White snow and orange sunsets.

Christmas cards are always a challenge for me. I have an image in my head of how I want it to look, however turning that vision into reality is another story.

Every year I would make “scrapbook” cards with Creative Memories merch. I’d whip out my photo tape, an array of festive paper, glitter, stamps, and stickers to construct -what I thought- would be the perfect Christmas card. Yes, I would physically hand make each and every card. However, times are a changing. With a school aged girl and a mobile baby boy, spare time is few and far between. These days the glitter and festive paper are now replaced with good ol’ photoshop. And I’m okay with it.

In attempt to take good Christmas photos on Sunday, I give myself an A+ for effort. How the Christmas photos actually turned out, I give myself an F. Our Christmas-photo-taking outing was a total bust. And by bust I also mean I busted my butt more than once on the ice. In my defense, setting up the tripod and running back to get in the family shot before timer starts clicking -all on ice- is tricky business people!

See the proof here:

We’re going to give it another go- hopefully we’ll produce something where eyes aren’t closed, isn’t blurry, and has smiles on all faces.

Despite our failed efforts, we drank the most out of our snowy outing. Our cup is always half-full, you know.

We gazed through the pearly white birch trees that glistened with iridescent beads of snow and frost.

We breathed in the Alaskan winter air that filled up our lungs with the perfect amount of freshness that begged us to breathe in long deep breaths.
And look at this view, will you! We bask in these milky white views on a daily basis. Such beauty.

We stuck it rich with this luminous sunset over the snowy seashore and icy water. It was like the sprinkles on the cupcake; the perfect ending to our day.

A carbon copy.

Do you remember back-in-the-day when businesses used carbon paper for receipts? You know, before printers and other electronic devices were used for making exact duplicates. Well, that’s what my week was. A duplicate of last week. A nice, easy going, smooth sailing, perfectly relaxing week. Easy going, smooth sailing, and perfectly relaxing are rare words in our dictionary, so when they come along –not once, but twice in a row- we soak up every last drop.

Did we have our ups and downs? Sure did. Frustrated with sleepless nights? Yes. Annoyed with unplanned meals and an untidy house? Absolutely. But we got over it and we moved on to more important things, like just being together.

We played board games and watched William stand and pull up on furniture. We chanted cheers for him like, “Whoa, Go Will” and “Come on Big Dude, You Can Do It”! 

And speaking of the big dude, look who’s getting some more teeth.

Since this weekend was so carefree, it gave me bunches of time of bake homemade apple pie!

…Er uh, okay maybe it was frozen Mrs. Smiths preheat to 350 and bake for 65 minutes apple pie. Either way, it was yummy and very fall-ish.

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When Krysta starts saying things like, “Mom, babies take up a lot of time” and “Why are you always so busy with William”, you know it’s time for a mommy-daughter date.

We left the boys to nap, and high tailed it to Nordstrom for a little bit of girl shopping. As much as my girl loves to shop, she loves cookies and milk even more. So, we stretched out our time together and snacked in the Nordstrom sky bridge. She was over the moon watching the buses, cars, and people pass by from down below.

We’re going to have to make room for more of these dates in the near future.

As relaxing as these moments have been, believe me, we’re going to make up for it over the next month. I tell you, it’s going to be complete chaos. Constant peaks and valleys. But I got this.

For now, I’m enjoying the valleys.

PS Check out the latest drama in our neighborhood. Yes, that would be our dumpster on fire!

Have a nice, easy going, smooth sailing, perfectly relaxing week everyone!

Safe Harbor

There are some weeks where I grab the steering wheel of my boat and cruise off into a beautiful crystal blue horizon with a sky full of puff-ball clouds, shiny silver-toned dolphins dipping up and down by my side, while sea gulls call from over head. There are weeks where I throw out the oars and just drift; land wherever the tide takes me. There are also weeks where my boat is on auto-pilot and without resistance, I go with the flow. But then- oh then- there are those weeks where my ship is sinking. I’m panicking to stay afloat, patching up the holes one at a time, then two at a time, then three, but no matter what I do or how quickly I weld the holes closed shut, water is still leaking through, the boat is still being swallowed up by the ocean, and I’m still going down.

This was one of those weeks.

My to-do list was racing through my head over and over, each time adding more to-dos. Anxiety was taking on a life of its own, and I felt so confined and claustrophobic. I was tangled in the cobwebs of the city and I wanted nothing more than to get my house in order and spend time with my lovies.

So, that’s what I did. I abandoned that sinking ship, and swam like hell to my lifeboat.






I scrubbed and bleached, organized and re-organized until my head was clear- until the blue elephants were lifted from my shoulders, and I could steadily breathe in and out.

When that grey cloud that hangs above my head starts to blow over and pushes the blue elephants away, a rainbow appears and that is when I can fully enjoy the small moments that makes mommyhood so wonderful.

And wonderful it is. I adore our nighttime rituals.







We read.





We play.





We just be.







And sometimes, Krysta draws pictures until it’s time to crawl in bed. She made me the tiniest, biggest heart-felt card ever. It proudly adorns my nightstand.






After a mentally and physically exhausting day, nothing is more soothing than the washing of a naked baby. The smell of lavender, the popping of bubbles, and the splashing of tiny hands is enough to wash away any and all stress, and put me in a relaxed state-of-mind.







Everyone has days like these- some more than others. It’s what you do with it that makes all the difference between having grey clouds or rainbows.

I’m now chartering through calm waters, in my safe harbor. My home. My family.











HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE! HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEK!

~Em

A week of "Lasts"

As the rest of the U.S. prepares for autumn, mine is coming to an end. *sigh*

Fall in Alaska is just too shortly lived; like two weeks shortly lived… then it’s gone. Already the temps have dipped into the 30’s and 40’s, the air has thinned out, and the birch trees are almost naked- it’s the beginning of winter, baby! I’m now “preheating” my car before taking Krysta to school, bundling up tiny fingers and ears, and the random clicking of the heater is a common sound heard throughout our home.








As autumn is coming to a close, so is Elmendorf AFB’s Youth Football season. Krysta shook her red, white, and blue pom-poms and gave one last cheer to the Boys of Fall. It was the perfect day for giving a last hoorah to cheerleading. The air was cool and crisp, but we were graced with warmth from the sun’s rays. If this day could be any type of drink, it would’ve been a pumpkin spiced latte. Delish.












For the last dance of the season, Krysta got to be a flier. This was a BIG moment for her! And our hearts were spilling over with pride.








And speaking of pride, check out my future Top Gun. Isn’t he just the handsomest little thing you’ve ever layed eyes on? He has seriously stolen my heart. Swoon.



You can get this adorable Football Hat from CynsationalTreasure !



Thanks Tabetha, for the awesome bomber jacket! We LOVE it!



I’m going to close today with a few videos:






Enjoy your weekend... and those fresh fallen leaves!






~Em