Category: Uncategorized

Posted in Kids, Seasonal

Throwback Thursday: Snow Day Edition

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello!

Well, another day, another snow day. With the frigid temps and still snow packed roads, we have another snow day today. My district has called off for tomorrow as well. In all my years teaching, I don’t think I’ve ever had a three week winter break!

I love a snow day…not so much five straight…but I guess we take what we can get.

Snow days with the kids through the years have been fun. It’s nice not waking up early and then just easing into the day. Today, I’m going to take a look back on snow days through the years.

First things first, I always put out my “Let it Snow!” garden flag after Christmas. I put mine out on Saturday, and Sunday is when we got our first round of snow. Maybe it’s a lucky charm?!

Obviously, in the various stages of the kids’ lives snow days have looked different. When they were little, they wouldn’t necessarily sleep in. We’d hang out at home, watch shows, play inside and kind of just have a chill day. Sometimes, we’d go outside for a few minutes.

As the kids have gotten older, they sleep in, go sledding with friends, and lounge around. I will say, at this point in our extra week of break, the kids have gone to the gym a few times (me too!) to get out of the house and have some sort of routine.

Snowman Pancakes:

No matter if the kids were five or fifteen, the first snow day of the season calls for snowman pancakes. Last year, our first day off was due to below zero temps, and I still made the pancakes. While we usually have at least two to three snow days a year, you just never know.

I’m not sure where I saw this idea, and I’m not even sure when I started making the snowman pancakes, but for sure once the kids started kindergarten.

Just last week, when I went to the grocery store to stock up on whatever we needed, I almost forgot to buy bacon and M&M’s as they aren’t always on my grocery list. I usually make sure I have my snowman pancake ingredients in early January.

Bundled Up:

There are stages of parenthood that I’m sad when we move on…the kids needing my help getting ready to go out in the snow or even going out in the cold with them…those stages I don’t miss!! Of course, they still need my help finding gloves…and maybe even a car ride to a sledding hill, but at least I don’t have to stand in the cold and snow with them. We’re like “call us when you need picked up!”

Here are a few bundled up in the snow pics…

January 2012 was the first time they were out in the snow. Hayden with his paci – OMG. I do remember we weren’t out there but a minute…they weren’t fans of the snow.

These pics are from 2014, and they are the last ones in our old neighborhood. We lived by a park, and we’d gone to walk around a bit and burn of some energy.

The froggy hats — I can’t!

2015 was the first winter in our new house. We had a huge tree in our front yard…and the only time it looked pretty was in the winter. haha

The froggy hats stuck around for a few years…

Looking older in 2016…and still loving the snow.

Trav’s brother took this pic of Hadley as she was trying to fog up his car window. It’s one of my fave pics.

2016 was a harsh winter, and we were off school for quite some time (maybe like we have been this year?)…and the kids were going stir crazy. Me too!

A snow day in 2017…

Snow day 2018…which was…

…my most expensive snow day…after the pic above, the kids got braces that afternoon.

Straight teeth on a snow day in 2019!

2020…

Sledding and Fun with Friends:

The first time the kids went sledding was the winter of our last year in our old house. I can’t remember where we got this red metal saucer, but we had it for years. The kids had lots of fun.

I love this sweet pic.

In 2016, the kids had lots of fun sledding with their cousins.

Sledding with friends in 2017.

More sledding fun in 2018.

This 2021 pre-sledding pic is always a fave. The colorful sleds in the white snow. This was the age where the kids were definitely more independent and going off to have fun with their friends.

We got tons of snow in 2022 which made for great sledding weather.

As the kids of gotten older, of course I have taken less pics. Hadley went sledding with some friends last year. Hayden, I’m sure did too.

Snow much fun:

Through the years, the kids made a few snowmen…

…and made a few snow angels.

Snow Ice Cream:

We don’t make snow cream every year, but when we do, it’s always delish. Last year, Hayden and friends made some.

It turned out pretty good.

Making snow cream is a fun memory from my childhood. We haven’t made any this week, but maybe this weekend when we get some fresh snow.

Homer:

Part Husky Homer loves the snow. I can tell he’s getting older (and more mature?!) as he doesn’t hang out outside as long as he used to. He will go burn off some energy in the backyard which is funny to watch.

