Monday, December 31, 2007

Sunday, December 30, 2007

crafty calendar





This is my latest crafty project.

I made a calendar as a birthday gift for Matt's grandma whom we only see once a year. The calendar featured......
what else...the kids!

My goal is to finish our scrapbook calendar for our house within the next few days.....I'll share it later!

Friday, December 28, 2007

good medicine

This morning I woke up and read my inspirational reading. The verse today was

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22

I can't think of a more appropriate morning to read this. Once again my endometriosis symptoms are back and troubling me. Yesterday I was in constant, excruciating pain.......and feeling sorry for myself. I'm just tired of dealing with this. I've done this for over 20 years. I have gone through surgeries, pills, hormones, and herbal treatments.......why, oh why?

So this morning I decided to embrace the scripture reading with my heart and soul. Nothing else has helped, so why not try a cheerful heart?

How has my heart been cheerful today?

* Well, instead of stressing about getting the house clean, I'm doing it as I can and when I feel good. This in itself makes me cheerful! I've also been so grateful for this rainy day. Sometimes rain & clouds seem so welcoming....
* I let Zander watch all of his new Curious George movie. It was such a cute movie! I actually want to sit down and watch it al myself sometime!
* I have not rushed my children as they went to the potty today. I have read all the books they have wanted and let them go sit on the potty all they have wanted. (I think I've read "Dora, Say Cheese" at least 10 times today & have spent more than an hour of our time in there.....they REALLY LOVE the potty.)
* I have been working on some craft projects that allow me to be creative and therefore happy.
* Both of my kids are asleep so I took a shower AND painted my toenails! Just a little bit of bright lipstick and I'll look fabulous!

Yes, I'm still very crampy and downing the pain pills every chance I get. But I do feel better. Everything seems bearable and I feel so lucky to be living the life I'm living. Instead of wanting to crawl into bed to deal with the pain, I'm going to face it head on and do the things I enjoy.

A Cheerful Heart is indeed good medicine!

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas........what a perfect day

Oh the joy of Christmas!

It has been such a perfect day. Simple, slow, satisfying.

We just got back last night from several hectic days visiting family. It was a treat but we are all exhausted. So today we are enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

I spent so much time shopping, wrapping, preparing for this big day. And my kids didn't disappoint. It took us close to 5 hours to unwrap our gifts (and there weren't THAT many). Zander & Kaya savored each moment. They played with their big Santa gifts at first for probably 30 minutes or so.....and then we finally moved on to smaller gifts and stockings. They wanted to stop and enjoy every little thing. One smaller gift and a few stocking surprises and it was time for breakfast.......then time for a nap.

During their morning naps, Matt and I enjoyed opening our gifts together. He spoiled me wonderfully with a beautiful necklace!

Once they got up we slowly opened more gifts and played in between. I'm so glad we got to enjoy the whole day together and didn't rush through our material gifts and our gift of time with each other.

In our slow, easy, day we are all now getting ready for more naps. It is cold, rainy, and the perfect lighting for a long snuggly nap on the couch.

Once again.....what a perfect day.......simple, slow, satisfying.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

to mammaw & pappaw's house we go.....

The kids have been so great on our whirlwind visit through all of KY. They have been so happy & well-behaved. They have to get their naps in when they can....

Here we are...

Over the river and through the woods to Mammaw & Pappaw's house we go...




They did wake up and had a blast with all of their relatives and their new baby cousin. Here the 3 great-grandbabies are with their Mammaw and Pappaw. It is hard to get a picture with 3 little ones!


Mankind is a great, an immense family... This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas."
~ Pope John XXIII

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Happy Birthday Jesus




Last night we had our birthday party for Jesus with Grandpa and Grandma. I hope you find time to truly celebrate His birth this Christmas!!!

Much love and joy to all of you!!!

Thursday, December 20, 2007






"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exists, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy."

-Charles Dana, editorial in the New York Sun, 1897, responding to a letter from 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

watch me Wednesday No. 4 (cute Christmas crafters)

Here is what my baby crafters and I have been up to lately!

interrupting Christmas messages (for my craftiness)






I know some of you wonder......how is Korisa so crafty? Well, I haven't talked about much craftiness lately because I've been working on this HUGE project! I've been making a full size quilt for Zander's new big boy bed. It is an I-Spy quilt that has 108 different fabrics. I chose his favorite things to put in it-tractors, cars, Dora, Diego, Sesame Street, etc.

Last night, I finished it!!! Yippee!!! It isn't perfect but I love it...I hope my little boy does too.

Matt asked me "Are you relieved that you are finished?". Yes, because I wanted it to be his Christmas gift from me AND No, because I enjoyed working on it so much.

