Merry Christmas!!!

I hope you all have the most wonderful Christmas!!! I know this year will be extra special for us. On Friday we had quite the scare with KJ. He was struggling in the breathing department. We thought it was his asthma which only flares up when he is sick which he was not, but all his meds weren't working. We ended up in the emergency room where in the end it was Stridor Croup. The odd thing is he wasn't sick before hand which normally leads to croup and he is passed the marked age of children who get it. Normally it's found in babies. He received a heavy dose of steroids and another breathing treatment that reduces the swelling in the throat. We stayed a few hours to make sure it didn't try to reclose. I must say that day I was a bit numb and just went through the motions and by Saturday I was a wreck. Who knows what would have happened if I just tried to wait out the asthma with his regular treatments. Now he is completely fine and quite tired of me asking him how he feels.

Of course, our favorite reason for Christmas and who was completely my strength on that Friday...

The brilliant calligraphy was drawn out by my talented friend Haley, a local calligrapher, and I painted it in. Will post more about it next week!

Merry Christmas!!!

Decorating with Luv Cooks {of the cookie sort}

The start of December began a little series featuring some of my most talented friends. I have many so this series may take awhile. Today I have Callie of Luv Cooks sharing a family favorite, cookie decorating! This activity has become somewhat of a tradition over the years. We do them with friends, family, and of course the neighbors are always overjoyed to get what I like to refer to as the "creative" cookie. Ha.

Callie has many talents, but one of her greatest pleasures is cooking for others. She has a southern charm that simply can't be matched and a heart of gold. Having her in my life has truly made me a better person. Oh, and the kiddos LUV her. Needless to say this past Sunday we had a blast decorating cookies with Callie. She also quickly learned the children, especially mine, go all out when it comes to decorating. Needless to say I owe her a big Williams & Sonoma gift card.

Can you tell which are Callie's and with are Ellie's & KJ's? Ha. Also I may be the last to hear of Sanding Sugar, but it really is so fun. A little icing and a light dusting of the sugar makes it sparkle. Callie's came from Willians & Sonoma. I would LOVE to try a gold too.

Of course, what is decorating cookies without being able to eat some along the way!

The cookies make for great teacher, neighbor, and really anyone who may need an extra treat gift. Once the icing is dry they can easily be put in cellophane bags and tied with a pretty bow. So easy and fun! The bags can be found in most craft stores and of course etsy always comes to the rescue.

Thank you Callie for such a fun day! To get the full recipie for the cookies with and without the glaze you can go to Callie's blog, Luv Cooks. I hear they were delicious! Next time gluten free ones, but of course they would all be for me.

Talented Friends:

Flower arranging part 1 & part 2

The Perfect Slipper

Some things are just too good to pass up and these slippers were one of those purchases. I tried to find them online, but it seems they are sold out. I found mine a few days ago in store so it may be worth a look. Love that they have hard soles so they make for a great pair if you happen to drop the kiddos off in carpool while still wearing ones pajama's. I mean not like I would do that or anything. Ha.