The kids with Homer in 2021…

…and 2022.

He’s a handsome boy!

NTI:

Since Covid, we’ve had NTI days as an option. NTI stands for “non-traditional instruction” and the kids have online assignments.

This week, we haven’t used any NTI days since so many were without power Tuesday/Wednesday. Also, elementary school teachers weren’t instructed to send Chromebooks home before break, so that level of students wouldn’t have access to online instruction.

Like I said in yesteday’s post, I’m not sure what the plan will be for making the days up. We might not have to make them all up. Who knows?!

This week, the kids have slept in and hung out at home. They went sledding a couple of days, and I made them the snowman pancakes on Tuesday.

Whether the kids are big or small, as the snow days have continued, we head out to lunch to get out of the house. Sometimes, we’ll go see a movie, or I will force them to play a game with me!

It’s not often that Travis is home with us on a snow day. It takes pretty bad weather for him to not go into the office. That being said, his farm didn’t have power Monday/Tuesday, so he was home. He went back to work yesterday but is home again today due to no power at the farm again. He can work from home pretty easily. Let’s just say that he doesn’t know how to be lazy on a snow day…tries to kill our vibe. 😂

Today, is actually a teacher work day for us to make up for Monday. I’ve been getting up around 8:30-9 this past week, so I need to set an alarm for the 9:00 Zoom faculty meeting! Then, we have a work day. We can work from home or go to school. My plan is to work on my To Kill a Mockingbird lesson plans to pick up where we left off once we do return to school.

I hope everyone is staying warm. Also, I’ve been thinking about the wildfires in California. My heart goes out to those who have lost their home and for the brave first responders battling those fires. Two of Trav’s clients lost their home completely. I can’t even imagine going through that.

See you back here tomorrow for Friday Favorites.

Posted in Holidays, Seasonal

Hello Monday! – Christmas Recap

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Monday!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. A week from today, I’ll be headed back to school…but let’s not be negative, shall we?!

I feel like my two week break has been broken into two parts. The first part was all about the holidays and this week will be about having a bit more time to relax and accomplish some things on my to do list like tidying up and going through closets!

I’m linking up with the Hello Monday ladies to share about all our Christmas fun the past week or so.

Before we get started, I’m linking Friday’s post which was my…

…this is one of my favorite posts to write, but it posted late. I had scheduled last week’s posts ahead of time, and I apparently set the date for Saturday. Anyway, for me, it’s a fun look back on the year.

Now, on to Christmas…

Going all the way back to Friday, December 20th. This was our last day of school before break. Hadley and friends had their Secret Santa party that evening to kick off break, and they had lots of fun.

On Saturday I was feeling the Christmas “time crunch,” and made time to watch one of my favorite movies…The Holiday.

Sunday (the 22nd) was our Christmas morning for our family of four. In true teen fashion, the kids slept in a bit. Hayden was up first at 9:15, and went and woke Hadley up. I remember the days of telling them not to leave their rooms before 6:30! haha

Ready to open gifts.

Per tradition, they picked out gifts for each other:

My favorite gift was this necklace from Trav and the kids. It’s the kids’ birthstone.

Travis is always creative with the present tags…

Then it was stocking time, Homer got some treats in his stocking.

We said Homer looks like he’s smiling 😆

Hayden was excited for his new golf clubs and Hadley loves her new Dandy sweatshirt. (I think these sweatshirts were the #1 request from most teen girls)

That morning, I watched another favorite movie that I always watch around Christmas…While You Were Sleeping.

While we had breakfast and hung out, I used the simmer pot ingredients from one of my students. The house smelled delish!

That afternoon, my brother and his family came over, so the kids could swap gifts. While they were also going to KC for Christmas, we didn’t want to haul so many gifts back and forth.

We hung out the rest of the afternoon, and then Travis fixed steaks that one of his clients sent for our Christmas dinner.

Instead of pulling out the Christmas China (that I love), I just kept it simple with the plates from Target that I’ve had for years.

On the 23rd, we went to Louisville for Trav’s family Christmas. All the cousins are getting older, and some live out of state, but they all made it back to Louisville for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we continued our Christmas journey and drove to KC. Our first stop before hitting the road was Starbucks, of course. The cold brew with peppermint foam is my fave of the holiday this season.

