My house just threw up Christmas part 1

It's the most wonderful time of the year indeed!! I wish it could be Christmas 24/7 365...I love it. So naturally I go crazy decorating. It was a two day process, but I love the end results. I won't post every single decoration I have, just my faves. Let me start off with this...

My custom made garland, made by me! I had little flimsy one the past years, but this year I wanted something more. I went to my new favorite hangout Hobby Lobby where everything was 50% off. I found already made ones but the only one I liked was $30 on sale and they only had one left. I would need at least 4! So I bought plain garland for $4 each and made it myself. You can't see the details too well, but I added some gold stuff I had leftover from last year, plus I bought things to add to it on sale for $1-2.

The red mesh I bought at another craft store here and absolutely am in love with it! It's so easy to decorate with, and I added it to my tree I will post about later.

My big old candy cane I got a few years back at a Christmas bazaar. Love it.

And my beloved nativity set. I feel so grown up owning one of these. We had one growing up, so it's just tradition to me to have one. And I was lucky enough to get a deal on it! The one we had growing up had animals in the scene, and this was the only set at the store that had animals in it. They were all out, but I convinced them to sell me the model one, which was in good condition. I'm so excited to be able to put it up year after year.

So that's only some of my beauties. I will finish up the rest in a later post.

Happy Tuesday,

Welcome snow!

We got dumped on Sunday night and all yesterday with snow. I wasn't looking forward to the snow, but once it was here, I got super excited! I love it when it's so thick and a winter wonderland outside. I have been sitting cozy in my house all day yesterday and today, but have to venture outside tonight for work. Not going to enjoy that. Nor will I enjoy when the snow melts and all we are left with is mushy brown snow. But until then, I will inhale and enjoy what I have in front of me.

When the snow is so white outside, and you open up all your blinds, the snow lights up your house with it's whiteness...that's what I love.

When you get all bundled up with your boots, coats, scarves, and gloves to venture outside, and the chilliness stings your cheeks a little bit. Then you come back inside with pink cheeks and the warmness in the house stings your cheeks once more...that's what I love.

When the snow is a blanket on all things bad and for just a day or two, you don't have to think about what lays underneath. You give yourself a pass to not think about "the have to's" and just pretend it doesn't exist...that's what I love.

When it's feels obligatory to eat warm soups, grilled cheeses, and drink hot cocoa...that's what I love.

When you put on your boots and hear the crunching sound you make on the snow...that's what I love.

And having a warm house with all the people I love inside of it...well that is just the icing on the cake.

Happy Tuesday,

Meet Tucker

Meet our new foster pup Tucker. Isn't he adorable? He really is a sweet dog and reminds me of a younger verson of our own lab Chase. It's like his younger brother. He's so photogenic too, the whole time I was taking pictures of him, he just stared at the camera. A natural!

Here's Tucker's story:
We actually found Tucker ourselves. I was recently a bridesmaid in a wedding and the weekend of the wedding is when we found him. We were on our way to our friend's house one night and this dog was running around at the entrance of a neighborhood. He definitely looked lost. We stopped to see if he had a tag (which he didn't) and checked to see if he had a microchip (he didn't). We figured he belonged in the neighborhood nearby, so we searched for an hour with no luck. I didn't want to leave him alone, but I also didn't want to take him if he lived there. He didn't even know us, but he stayed by our sides and even jumped in our car, I thought he had to belong to a family. Not knowing what to do, I called the lady at the shelter I foster for and asked her what to do. She said if it was her dog, she would appreciate if someone took in her dog instead of leaving it outside. So I did. We advertised for two weeks. I left my name at local shelters and vet clinics, I posted flyers in the neighborhood nearby where we found him, I posted an ad on Craigslist and checked Craigslist routinely, and I put an ad in the paper. Not one call. So we put him in the foster program.

Tucker loves to be around people and dogs.
He absolutely loves toys.
He isn't completely trained but he learns very quickly.
He is Chase's sidekick and identical twin.

He has a story. His past is unknown, his present is happy, and his future looks bright.

Happy Wednesday my friends,

The unknowns

I've been doing great. Unbelievably great in fact. I've been keeping myself busy. I've had this new found energy, not sure where it came from but it was very welcome. Maybe it's the fact that the holidays are near, and the holidays always lift my spirits. Maybe it's because I've felt good about myself caring for a foster doggie. Maybe it's because I've found some hobbies to keep me busy. Maybe it's God giving me strength. Maybe it's myself giving me strength. Whatever the reason, I've been good. It was bound to come crashing down I suppose. It's amazing what tiniest of things could be triggers for us to set us back into our darkest place. Today, it was my insurance. I have an appointment with an RE this coming Friday, and wanted to be prepared for it considering it's three hours away through the mountains. I called my insurance to see what exactly was covered and if I would need something to take before my appointment. I was then informed that my primary would only pay for diagnostics. After calling my secondary insurance, I learned they covered even less than my primary! They would cover nothing really in regards to fertility. Now I'm not saying I'm going to need treatment, hopefully I won't. But the possibility is there, and I like to be prepared. What if the only way for me to have a healthy pregnancy is to have some super expensive treatment I won't be able to afford out of pocket?! The endless amount of what-ifs came barging through my brain unwelcomed. Then all my strength and courage fell right off of me. And for the first time, I prayed for God to not straight up give me a baby, but to keep on giving me the strength to get through this.

This is hard. This is the hardest most difficult and draining thing I have ever had to go through in my life. This has single handedly showed me who my friends really are, tested our marriage, questioned my faith in God, questioned my faith in myself, and made me had to bare my soul to myself and to others. What it brought me was a closer relationship to Justin and to others, shown light on friends I really didn't want, and brought out a strength in myself I never knew I had. But sometimes that strength falters, and what I'm left with is someone who is downright scared. But it will get better, it has to.

Happy Monday,

Decor and halloween

I finally got my decorations up! In the past fall hasn't been my most favorite season so I had minimal decorations. After I put what few stuff I had up today, I felt I needed more. So my mom and I went off to Shopko because their fall decor was 60% off! I buy my Christmas ornaments and some decorations there because they are always on sale, and this season was no different. Things that were normally $40 were $9! What a steal! Here  comes picture overload...

Brea absolutely did not like her costume. She acted as though we were abusing her!

This is our friend's dog Dexter who we are watching while they are on their honeymoon. He had to have a hand me down from Chase because when we went to the store to buy him a costume, they already took down all the pet costumes! He rocked it though, he loved it.

Happy Monday!