Merry Christmas, friends! Can I just tell you that this is my favorite Santa picture, ever?

I’m taking the rest of the year off to spend time with my family, but I’ll be back in January in full swing.  I have lots to share– 2017 goals, house updates, book lists, DIY projects and more.  Be sure to subscribe (in the right sidebar, if you haven’t already!) so that you’ll never miss a post.

 

It’s been a little while since I’ve shared anything family-related on the blog. Our house has taken center stage for a while now. Hopefully, we are on the downhill slope of that, though. Today, I want to share with you five things that have been happening lately.

Jase got his first haircut. He did SO well. He sat in the chair just like a little man. He didn’t move and when she asked him to turn his head or to look down, he would follow her instructions immediately. It was so precious! And he looks so GQ now.

Against my wishes, our elf Messy made her reappearance at our house.

An EF3 tornado touched down 5 miles from our house. It destroyed several homes and business, but no one was injured. We were in the shelter when the storm cell went over and I immediately knew that it was more than just a thunderstorm. The air shifted and my ears popped and then the entire house seemed to crack and pop at once.  We were lucky–the only things that fell victim were our trampoline and playset.

Basketball season is in full swing.  We are about halfway through and Kyndall has scored 10 points so far and made countless steals.

Libby performed in her first ever school choir concert and rocked it!! You can see a short video of her here.  You guys, performing (singing or dancing) is her thing and I love watching her!

I am attempting at least one fun Christmas “thing” every day during the month of December.  You can follow along with that here.

Let’s chat:  What is one thing YOU have been doing lately?

I have a confession. Last Christmas season, I purchased every single gift online. 90% of those gifts came from Amazon. Not only did I save money, but I saved time and effort as well. It’s not easy to load up three kids and go shopping and it’s dang near impossible to get away from said kids to go shopping alone.

Second confession?  I’ve made a big lofty goal to have my Christmas shopping completed before Thanksgiving.  I want to enter the holiday season completely stress-free.

I’ve already started researching and purchasing some gifts online and I thought I would make your Christmas shopping even easier by sharing a few things I’ve already found/purchased. (If you aren’t an Amazon Prime member, this would be a fantastic time to sign up for the 30- day free trial. Two day free shipping is on point.  AND, with Amazon Smile, 0.5% of your purchase can be donated to the charity of your choice.  Win-win!)

Disclaimer:  This post includes affiliate links.  Shopping these links will not result in any extra cost to you, but it will result in a small commission for me.  As always, thank you for your support of OAL.

On my list for this year:

Games

Watch Ya’ Mouth, family edition.  |  Pie Face.  |  Family Feud  |  Reverse Charades

For Boys

KidTrax Cat Bulldozer  |  Junior Tool Box  |  Board Book  |  Construction Trucks

For Girls

Journaling Bible  |  Mermaid Blanket  |  Lighted Bed Canopy  | Book Series

For the Nature-Lover

Eagles Nest Outfitters Singlenest Hammock  |  Horse-Head Squirrel Feeder  |  Marshmallow Roasting Sticks  |  Mountain Necklace

For Everyone

iRobot vaccuum | Waterproof Wireless Speakers |  LED Touch Bedside Lamp  |  Salt Lamp

For more ideas, check out last year’s post.

I still have a few people left on my list, mostly because they are so stinking hard to buy for.  I would love to hear any gift suggestions you have for mothers, grandmothers, and the like 🙂

From the looks of my recent posts, it’s been all house, all the time.  And while this is very close to the truth, we have been doing other real-life things.  I figured it was high-time for a ‘from the camera roll’ post in which I share some of the recent happenings in our lives, straight from my iPhone camera roll.  Let’s do this.

New glasses.  Jase’s old glasses were super scratched after only a few months of wearing them.  We had his prescription checked again and ordered new ones, this time with transitional lenses.  Not only can he see better without all those scratches, but the shades look pretty cool when we go outside!

Scripture Writing.  We are slowly covering each and every board and doorpost in our forever home with biblical wisdom and promises.

Reading:  Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist.  Just what I needed during this season of hustle in my life.

And because I can’t completely leave house-related things out of this post, this picture.  Every morning Jase runs to the window to see what the builders are doing.  It makes my heart happy that the kids are just as excited (ok, almost just as excited!) as we are about the new house.

Lest you think a librarian’s job is all reading, all day.  This cart is full of books to be re-shelved after only 30 minutes of open checkout.  {3-0 minutes!} I don’t know about every other school, but kids at our school are readers.  I love it, but it sure keeps me busy!

I shared with you before my sweet Libby’s Vice-Presidential election story, but she was recently inducted.  She had to give yet another small speech and was honored with a Student Council pin and an official certificate.

Jase despises having his teeth brushed.  He already has several pre-cavities, so we can’t be lax about this.  Some mornings I have to literally hold him down to brush his teeth.  Other mornings, he wants to brush K’s teeth while she brushes his.  This option is definitely easier and little mama brushes his teeth just as good as I do (if not better!).

{Disclaimer:  Some links appearing in this post are affiliate links.  Purchasing items from these links provides a few extra pennies to help run Our Alabama Life at no extra cost to you.  As always, I appreciate your support!}

 

My girls are as different as night and day.  While Libby is a dancing diva, Kyndall is a baller.  She is extremely athletic, and basketball and soccer are her sports of choice.  (She loves volleyball, too, but at our school she can’t play volleyball until the 7th grade!)

The 2016 soccer season has ended and we have a short 2-week break before basketball gears up.

We finished this 12U soccer season with 6 wins and 4 losses.  Kyndall went in the record book with one point scored and too many assists to count.  She ran a combined total of 27 miles per game and stole the ball 6,498 times from our opponents.

We had a tough loss to end our 2016 season, but we won’t let that rough ending spoil the awesome middle.  (We actually finished the season under protest, because the high school girls who were refereeing our final tournament game made some gross errors concerning the rules that heavily influenced the game score!) Regardless, win or lose, my girl loves playing the game.

And now, on to basketball!! (Her first practice is actually tomorrow, so there is really no break in between these sports!)