So now it is off to my next crafty project.......I'll let you know how it goes!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

from kaya's first christmas



Keep your Christmas-heart open all the year round. ~Jessica Archmint

from zander's 1st christmas



I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month."
~ Harlan Miller

Monday, December 17, 2007




"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more." ~Dr. Seuss


Sunday, December 16, 2007


Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall."
~ Larry Wilde, author 'The Merry Book of Christmas'

Friday, December 14, 2007

honk

Today, out of all days, I need my 2 little ones to take a nap at the same time. PLEASE......I just desperately need that hour or two.

Today, however, out of all days, Kaya decides to giggle and jump in her crib. I let her stay in there for a little while and then decide to go pick her up and rock her for a little bit.

I hold her and it was so sweet and peaceful. She is gazing up at me and I'm thinking "I could do this forever, what a sweet precious little girl."

Then, I feel a little hand pinching my nose and hear Kaya say, "HONK!". And then she laughs hysterically.

Can anyone give me some advice on what to do when she is 14 years old if this is what she is doing at 14 months old?

Thursday, December 13, 2007

the new tree decorations

Everyone has been asking, "How have your toddlers been with the tree?". They have been great.....until yesterday. When Matt got home, they started taking every ornament down they could reach even though we were repeatedly telling them to stop. We kept hanging them back up, and they kept taking them back down. Finally, Matt had it.....he took the ornaments they had taken down and put them away....to never be put on the tree again this year.

So we had a bottom of the tree with no ornaments this morning. While I was cleaning the kitchen I heard them once again playing in the branches of the tree. I ran in the living room to tell them "Get out of the tree, that is how you all got in trouble yesterday!"
Well, they weren't taking things down but instead putting things on the tree.
No ornaments.....no problem. Zander had taken all of the toys he could hang and started putting them on the tree. Kaya soon followed suit. They were so proud of themselves. Zander kept saying "Zan-Zan find more ornaments....on tree."





So our bottom half of the tree is now decorated with several musical toys, sunglasses, a toy pan, teething rings, and an assortment of other items.

I think our new tree decorations are the best ones ever! And the kids were pretty clever.....this little act convinced their dad to get the ornaments back out again.

magically delicious



Oh those Lucky Charms........how magically delicious!!!

The way my kids eat them you would think they do have some sort of magical (and addicting) power. They LOVE them.....LOVE them so much it is utterly ridiculous.

I used to love the mornings-so relaxing-I would give the kids their milk and cereal and they would eat like good little children while I gulped down my first cup of coffee. That was before they were introduced to Lucky Charms.



They now get their bowls and race through eating the marshmallows. Whoever finishes first will then start scavenging through their sibling's bowl to find their marshmallows. The ultimate act happened today......Kaya spilled her bowl and discovered there were more marshmallows on the very bottom. Seeing this, Zander decided to turn his bowl over to see what appeared. They then both started clammoring for the last few marshmallows on the floor.

I wonder why I thought this was a good idea in the first place. I am usually fairly strict about what they eat. They must have all of the food groups during the day, plenty of water, not very much juice, I've even started them on all-natural vitamins.

It must have been the nostalgia of how good Lucky Charms used to taste before I went to watch Saturday Morning cartoons. It must have been the cute leprachaun (who doesn't like Lucky). Or it could have been their clever advertising "Whole Grain Guaranteed in each box". What mother would pass that up?

So now I must decide.......do I stop the Lucky Charm madness or let them continue to have their "magically delicious" fun?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

watch me Wednesday No.3 (Sunday Morning Snuggle)



Few things are better than a snuggle with my Mattie and the kids while we watch Dora on a weekend morning. Next time I get aggravated or frustrated......I'll take a look at this slideshow.

Monday, December 10, 2007

overwhelmed.......

Do you ever have one of those days? When you think, no matter how hard I try, I can't get it all done.....

Yep, that's me today. And instead of tackling everything head on, I'm venting about it here. I usually feel pretty calm and collected, and sort of organized about my day-to-day activities. But not today......
It could be going to 2 grocery stores with the kids, rushing home, giving them lunch, putting them down for a nap.......such a nonstop whirlwind. And then I walk downstairs and think, "Oh my, what a mess!"
It could be that I just realized it is Dec.10th and I need to get all of my out-of-town gifts together.
It could be the laundry that never seems to stop growing out of all of the hampers.
Or it could be the pressure I'm putting on myself to finish all of those Christmas cards by tomorrow........and working on Zander's quilt tonight so I can make sure it is finished in time for Christmas.

I type all of this and realize, "Yes, I'm the one who is making me feel so overwhelmed."

So now I will take a deep breath, go fix a cup of my peppermint tea, and get back to those cards.

I wish you luck & peace on any of your "overwhelming" days you may have this week.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

cookie party



I kept opening the door and what did I find?
The loveliest friends with cookies of every kind...

