mmmmmm!

I remember watching my mom bake a cake. She always used her kitchen aid mixer, and I can still remember the green of the base and that silver bowl spinning. My mom makes the best homemade frosting. I have the recipe and I make it often, but it's never quite the same.

I had the privilege of making my mom a birthday cake a few weeks ago. Elise had just woken up from her nap, and she was pretty excited about a cake for grandma. Although she was a little frightened of the mixer (she hates all machines that make noise!), she warmed up when she got a taste of what the kitchen aid could mix up! What a treat!

It's always pink frosting. :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

I know that Thanksgiving is still more than a week away. But, I've been searching for Christmas cards for almost a month now. I love Christmas cards, and since we had Elise, I love photo Christmas cards. As difficult as it is to get that family picture of all four of us looking at the camera, (just ask my sister, Abby!) I think that the hassle is well worth it. And, I LOVE getting all of our family and friends' Christmas cards in the mail. While I love all the cards, the picture cards are my favorites.

Last year I took all the photo cards that we received and put them in a little photo book for Elise to flip through. This way we talked about all of our family and friends through the whole year. I think that Elise knows all their names better than Bryan at this point. :)

My friend Jill recently posted on her blog about a great deal that Shutterfly is offering to bloggers like us. Essentially, Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Here is the link if you're interested: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

I've used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards for the past two years. They have the greatest styles and they always print out beautifully. Also, the shipping is fast, so once I get that great picture, I know my cards are only a few days away.

While they have some of the same classic designs from years past, Shutterfly has some great new cards this year. To check them out, click here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery I'm having a hard time deciding on design for our 2010 cards.....

Another product that shuttefly offers is personalized birthday, mothers' day cards, and father's day cards. This year I sent all Elise's grandparents cards for these special days with her picture on it. Shutterfly even lets me enter my own text, like bible verses and special messages to each person. The cards aren't any more expensive than the Halmark cards we buy in the store, and I think these are so much more fun. Check out the options here: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-cards-stationery

Lastly, Shuttefly has some great personalized gift ideas. While I haven't ever done these projects, I'm considering a couple for some family members this year. Shutterfly makes it so easy, and I would be confidant in my order since Shuttefly's quality is always exceptional. Click here to check out the personalized gift ideas: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars

I can't wait for all the Christmas cards to arrive in our mailbox in just a few short weeks!

Thankful Tree

In the spirit of thanksgiving, and at the recommendation of my very wise sister, Jessica, our family started a new tradition: a thankful tree. Every day we ask Elise to think of something that she is thankful for.

Even though Elise often says "thank you, mommy," she doesn't really understand thankfulness. She's only 2! But, she can think of things that she likes or make her happy. So, the first day that I asked her, she said "wawafs," which translates to waffles. Great! I wrote down waffles and attached it to our little tree. Day 2: "Elise, what is something that you're thankful for today?" Elise: "wawafs!" The girl loves her breakfast foods.

So, every day I try to have her come up with something other than waffles to be thankful for. I'm kinda tempted to just write down waffles every day and enjoy the laugh, but what if she forever associates thankfulness with waffles?!

The last few days have been things like monkeys, our fish Myrtle, babies, mommy (yes, a little coaching on that one), daddy (no coaching required), and swings.

I hope that as our thankful tree grows more and more leaves, so will our thankfulness to
God for all our wonderful blessings, even blessings as simple and delicious as waffles.