Thursday, December 29, 2011

Christmas Day {photo overload}

Well, we're back in the great Southwest from our Midwest excursion. I'm trying to think of the proper adjective to describe our trip because 'wonderful' doesn't seem to do it justice. I cried in the airport when we were preparing to return. I'm a sap, it's true. I took lots of photos and I'm not yet up to lots of wordy posts {who needs 'em anyway? the pics do it all justice} so I'll be posting those soon. Phillip and I are slowly but surely getting back into the swing of things here; adjusting to "real life". For now, I'll share with you what our Christmas day looked like. Beware, there are a LOT of photos, but I wanted to go ahead and throw 'em all together in one post!

Devil eyes
Me-"Smile!" Trey-ugly face
Me-"Mom and Dad, smile!". Sheesh.


haha


Our ethnic holiday spread

Tiny hamburger cookie

Mom and Dad are sweet

Jarts! These may or may not be illegal.

Check out Grandpa's awesomely long "tie"


This is his Jarts face



My uncle, on Jarts

Moonshine cherries

Trivial pursuit, a Carmien tradition

A lady's heyday thanks to all of Mom's discontinued colors

Cute, little Lily

Annnnd round it out with a game of Settlers of Catan

I hope you all had an incredibly happy Christmas holiday :-)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Winter Hike

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go hiking at Thunderbird Park with two girlies from work {and their doggies!)}. It was so nice to enjoy some time with these ladies outside of our usual environment. I mean, wouldn't you prefer to hang out with cool people free from the threat of call lights, poop, pee, and isolation gowns bogging you down? I thought so.

The past couple days have been oddly wet around these parts. Monday-rain. Monday night-rain. Tuesday-rain. Luckily, the rain subsided long enough for us to enjoy some outdoor time.




As you can see, someone before us had even left some holiday cheer behind for us to discover!
Happy Hump Day!
{tehe}

Sunday, December 11, 2011

I'll Be Home for Christmas


For my friends and family back home in the Midwest...we'll be seeing you soon!
{Please excuse...well...basically everything about this video. The hair, the face, the lighting...Forgiven? Thanks!}

Impact

Just a glimpse of the wonderful impact my dear husband has on the New Life kids. The second page cuts off a bit on the edges, but it's still readable. Pretty awesome, right? He received this a while ago, but I couldn't let it go any longer without sharing. I'm one proud wife. All your support is paying off you guys!

{The bells were added for anonymity}

My Life Lately via Instagram









1. DIY garland  2. Christmas tree!  3. Bubble bath  4. Sleeping while sitting up
5.  Stockings!  6. Incense  7. Getting nosy  8.  Cuddling with mama
9. Baby shower at work! 10. Festive Margot  11. Mama & Margot  12. Pomegranate & Coffee
13. Covella show at Club Red  14. My friend, Sarah, the rockstar  15. My 'rockstar' getup  16. Hello :-)
16. Snug as a bug  17. Christmas garland and 'snow'

{I take a lot of pictures of Margot, no?}

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Giddy!

It's happening.

I'M GIDDY WITH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!!!
{my husband is kinda already over it}

I thought I would share some of my favorite little Christmasy images I found on Pinterest {see all my pins here!}

I plan to make these when I'm home!

This is where I got the inspiration for my own 'Merry Christmas' garland!

No, Margot doesn't have this. BUT! she probably should.

:-)

And lastly, I'll leave you with a clip from Monday night's HIMYM. This show is a favorite in the Oprie household. Merry Christmas and enjoy!

Friday, December 2, 2011

DECEMBER

It's arrived.

My favorite time of year is here. I've been giddy for months weeks, but now that Thanksgiving has passed and December has arrived, the rest of the country is saying I'm allowed to celebrate full force! The tree is up and decorated, I've crafted a few special decorations for our tiny space, happy lights adorn the patio, and a bit of sparkly garland is draped across the living room windows.

...Ahh, I love it.

I'm almost, almost, sad I won't be able to cherish it all the way up until the big day since we'll be away from our little home here.
><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

I realized I never posted the pictures I took from the church picnic a few weeks back! I apologize in advance to my cold weather friends who will hate seeing all the sunshine...or just the thought of a picnic in November...

Nevertheless, we had such a fun time and the church raised a ton more money than agreed upon for Brian to have his hair cut off. Bouncy houses, a dunk tank, food, and shaving the youth pastor's head--sounds like a fun time :-)

New Life's new teaching pastor Pat McCulla!


Pie eating contest


Little Skyler!

He kept looking at the phone rather than the lens. Oh well. He's sweet, so it's ok.
1. Lead pastor Steve  2. Elaine Jenkins
Cutey baby alert!




1. Brad & Sean  2. Phillip & Dalton {obviously, Phill won}
Before & After!
Shivering

Phillip, taking revenge on his boss

Alright, I'm tired so it's back to relaxing, listening to Hunger Games on disk, and heading to the gym.
Have a happy weekend!