Chocolate Chip, Mexican Wedding Cakes, Oatmeal Raisins too,
Mint Thins, Peanut Butter Haystacks, & Candy Fudge to chew.
Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal was Zander's delight,
White Chocolate Dreams were so yum, the Stars so light.
And oh the bars....So Chewy.....So Many to taste...
Candy Fudge, Five Layer, Molasses Walnut, Don't let them go to Waste!
The Butterfinger cookies were gone in a minute
And the sugar cookies were festive with holiday spirit!

The cookies were sweet but not the most special part,
It was seeing my friends so close to my heart.
Seeing my book club friends, catching up with old pals.....
Laughing along with all my neighborhood gals.
Sharing stories about our families and what is going on,
Saying "We must get together again, it has been way too long."

So today as I finish cleaning up our cookie party mess,
I reflect and think of how I'm truly blessed.
I'm so lucky to have all of my friends to share time with-
it fills the holiday season with great love and bliss!

cookie party prep

So I decided it would be a great plan to invite my next-door neighbors over to help me prepare for my cookie party. I called and said, "I'll bake & decorate, you all can talk to me and help, and we'll have a few drinks."

We started out being so good........







We were working so hard for the first hour or so.......

Then we started talking, laughing, and the girls just BEGGED me to just sit down and relax with them. Have some fun!!!

I kept saying, "No, No, I have to bake one more batch!!!"
After much arm twisting and their final persuasion that it wasn't truly necessary for me to bake 7 different kinds of cookies, 6 would be sufficient......I broke down and joined them. (You know it was SOOOO Hard to persuade me!)





We stayed up way too late......I was way too tired when my beautiful children decided to get up in the morning.....but it was so worth it! I got ready for the party like a walking zombie but was thankfully revived by the time 2:00 rolled around.

I can't think of a better way to prepare for a cookie exchange. I wouldn't trade my fun times with my neighbors (who are turning into the most wonderful friends) for anything.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

today's FUN to-do list

Since I love to create & craft, I usually have to make 2 to-do lists to follow each day-----the first is the one of things I have to do , the second is things I want to do. I usually tell myself that when all are accomplished on the first list, I can move on to the second. Not today......

Today I will tackle my second list!!! And if there is time to clean the floors, dust up cobwebs, and fold laundry--then I will.

Here are the items on my FUN to-do list.......






* Finish filling out Christmas Cards ( all 118 of them)......I'm halfway there!
_____________________________________________




* Bake cookies......Kaya & Zander love being my official tasters!!!
__________________________________________





* Play Christmas Carols on the piano.....the kids and I both love doing this....notice Zander's instrument & music...
_________________________________________________



* Watch Rudolph with the kids......isn't life fun?
__________________________________________________

I hope you have a FUN to-do list you can work on soon.....you'll love it!

Monday, December 3, 2007

breakfast, anyone?


What better way to start the day with a scrumptious breakfast?

I made this today before my mom went back home to KY. You can find the recipe for the Frittata in my side column under "This Week's Must Try Recipe". The yummy apples came from my friend Jenny's blog.....which you can find under "Places I Like to Visit."

Do you have a scrumptious breakfast recipe to share?

Sunday, December 2, 2007

BATH!!!!





"BATH?!?!?"

I hear that word about 35 times a day.

Kaya is obsessed with Baths. She loves taking them and she loves to yell out the word. Whenever I get her out of the crib the first thing she wants to know is "BATH?!?". When she walks by or even sees the bathroom she yells ,"BATH?!?". And when she is eating downstairs she always points up to her bathroom and yells "BATH?!?".

So here she is after her Bath. I have to admit......there is nothing sweeter or snugglier than a little girl after her BATH!!!!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

zander's letter to santa



Zander has been begging to write his letter to Santa for 2-3 weeks now! Yesterday we sat down and wrote it. He told me exactly what to write. If you can't see the words this is what his letter says....

"Hi Santa!

Bring Elmo garage PLEASE.
Bring more Blue's Clue's Books PLEASE.
Zan-Zan & Kaya share Elmo garage.
Zan-Zan go to Santa's house.

Love you Santa,
Zander"

We are going to the mall tomorrow to see Santa. Maybe he'll be excited this year instead of scared!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Watch Me Wednesday No.1 (Typical Tuesday)



Inspired by my friend Jenny & her friend Carol's Wordless Wednesday posts, I decided to start Watch Me Wednesdays. Each Wednesday I will try to share a slide show or someday video (wow, I'm getting computer savvy!). It may be present or past photos I'm thinking fondly of at the moment. Who knows what will be next?

This week you're watching a Typical Tuesday slideshow of the kiddos.....Enjoy!