The rest of December...

I want to share one more medley of things that made December memorable.

1. I got Cora and Jane each a pair of these spectacular sprinkle doughnut PJ bottoms for Christmas. Sometimes I feel a little guilty giving them things that I like, but then I remember my girls aren't picky, plus they like cute things. It just kills me how often I happen upon sweets-inspired attire or decor. It's everywhere I turn. I think I smell another shopping hiatus coming on. If I don't see it, I don't know it's there. (But then I'll always sit there wondering what darling trinket I'm missing out on.)

Yay for super-soft, extra cute jammies!


A little blurry, but I love her smile in this picture.


2. I loved checking the mailbox as the month ticked by, finding cards within from treasured people near and far. While I enjoyed receiving all of them, the one my sister Megan's family created was my favorite by far.

They turned to Savers for their wardrobe choices, got all dolled up, grabbed some props and took their own photos in the beautified lobby of the hotel where Megan's husband (Mike) works. They used their creepiest, cheesiest faces, and later Mike pieced together the most priceless shots for a Christmas card not to be forgotten. On the bottom it says "The Bryants: Very Classy"
Yup, they drew a mustache on their son, Fletcher. =)

3. A few weeks before Christmas, I bought this pretty poinsettia at WinCo, of all places. It's still going strong. I love how it looks in our green living room. I was excited to discover this variety; I like it much more than the typical red poinsettia.

So pretty.


4. Ryan typically enlists one of his sisters' assistance when Christmas shopping, as shopping is not within his comfort zone. So he and Jackie went to the mall one afternoon. They were lured into Pottery Barn, and as he later told me, they encountered a persistent saleslady. Long story short, he came out with a new Nativity Set for our family. It's a pretty one, and probably the only grown-up-looking Christmas decor we own.


I like it because the figures look like they're made of those iced molasses cookies; brown underneath, and drizzled with a white glaze. Call me crazy, but that's what came to my mind when the box was first opened. =) I also like it because it's a beautiful Nativity Set.


5. Santa gave the girls these adorable Lego sets. They've been having oodles of fun constructing things.

I've always been a fan of Lego windows and doors. The ones in this set are so stinkin' cute.

"I've fallen, and I can't get up!" (The girls weren't around when I took this picture. I should have asked if they'd intentionally left the one chick lying helplessly on her back while the others merely looked on.)

6. One day, Erin called to clue me in on the presence of a Candy Land T-shirt at Old Navy. When I went the next day, they only had an XL left. Shoot. I told Erin, and I think later that day she returned to the Nampa store and found me a medium. She then declared it her Christmas gift to me. What a fantastic sister!

Excuse the wrinkles. They might be due to hugging myself so much while wearing it. ;)

Yippee!

A few days prior to Christmas, Erin and I finally made it to see Breaking Dawn. It was pretty much what was expected. Afterward, we went to Dickey's BBQ Pit to try it out. I thought it was yummy. I had the marinated chicken on a lil' hoagie, with baked potato casserole and a Caesar salad. We were delighted to find that they provide a self-serve, soft-serve ice cream machine with mini cones for customers to take advantage of, and it's free! We did take advantage of that machine.

7. The Tuesday after Christmas, Renee and I went over to Maria's to watch Fired Up and Bring It On. (Cheerleader movies. Not what I would have picked, but they were fun to watch anyway. Anything's fun with Renee and Maria.)

8. The only things I asked for for Christmas were 3 albums; TMBG's latest release, and She&Him, Volumes One and Two. I had recently been made aware of the existence of She&Him. I don't know how it took me so long to realize that Zooey Deschanel had music albums out. I'm slow, I guess. Anyway, Ryan put all three of the albums on the iPod Becky bequeathed me, along with most of our existing music collection. (All of the music Becky put on there remains as well.) It was a nice surprise, and now I don't have to worry about the aggravation of CDs skipping. He got me an adapter cord thing so I can listen in the car, too. Woo-hoo!

I really like the old-fashioned style of Zooey's music. Some of it sounds like it's straight from the '60s. And her voice is so nice to listen to. I'd treated myself to their Christmas album earlier in the month when I first heard about it. Then I knew I wanted the rest of their music. It's just so simple and refreshing.

9. Too early one morning, Oliver strutted into our room and asked, "Mom, can we make cookies now?" I said, "Let's wait until the sun comes up." Looking out the window he determined, "It smells like the sun is up!" I had to snicker, but then I convinced him to crawl into bed with me and snuggle until the sun was definitely up.


10. The coming of December meant we'd been living in our lovely house for a whole year! A lot of work and improvements have been done, and the coming dozen months will likely bring many more.

These 10 reasons, among many others, are why I'll remember December, 2011.

Now all we can do is sit here, rocking back and forth, waiting to see what 2012 brings.