CRUNCH!!

I've been putting off this post because I've been just way too sad. But yesterday I finally got some resolution to my little problem. For Christmas Ryan got me a car. I was so excited. It was the first time I got to pick out what I wanted to drive around. And I'm not going to lie, I instantly fell in love with my new little car.

On January 15th, (less than 3 weeks later) This happened.

I was devastated. Many of you may remember that Ryan got the exact same injury on his brand new (to us) Acura earlier this year. What are the chances?
I was backing out of my parking stall at Target and I noticed another car was backing out too. I was already out far enough that I could almost put it into drive and drive away. I was at too much of an angle to drive back in, and I couldn't drive away, but the lady kept coming. I remember telling my girls, "That lady's not going to stop. She's just not going to stop." I waved my arms and honked my horn, but it was to no avail. CRUNCH!
The lady was super frazzled and when I asked her if she admitted that things were her fault, she told me she agreed that they were. We decided we didn't need to call the police since she acknowledged that it was, indeed, her fault. BAD IDEA!!
I have spent the last 11 days giving statements and sworn affidavits over and over and over again. Somehow things weren't looking so much like her fault to her anymore. Somehow it was now 'our joint fault'.
Well... after learning a big lesson to always call the police, I finally got some good news. Her insurance decided to cover it. I am headed off to the shop today to get my long-awaited repairs. Hallelujah!

Ugly Sweater Party

So I guess it's probably time for another blog post. Last night's events were definitely blog-worthy. Ryan & I hosted our first (hopefully annual) Ugly Sweater Party.

The challenge - hit the D.I. and find the world's ugliest sweater.

The reward - this amazing trophy!

There were definitely some real winners amongst the group.

But ultimately, Amy proved to be the ugliest! (don't worry, that's a compliment!)

Thanks to all who joined us for a night of snacking, gaming, and hilarity. I hope this will become a tradition that will grow and grow throughout the years. I can picture it now... a whole shelf filled with ugly sweater trophies. Wouldn't that be a source of some real pride? Next year you too could be a winner!

Girls and Curls

Curls, curls, curls. With 3 girls, there's a lot of curls. It's Ellsworth grandkid picture time today and that means spongey curlers galore. I love it. It reminds me of all those Saturday nights as a girl with my 3 sisters feeling so turtured sleeping in spongey curlers so we could look so pretty at church the next day.

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

After reading this recent post from a dear friend of mine wherein she tells about how her grandmother dusted off her old Christmas Village and handed it down to her, I started thinking about the Christmas Village that my mother-in-law has. When Ryan & I were first married, I remember seeing it every year set up in her house, looking so cute and radiating with charm . In recent years, it has been M.I.A. I have been missing this quaint little addition the past few Christmas seasons, so I asked my mother-in-law about it. She told me that it's just gotten to be too much work to set everything up each year. She told me she was even thinking about asking me to sell it on e-bay for her, but if I wanted it, and if I promised to set up with love each year, it was mine. I was super excited. Last night we were able to go over to her house and pick it up. The girls and I worked all morning (with lots of love) and completed our own little version of her Christmas village. It means so much to me to have this in our home. Thanks Cindy.

And The Winners Are...

Drumroll please....

To make sure that all was fair and square, I used my little helper and documented the whole thing. I will contact the winners via email also.

I ended up with 51 comments and a total of 57 entries!

The first winner, the winner of this amazing prize:

Hooray for Emma!

Next up, we have this awesome prize:

Hooray for Jillo!

Family Portraits!

I am so stinkin' excited to have a new family portrait. We haven't had one taken since before Audrey was born. That's just sad. We called up Jill Oak's Photography and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out.

Santa, You Rock!

Dear Santa,

Anyone who can put looks like these on my kids' faces, is definitely someone special. Thanks for making time in your busy schedule to bring joy to our lives!