SIGH!!!!!!!!!

I have some good news and some bad news.  The good news is...EMMA GRACE ROBERTS (the MyAG #41 from the Doll Wardrobe) IS HERE!!!!! YAY!!!!

The bad news is...MY HUSBAND WON'T LET ME OPEN HER UNTIL HE GETS HOME!!!!  He's even considering making me wait until Christmas!  He's killin' me!! :}

This morning he told me he wanted me to wait to open it since he wouldn't be home.  Right after UPS dropped her off, I called him to let him know she was here. 

Me:  "Hi honey...there's a package here at our house."

Hubby: [with mischevous grin] "Oh, that's nice!  Who's it addressed to?"

Me: [scowling reluctantly] "You"

Hubby laughs (in a nice way)

Me:  "Are you almost done?"

Hubby:  "Sorry, only on my second stop."

Me:  SIGHHH!!!

Hubby: [laughs again] "See you later, Babe.  I love you!"

Me: [sighing again] "I love you too!"

I called my mom to gain some sympathy.  Her encouraging words were:  "You know, it's a federal offense to open someone else's mail."  Har har.  I love my family.  (Can you sense the sarcasm?)  (Okay, I really do love my family...but they are all big teases!!!)

I'm going to go completely nuts!!!!!  The package is just sitting there, begging to be opened!!  But I will show that I have self-control.  He did technically win the doll (although I only entered him because it was an extra chance for me to win!!), :) so I will wait.  I can be patient.  Really...I can...maybe.

It's going to be a long day... 

Amazing News and an Enchanted Christmas

Oh My Goodness!!!!  I am in a state of complete shock over here.  I got on Blogger to do this post and checked the Doll Wardrobe's Fall Giveaway Contest results.  For those of you who don't know, The Doll Wardrobe is an AMAZING blog that does all sorts of reviews on doll clothes, eBay and Etsy sellers who sell doll clothing and accessories.  They've had a doll giveaway contest going for a few months now, where the winner gets to choose between an American Girl Kirsten doll, a My AG #41, and an Ivy Ling doll (Julie's best friend), plus they get an outfit from Liberty Jane Clothing.  The contest ended yesterday, and the winner was announced today.  You were allowed to enter yourself and other family members over the age of 18.  I entered myself at the beginning of the contest, then a week later I entered my husband, thinking "why not?"  Guess who won the contest...MY HUSBAND!!!!!! 

I can't believe it!  I'm practically hyperventilating!  Because OBVIOUSLY my husband's not going to spend too much time with "his" doll. :)  You should have seen the look on his face when I told him he'd won.  You've got to get the full picture.  My husband's into cars, racing, and football.  He's very sweet and tolerant of my doll collection, and has even helped with my restringing projects.  But he's all guy...not exactly the doll type (poor thing, he's stuck with me and 3 daughters).  :}

So now, he's been having fun teasing me, saying, "Well, I guess I can send your Christmas present back" (he got me a workout DVD I'd been asking for...I only know because he needed me to order it).  :)  When I first got home this morning, I was talking about all the things I needed to do around the house, like dishes and laundry.  Then I went on to describe how I needed to exercise, but my shoes were wet from the rain, so they'd have to dry first.  You have to understand, my husband could care less whether or not I keep the house clean (I think I've mentioned that in a previous post).  It seriously doesn't bother him...it just really bothers ME because I HATE having a messy house...so then I start apologizing, and he just laughs because it doesn't stress him out at all. 

Anyway, all that to say that after he heard the news about "his" doll, he said, "Have you been a good girl?  I heard there were things around the house that needed to be done!"  

"I'm doing the dishes now!" I practically shrieked.  

He laughed really hard.  Of course, he's teasing me.  He loves to tease!  Some of the other things he's mentioned are attaching the doll to the top of his car or giving it to me with duct tape in its hair.  But not to worry, fellow doll lovers!  He knows how valuable they are and wouldn't really do that.  I'm confident I'll be getting a doll for Christmas.

AAAHHHHHHH!!!! I cannot believe it!!! :) :) :) :) 

Sorry, I know this post is a little random...I'm just a wee bit excited, if you couldn't tell. :)     

So you may be wondering which of the 3 I'm going to pick.  Unless something drastically changes in the next 24 hours, I'm planning on picking the My AG#41.  I really like her because she looks the closest to me out of all the My AG dolls.  I think Ruthie actually looks a little closer because of her eye color, but hey...why squabble over little things like that?  And don't worry, I'll definitely do a blog post when she gets here. :)

One of the things that makes this so exciting is that I've never had a brand new American Girl doll before.  I just can't afford to spend that much on a doll, especially when it's for me and I already have dolls of my own.  What an unexpected blessing!  :)  Thank you, Lord!  I didn't deserve this, but thanks so much.  

Okay, now the reason I started this post was to share some pics of several of my Beauty and the Beast Christmas ornaments.  I thought it would be fun, since this blog also deals with my fascination with Beauty and the Beast. :)  Some of them didn't turn out like I'd hoped, but hopefully they'll still be enjoyable to you.

Some of you may remember this one from my Disney Store purchase.  I love how it looks on the tree! :)

Here's Belle in her green library dress, made of vinyl and cloth.  This was one of the ornaments I collected in college.  It was done by Disney and Enesco...it would have come out in the late 90s to early 2000s.