We made good time to KC and got to my mom’s house after our seven+ hour drive. We had a few minutes to rest, and then everyone showered and got ready for Christmas Eve.

We got a good family pic!

We made our way to my dad’s cousin’s house who always hosts Christmas Eve. We hadn’t seen the Major in a few months, so it was nice to see him and our extended family.

That’s usually a late night for us after a long day, so we were ready for bed that night back at my mom’s house. The kids slept in a bit and then we had Christmas morning at my mom’s.

I got a gift from a blog reader! One of my mom’s friends reads my blog, saw this book and thought of me! So sweet. Thanks, Ann.

Then, while we lounged around, we (mostly me) watched…

…before breakfast.

My mom had baked and decorated cute cookies… (Hadley helped her make another batch later in the week)

Then, we went to my dad’s house for the afternoon. The Chiefs were playing, and won.

My dad had cinnamon rolls for us from a favorite bakery. They hit the spot.

On the 26th, we went to my Gma’s house to make waffle cookies. The kids have gotten used to making them on the 100+ year old waffle iron.

Success!

Almost too good to eat…almost…

That evening Trav, the kids, and I went to see the Plaza lights.

We hadn’t taken them there for quite a few years.

We walked around for a bit and popped in a couple of shops.

Then, we headed back towards where my parents live, and had dinner.

One of my Christmas gifts from my mom this year was an actual light from the Plaza lights. I put it on my tree as soon as we got home this weekend.

My Plaza pics don’t do it justice, but I’ve shared this professional photo before…

The Plaza lights are just a neat KC tradition, and I remember going to see them plenty of times when I was a kid.

My brother and his family got to KC that evening, and then on the 27th, we hung out with them a bit and just had a low key day.

I always make Shay‘s Peppermint Mocha Bunt Cake, but decided to make it in KC rather than for our earlier Christmas meal in Lex.

I figured more people could enjoy it that way…

That evening, we went to my Gma’s house for Christmas with her and my aunt and uncle.

We snapped a few pics.

It was a really nice evening. After that, we headed to see the Magic Tree to cap off our time in KC.

It’s just another neat little KC tradition.

The kids and GG.

My mom with my brother and me.

Glow up moment for Hadley! haha

…I apparently lied to my kids at my Gma’s house when I said those would be the last photos…

…of course, we needed one more family pic.

We headed back to my mom’s house after the Magic Tree and started to pack up as we were heading back to Lex the next day. I actually “hit a holiday wall” and was asleep almost as soon as we got back to my mom’s.

We had such a great week in Lex, Lou, and KC with friends and family. My goal yesterday was to not leave the house and stay in my pj’s all day. I, in fact, met that goal! I watched You’ve Got Mail (another fave I watch around the holidays), unpacked, did laundry, placed a grocery delivery order, so we had breakfast, lunch and dinner options, and even got a little nap in. While I’m always sad to leave my KC family, it was nice to be home and get my life together a bit yesterday. haha

The blogging world is often quiet this week, but I still have more favorite posts to share…like the books I read this year, including my top 5 faves…and a recap of 2024!

I hope you’ll come back!

Posted in Holidays, Monthly Musings, Seasonal

Monthly Musings

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Thursday!

Patty and Holly are hosting Monthly Musings a week early due to the holidays next week. I’m excited to link up with them one more time in 2024!

This month’s topic is…last minute holiday tips/prepping for the new year…

1. What do you do about list minute gifts you forgot to buy?

Thank goodness for Amazon! Usually for me, I’m making a final list of things like gift cards and small stocking stuffers that I can pick up at the grocery store or Target.

2. Favorite last minute holiday recipe?

I love to drizzle honey over a wedge of Brie and serve with crackers. Easy and delish!

3. Favorite part of the holiday season so far?

It was nice baking cookies with my brother’s kids last weekend.

I also always love giving and receiving Christmas cards in the mail. I will share ours next week!

4. Best stocking stuffers/small gift?

I always give Trav and the kids gift cards to their favorite places like Starbucks and Chik-fil-A. I always put candy in their stockings too.

Usually, the kids get socks or underwear, and a new toothbrush. (I’m not a regular mom, I’m a cool mom!) haha!

