Joe, the parents, Jeff and Brittney, the 18 year old twins, Kelsey is 12, Zach is 8, Molly and Steve, the 2 year old twins, the mermaid Ariel, and the borders who live in the house, Jeni and Jacob. Jacob is a storm trooper.

P.S. Kaity (I) wrote this post.

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Photo books are the perfect gift for any occasion.

Family Portraits

As I mentioned in my last post, our friend Tara of Breath of Light Imagery took some family portraits of us this summer. We did them at Jeff's parents' house, which has some beautiful settings to work with!

The whole Pittard clan, plus one you can't see yet - our sister-in-law Jennifer is expecting their second child.

The grandbabies! Kaity, Joel, Joe, Sarah, Jacob, Selah, and Jackson.

Bits and Pieces

Phone Call: "Mrs. Pittard? This is "Matilda" from the eye doctor's office. Joseph is due for his yearly exam, and I was calling to see when you'd like to come in."

Me: "How about this afternoon at 1?"

"Matilda": "Give me just a moment to see if the doctor is free at that time ... Um, it seems he ... Oh, Joseph is already scheduled!"

Me, laughing: "I know - I made his appointment two days ago."

We both laughed and I apologized for not telling her right away, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up!


Here's one for the "Gonna-Have-To-Watch-This-One" file:

While at the eye doctor's office, Selah touched something she shouldn't. I admonished her not to touch and watched as she reached for it again. I popped her hand and firmly told her 'no'. She cradled her poor little hand gingerly, then turned to her big sister. "Kaity, I see your hand!" Selah grabbed it and before Kaity realized what was happening, Selah had used her sister's hand to touch the forbidden thing!


I'll leave y'all with a sneak peek at the family portraits we had done this summer. One of our college people, Tara, is a photographer, and she did a great job! Her business is called Breath of Light Imagery. I'll post more later!

Why So Serious?

Is it just me, or are girls wearing make-up too young these days?

*sigh* That was a brand new tube of mascara, too. She painted her face, arms, and the mirror, too. It was magical.

Move Over, Mozart

Our Kaity has begun piano lessons! She's already a prodigy.

Not to brag, but she's already mastered "Merrily We Roll Along" AND "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas".

Next up, Moonlight Sonata. Look out, world!

Those Pittard Kids

Selah has been so sweet this morning! The big kids were up early, before her, which is really unusual! They asked if they could play on the computer and on the Wii, and I gave my permission. Selah was still snoozing away in MY bed. The kids had been up playing quietly for several minutes when Selah sat up and cried, "Joe!"

Later, she started tugging at each one of them in their electronic stupor.

"Joe, I want you PAY wif me!"

"Kaity! Kaity, I want you PAY wif ... ME!"

How could they resist? 

I took this picture last week - Joe's eating an apple and watching Kaity play.

But as we all know, toddlers reserve the right to inexplicably change their minds without regard to anyone or anything else. When Kaity picked Selah up to go play upstairs, that tiny girl screamed like a banshee!

"NONONO! NO, Kaity! I want to watch!"

*sigh*

So now we're watching Robin Hood.

This one was taken a few weeks ago. I LOVE seeing them snuggle!

Happy Birthday to Jeff and Joe!

For his birthday this year, Jeff requested my Summer Cake. I thought it would be fun to make it into cupcakes and to do chocolate toppers in different shapes. The cake itself is orange-y, and the frosting is Cool Whip. I made those for our Sunday night crowd.

Letters, Avengers, the Triforce, treble clefs, hearts, Pac-Man, Volkswagen ...

On Joe's actual birthday, we had Hot Fudge Cake and vanilla ice cream.

Kaity made the latch hook rug Joe is leaning on. It's a soccer ball, if you can't tell. ;)

Our 8 year old little boy!

Our Prodigy

A regular Picasso ...

... and by that, I mean it's hard to interpret what the artist intended to actually draw!

"Look, Mommy! It's a doggie! I draw a doggie!"

"Uh, sure, honey. That's ... something all right!"

Please note that she is wearing a single purple sock along with her sandals. She did that All By Herself.

Today while Selah was upstairs in preparation for her nap, I heard her talking. She was saying something, chattering, and then settled into a rhythmic pattern of babble and the word "down". It wasn't until she said, "Kaity, look - my guitar!" that I realized the "down-down-down" part was her interpretation of an electric guitar sound! Oh, and the other day I was listening to the radio when a guy started playing acoustic guitar. Selah immediately recognized it and said, "Guitar!" She also recognizes Daddy's tenor sax - we were waiting in the sanctuary one day for band practice to start, and Jeff began playing. Selah immediately turned around to the stage and said, "Daddy!"