And to all a good night...

I don't know about your Christmas, but mine was great! First we opened presents with my family and ate brunch, then it was on to Aaron's family for more presents and lunch, and finally back to my house for dinner and games. I liked that we got to enjoy the best part of Christmas with everybody and we skipped over the boring what-do-we-do-now-that-we've-opened-our-presents-but-it-is-still-too-early-to-eat-dinner-stage.

The best part was this jewelry box handmade just for me. If you want to get a closer look, I'll post more pictures on facebook. I love the two different colors of wood and the patterned felt on the inside.

I also got 3 cookbooks, a couple of gift cards, a rotary cutter, and a fondue set. And no, I don't eat tissue paper.

Blonde Woe

I hate doing stupid things. The only thing worse than doing a stupid thing is doing it twice.

A few months ago, I accidentally shipped something to my old address in Idaho. Sara brought them home a few weeks later, but you woulda thunk I'd had learned. Apparently not. The present I was most looking forward to giving was supposed to arrive today. And it did...it just happened to arrive in Idaho. Bummer. I suppose the only option is to print of a picture of what is going to come.

If you ever happen to see a blonde rowing a boat in the middle of a wheat field, that would be me. Don't stop, don't wave, just drive away as fast as possible.


The only good news is that I've already written 3 Christmas thank yous and it is not even Christmas Eve yet.

Lazy Bum

Wow. Looking over my blog, I've barely posted at all this month. Here is a lame attempt to make up for my lazy bumness. In all honesty, I've been really busy. The good news is that I've finished nearly all of my Christmas presents. The only ones I have left to make are the ones involving food. I also need to do some serious wrapping. There are a lot of things I could write about but since I'm tired and I have to be gone all day tomorrow, I'll just leave you with some bullet points and a Bellaism.

• I like paninis. Especially when certain people bring them to me.
• I went ice skating today.
• The chocolate fairy does exist!
• I am planning on attending my third major caroling event tomorrow.
• Promotions should always be accompanied with pay raises.

Me: Whose birthday is on Christmas?

Bella: Jesus.

Me: Do you know who Jesus is?

Bella: Uhh...

Me: Jesus is God.

Bella: Who is God.

Me: Uhh...

Present reveal!

Remember this?

I am happy to announce that it turned into this beautiful present for Kelsey. I had the hardest time matting it, but I think it turned out ok.

Here is also a little onsie I decorated for Ella. You can find the tutorial here.

#92

About 30 minutes before we left for church, I spotted Bella running around in just her underwear.

Me: Bella you must be cold.

Bella: No, I'm nakid.

Yes, my family is strange.

And it snowed here.

The Good Life

A large part of Junior Traditio can be summed up in this one question: What is the good life? In other words, what is a fulfilled, productive, meaningful life? When is a human at his best? Plato, Cicero, Homer, etc., all answered in different ways.
I've known the biblical answer for probably most, if not all, of my life. However while reading the Bible before bed last night, I stumbled on what I think is the succinct answer possible. Just 7 little words:

"Trust in the LORD, and do good." Psalm 37:3.

The rest of the verse is also pretty amazing:

"Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the LORD,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart."

There you have it folks. The answer to the universe is not 42, but "Trust in the LORD, do good."

Still breathing...

I am finally back from my whirlwind trip. I had a crazy fun time with bunches of friends. I suppose I could tell you stories or talk about finals week or write about the Grand Ole Opry Hotel (which is beyond amazing), but I think I'll just leave you with this picture. Enjoy it. Meditate on it. Or just laugh until you cry. Whatever you do, make sure you pay close attention to the expressions on everyone's faces. For better or worse, here is our awkward "family photo."