I also get Hayden baseball cards, gloves, something for running, Chapstick and other odds and ends.

For Hadley, she will get gloves, lip gloss, hair ties, pens and a few other little things.

I’m also known for buying too many things for the stocking –and then they don’t fit!

5. Favorite holiday sweet treat?

Cookies, of course!

6. Will you make a new year’s resolution?

No, but as December winds up, I usually commit to January for getting back on track. For the first time in quite a long time, I “fell off the wagon” in regards to working out. After fall break, I just didn’t make time for working out. Then, after daylight savings, I just loved coming home, putting on my pjs, turning on the Christmas tree and just being at home.

Thankfully, I haven’t gone off the rails with eating, but you know –’tis the season for sweet treats.

In January, I’m going to get back to a 20 minute workout plan that I love to get back in the swing of things.

7. Do you use a planner?

The only actual planner I use is my school planner for lesson plans.

I have a desk calendar at school that I use to write down meetings, bus duty, appointments and kids’ activities. I have most of those same things on my phone calendar.

I also have this magnetic calendar on the fridge, so the kids know when they have practice and also what’s for dinner! (and they can add to grocery list)

8. Stay up until midnight or asleep before the ball drops?

I shared in yesterday’s post that the past few years, we’ve joined a progressive dinner with some of our friends in our neighborhood. We start out at a house for appetizers, then have dinner followed by dessert at a few different houses.

9. What do you do on New Year’s Day?

We’re usually at home clinging to whatever rest and downtime we have until the end of break. This year, we don’t go back until January 7th, so we have a week at home before heading back to reality.

Usually, I make some appetizers and we just hang out at home and watch college football bowl games.

10. Are you taking time off in December?

I’m really grateful to have a built in two weeks off from school break. I feel blessed that I have this time off and usually try to just hang out at home as much as possible, go see a movie, do a “purge” or the house and prep for the second semester of school.

Are you ready for Christmas?

Posted in Delish Desserts, Holidays, Seasonal

Christmas Cookies

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Monday!

How was your weekend? We started ours off going to a Christmas party. It was nice seeing friends and hanging out for a few hours. Saturday afternoon we went to my brother’s house to bake cookies. Today, I’m sharing the cookies we made!

…for eating too many cookies! haha

I always make these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, but I add two teaspoons of peppermint extract instead of vanilla extract. These cookies are best if you make the dough ahead and put in the fridge for a bit. So, I made the batter at my house before we went to my brother’s house.

Hadley and Layla did a great job rolling the dough in the powdered sugar before baking them.

Wyatt helped Hadley with the second batch.

While they were doing that, my brother made the Spritz cookie dough. My mom always made these cookies, and my brother has a Spritz cookie press.

My brother wants everyone to know that 3 cups of flour is the key…He did 3 1/2 cups and complained about it the rest of the time! haha

When I asked him to send me the recipe, you can see he’s made a very important note for next year!

We added green food coloring to half the dough and red food coloring to the other half of the dough. So, we made green trees and red wreaths.

It takes a couple of presses to figure it out…and my brother had a captive audience.

Hayden’s turn…

While the few batches of Spritz cookies baked, we made the other cookie that I always make…peanut butter blossom cookies. They aren’t a Christmas cookie, but I only make them in my Christmas cookie batch.

Wyatt helped Hadley roll the dough balls in sugar, and then Wyatt and Layla helped add the Hershey Kisses once they came out of the oven.

Then, conveniently, everyone scattered and it was just my brother and I cleaning up!!

They did rally for a “Christmas cookie cousin crew” pic!

Let’s just say that three cookies was enough to bake for their attention spans.

What’s your favorite Christmas cookie to bake?

Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays, Seasonal

Friday Favorites {#237}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday! (and it’s Friday the 13th…Pray for the teachers, y’all!)

How was your week? Ours was good. This has been an interesting time with not as much on our plates. Both kids have track three days a week right after school, and Hadley has volleyball two days a week. I know that still seems like quite a bit, but we have most of our evenings at home which is a nice pace for us right now.

It’s hard to believe, but a week from today, we’ll be on Christmas break!

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Here are some favorites from the week…most of which are pretty festive:

Last Friday, I channeled my “inner Amy” and “broke up” my weekend a bit.

After school on Friday, some teachers went to a nearby Mexican restaurant for happy hour. I almost didn’t go because I only had about an hour before I had to pick the kids up from track, but I went…and it was such a good time.

A margarita to kick off the weekend!

Travis was sick, so Hayden and I watched the NCAA volleyball tournament Friday night. MU won, so that was neat to watch.

On Saturday morning, I met a friend at a Christmas craft fair. Again, I usually don’t have time on the weekends, but now we seem to have this downtime. I was able to pick up a few things for family members. We actually went to a second one that was by the mall, so I was able to shop for a couple of hours that morning.

Saturday afternoon, Hadley and I went to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and it was SO cute!

I had a really great Saturday!

Sunday morning, church was beautiful, and we had an orchestra for the “Lessons and Carols” service.

That afternoon, the kids went back to church to pack food boxes. They had a good time doing that and then eating pizza afterwards.

One day this week, I popped into one of my favorite places…the bookstore! I love that store year round, but it looks extra pretty around Christmas time.

I saw this Christmas “favorites” list on Pinterest and thought it would be fun to share my answers.

I will share the blank one on Instagram. I’d love to see your responses.

‘Tis the season for being overbooked and stressed! Personally, I think this has been our best Christmas season yet having some downtime, having our Christmas shopping pretty much wrapped up, and incorporating traditions when we have time.

Here’s a sweet thought:

Favorite Mom Meme:

Haha…thankfully, this doesn’t happen to me too often.

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday:

I think this is the first time the kids really saw Santa. We’d never taken them to the mall or anything, and this was in 2013 at Trav’s work Christmas party. They didn’t get too close to Santa that year!

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts from the week:

Share Our Lives
Let’s Look
Enneagram Christmas

I’m really looking forward to this weekend. We have a few fun things going on as well as some unscheduled time too.

Have a “festive” Friday!

Posted in Enneagram, Holidays, Seasonal

Thursday Thoughts: Enneagram Holiday

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello!

I can’t believe it’s already Thursday. A couple of weeks into December, and I realized I hadn’t really written a holiday-ish post.

I always stop my Instagram “scroll” when I see Enneagram posts.

I’ve shared @mirabellecreation graphics in previous posts. I haven’t taken the Enneagram assessment in quite some time, but as far as I know, I’m a 5w6.

Here’s a little holiday Enneagram break down:

Enneagram 5:

  • Learning the history behind holiday traditions: I do love to know the history behind traditions. I’m glad to have a few traditions in my family. It makes the holidays even more meaningful.
  • Making Christmas snacks: Oh! I love Christmas snacks…especially homemade Chex mix.
  • Hosting small family events: We don’t host many events these days, but I enjoy going to a few holiday parties.
  • Sitting by a fire: Yes! We haven’t turned our fire place on just yet, but I can’t wait for the first fire of the season.
  • Staying in bed a little longer: Yes, ma’am!
  • Making homemade decor: I’ve made a few things through the years which is fun to do.

Enneagram 6:

  • Watching family open thoughtful personal gifts: I wrapped quite a few gifts yesterday, and there are certain ones I can’t wait for the kids to open.
  • Checking off all the traditions: I love our traditions like going to see the Christmas lights in the Horse Park and baking cookies.
  • Cozy festive clothes or pjs: Yes! I have two favorite pairs of plaid flannel pjs that I keep in the pj rotation.
  • Ice skating with friends: Well, I don’t know about that…I might break a hip! That being said, Hadley and friends usually end up going to the rink downtown at some point in the winter months.
  • Cuddling & watching movies: I can’t wait to have some time to watch some of my favorite movies over break.
  • Crafting with friends: I love to craft, but haven’t really done so in a while.

Probably ten years ago, I made this burlap tree, and I made a few as gifts. It’s one of my favorite decorations to put out. Also, for quite a few years, I had the kids make ornaments at Christmas time, and then we’d give them to family as gifts. Of course, I had them make an extra one for our tree.

More Festive Enneagram Fun:

All of these “favorites” are me! A few thoughts: It means so much to me (more than the kids realize) that we take twenty minutes to decorate the tree with favorite ornaments. This year, when Travis and I hung up our wedding ornament, that’s almost twenty years old, I asked him if he remembered how our first Christmas we hardly had any ornaments for our tree…and now we have three containers full!

I love watching others open gifts, and naps on repeat during the holidays are a must!

A few thoughts: I bake cookies with the kids every year, and the years we go to KC for Christmas, we usually make a few with my mom and Gma. This weekend, we’re baking cookies with my brother’s family, and I’m looking forward to that. As a family, we watch Home Alone at some point, and then on Christmas Day, we always watch A Christmas Story. Hadley turned on the Christmas music November 1st!

These graphics are funny too…

This one is definitely me: haha

This one too!

What are some of your holiday favorites?

Posted in Friday Favorites, Holidays, Seasonal

Friday Favorites {#236}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

I feel like this week flew by! Only two more weeks until winter break!

As always, I’m linking up with Erika and Andrea for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Here are some favorites from the week:

Last week, we traveled to Charlotte, NC for Hayden’s race. It’s such a cute city!

Hayden finished the season with a medal the Foot Locker South Region race.

With December, comes some fun graphics:

While on the drive to Charlotte, I made my December book trackers. They are saved to a highlight on my Instagram account. Feel free to use them and tag me 🙂

Sunday night, we took a few minutes to put ornaments on the tree in the living room. It’s always a stroll down memory lane.

I added some new personalized ornaments to the bedroom tree.

I ordered a couple of Antique Candle Co. candles, and they arrived this week. I actually ordered a couple more candles from them yesterday because their Black Friday sale was extended.

I hit the holiday trifecta at Trader Joe’s on Sunday. I got my favorite “mini Gingerbread People” cookies and my favorite “Step Up to the Bar” snack mix. I did pick up a tin of Jingle Jangle as the kids really like it. At $9 a tin, I think it will be the only one I pick up this season!

My school does “gratitude feathers” before Thanksgiving. The students can write on these feathers and then a teacher collects them and puts them in teacher mailboxes. My envelope was put in the wrong box, so I received my feathers yesterday! (Last week, when I saw my empty mailbox, I was afraid no students like me…haha!)

One of my feathers was from Hadley:

So sweet!

Last night, we went to the Kentucky volleyball game. I hadn’t made it to a game yet this season in the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum. It’s legit!

They played Cleveland St. in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and it was fun to watch. They won in 3 sets.

Favorite Mom Meme:

If I can’t find the scissor and tape, how am I going to wrap their presents?!

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week:

Prime Purchases
Charlotte and running Recap
Christmas Decorations

Share Our Lives:

We have our last Share Our Lives link up of 2024 on Monday, and we’d love for you to join us by linking up or reading the posts. This month’s topic is favorite scents.

Have a great weekend!

Posted in Holidays, Home Decor, Seasonal

Christmas Decorations

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Thursday!

This is one of my favorite posts to share as I love seeing how others decorate their homes for the holidays, so it’s a fun post to write.

Just like with my fall decorations, I didn’t buy but a few new things to decorate for Christmas.

Two weekends ago, I took about an hour to put up all of my festive fun.

So, my house pretty much looks the same as last year, but I’ve added a couple of things here and there.

In the morning, I tend to turn on the colored Christmas tree lights. This mug is still one of my faves and very “on brand” for me.

Then at night, I love the white lights on the tree! Last Sunday, we took a few minutes to put the ornaments on the living room tree.

{Side note: those “gifts” under the tree are Amazon boxes that I wrapped years ago, and they are a perfect holding spot until I get my act together and wrap actual gifts!)

This year, I did a good job picking up ornaments to capture trips we went on. I got this Washington, DC ornament as a nod to our trip on spring break.

I’ve decided for the next few years, I’m going to make a point to get both the kids an ornament as one of their birthday presents. They’ve received tons of ornaments through the years, but not any from us. This year, I got Hayden the Oregon ornament to remember our trip to the Olympic Trials this past summer.

I found this Dr. Pepper ornament on Etsy, and Hadley laughed when she opened it. She loves a Dr. Pepper!

Hadley’s tree has a lot of fun ornaments, and the tree looks so pretty in her room.

The tree in our bedroom has a few meaningful ornaments I’ve been given through the years. Including this Betty White ornament from my friend a few years ago.

Most of the other ornaments on this tree are the ones I ordered on Shutterfly last year.

Last year, I ordered ornaments that included pictures of the kids at Christmas time through the years. Most of them are front back with two different years, and some are front back with pictures for the same year. I just have so many great memories of the kids at Christmas with Santa or dressed in their green and red outfits.

Shutterfly always runs a good deal around the holidays, but their regular shipping is still expensive. So, the past two years, I’ve ordered the ornaments when I order my Christmas cards.

  • 2019: This was the first year that we had Homer, and the kids really wanted him in the pictures. That was harder than I thought it would be. haha
  • 2020: Apparently, they had the same request for 2020!
  • I didn’t realize it did, but this next ornament is another 2020 pic with Santa…and then…
  • 2021 – We stumbled upon Santa at Union Station in KC when we were then for Thanksgiving. This was the first year I was pretty sure I didn’t have “believers” anymore, so I love the pic with Santa.
  • 2022- I loved our 30A beach pic so the kids and family pic is on each side.
  • 2023- The Christmas card pic last year was of the kids dressed up for the December cotillion. The other side was went we went to the “Magic Tree” in KC when we were there for Thanksgiving.
  • 2024- I always love our front yard tree, and snapped this pic of the kids. Then, another family beach pic to capture our time in 30A again this year.

As for a few new decorations:

When I went to Kirkland’s a couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t resist these cute felt reindeer!

I also thought this festive ceramic house was cute. I love the jingle bells and ornaments.

On one of my many trips to Micheal’s, I got this bell to hang on the front door knob. It’s just a slight jingle, and nothing annoying. The one I’ve had for years was showing its wear and tear.

I thought I’d use this wreath elsewhere, but ended up tying it to the arches I have on front hall table.

Just a few touches here and there. I will enjoy all the sparkle and shine of the Christmas decorations, and then it always feels nice to have a fresh start with everything put away in the new year.

Posted in Blog challenge, Holidays, Seasonal

Nov. Gratitude Challenge {days 27 & 28}

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Thursday…and…

I can’t believe my November gratitude challenge is almost over. I only have a few days left.

Picking up where I left off…

Day 27: holiday traditions you are grateful for…I’m grateful for many traditions. Of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas typically have quite a few traditions. For us, Thanksgiving looks different year to year. Some years, we stay home (but have to travel to E-town or Louisville for Thanksgiving), and other years we are in KC.

On Thanksgiving, a tradition I have no matter where I am is to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

As for Christmas, we always bake cookies at some point during the holiday season. We also go to the Horse Park to drive through their lights display.

One of my favorite traditions is letting the kids pick out a gift for each other to open, usually on Christmas Eve if we are home. It’s always fun seeing what they pick out for each other.

Day 28: something that made you smile today…

Thanksgiving always makes me smile. It’s my favorite holiday…great food, time with family, and no stress of buying gifts!

Gobble til you wobble! If you need a way to use up your leftover turkey, this recipe is a day after Thanksgiving tradition in our family.

If you need me, I will be sipping my coffee and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade this morning.

I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving.

Posted in Books and Shows, Seasonal

November 2024 Reading & Holiday Books

Posted on by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Wednesday!

I forgot to finish up this post last night, so it’s coming to you a bit late!

Well, unfortunately, another month with minimal reading.

{As always, book summaries are from Goodreads…}

The House in the Pines:

Summary:

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer–the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin….

Quick Thoughts:

I haven’t read a book by this author, and I thought the book was ok. I liked the sense of mystery, but I had a hard time making connections with Maya’s past and how the story ended. I liked the flashback elements, but that took me a bit to get in a rhythm of reading. So, while I wasn’t disappointed, I was kind of surprised that this was a Reese’s book club book.

Rating:

‘Tis the Season for Holiday Reading:

I hope December is a better reading month for me. I shared this photo last year, and I just love it:

I love reading in December and the past few years I’ve read winter/Christmas themed books. I hope to do the same this year and can’t wait for some downtime over Christmas break to read hopefully more than one book! I’ve already added a couple Christmas books to my Kindle.

My favorite series is the Elin Hilderbrand’s Winter Street series…

…and here are a few more suggestions…

Happy reading!