Another vinyl Disney/Enesco ornament.  There's a little knob at the base underneath Belle.  When you turn it, she spins like she's really dancing with the Beast.  This ornament was a present from a friend in college and came out around the same time as the last one (sorry I don't remember specific dates on these). :{  I really like it, although my mom thinks Belle's face looks like Cindy-Lou Who from "How the Grinch  Stole Christmas".  :)

Here's Belle in her pink dress with the enchanted rose.  You're supposed to put a Christmas light through a hole under the table, but it's so small that the light usually ends up getting stuck or breaking.  Not the greatest design.  Anyway, this is another Disney/Enesco ornament from the same era.  And yes, I know her face paint is hideous.  :)

These are my Mrs. Potts and Chip ornaments from Hallmark.  I got them for Christmas a few years ago from my Mom and Dad.  They look really cute on the tree, and the quality and detail in their faces is amazing.

This is yet another Disney/Enesco ornament, purchased at ToysRUs when I was in college.  Belle comes on a gold base with a little wheel on the back.  When you turn the wheel, she spins in a circle.

And here's my beautiful Disney Store Belle ornament, made of resin and cloth.  I'm sorry I didn't get all of her in the pic.  She's hanging at the back of the tree and was hard to get to.  You can see another pic of her in the post about my Beauty and the Beast collection.  I really love this ornament, too.  They did a great job on her face and all the details of her dress. 

Here's the last one...my vinyl Disney/Enesco Belle and Beast.  It's another light-up ornament.  Belle and the Beast are hollow, so you can stick an ornament inside and make them glow.  Sorry I didn't demonstrate it for the pic. :}  I've always loved this ornament as well.  

I guess that's about it for today.  Hope you enjoyed the pics and were able to keep up with my odd ramblings.  I'm just a little bit crazy today after hearing about the contest results!!! :)

Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to let all of you know that Disneystore.com is having a special today, for those who are interested.  It's called "Toy Mania".  If you buy at least 1 toy from them today, you get free shipping on your entire order.  They have the promotion code on their store site.  There are some great bargains there right now, so check it out! 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Hi everyone!  Sorry it's been so long since my last post...things have been so crazy with recovering from my brother's wedding and Thanksgiving and then starting to decorate for Christmas.  Not to mention the fact that our Internet has been messing up and I spent 2 days with slow or spotty Internet and then 2 days with no Internet at all!

So, I wanted to share a few updates before I start.  First off, my brother's wedding was beautiful.  It was a nice, relaxed, fun wedding that everyone really enjoyed.  And my song went really well!  (Thanks to everyone who prayed for me)  It's funny, I actually got a lot of complements on it, I think just because everyone was so startled to hear me sing in that style.  I'm glad it went well...I wanted it to be a gift to my brother and sister-in-law. 

They're now settled in to their apartment and doing really well.  They're so cute together! :)  It is a little bit surreal to think of my little brother as a married man, though. :)

The girls were great as flowergirls.  My youngest was a bit figety (okay, maybe that's a little bit of an understatement) :), but everything went smoothly overall.  Thankfully, at that age, people still think you're adorable even if you make a few mistakes. :)

In other news, I have officially decided to rebel and not send Christmas cards this year.  I've been so stressed out with everything that has to get done this month and I was running into obstacle after obstacle with my cards (from not having my family pic ready to losing Internet service, when I make my cards on Costco.com).   After a total meltdown moment yesterday, my loving, patient husband made me realize that the world would not end if I didn't send Christmas cards this year.  I will miss it, because since I don't do Facebook, it's one of the main ways I keep in contact with friends and family from my past.  But after thinking about it for a while, I realized it wasn't worth the stress and pressure I was putting myself and my family through.  I'm actually thinking about sending "Un-Christmas Cards" (you know, like "un-birthday" from "Alice in Wonderland"?) some time this next year, just to be unique.  :) 

I don't know why I shared that last part with you, since none of you are on my Christmas card list.  I guess I just wanted to get it off my chest.  ;)  I'm hoping that I can keep eliminating the unecessary stresses this month as Christmas gets closer and closer.  I just want to remember the true reason for the season:  the birth of my Lord and Saviour.  I'm hoping that in all the craziness and activity I'll be able to hold onto that.  I don't want to lose sight of the precious Baby who grew to be a Man that sacrificed Himself for the sins of the whole world.  A Man who was also fully God, and who didn't stay dead, but was victorious over the grave.  Because of His sacrifice, I can now live eternally, too.  Talk about the ultimate Christmas gift! :)

Well, I just thought you might enjoy seeing some pics of my Christmas decorations.  As my post title says, "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" around here. :)  Enjoy!

Our beautiful Nativity Scene from Costco.  We wanted this to be a very visible part of our Christmas decorations to help our girls remember what Christmas is really all about.  This is one of the best purchases we ever made.  I'm sure it will be something our family cherishes for years.  It's a bit of a pain to store because it's so big, but even with that inconvenience, it's totally worth it! :)

Here are our Wisemen.  And yes, we have 4.  Bible factoid of the day:  the Bible doesn't actually tell us how many Wisemen there were.  The fact that there were three gifts given to Jesus (gold, frankincense, and myrrh), songs like "We Three Kings" and other Christmas traditions have led us to assume that there were 3 Wisemen.   So I made it a point to have more than 3 Wisemen, just because it goes against assumed tradition (I can be kinda stubborn that way).  We also don't have them at the manger because it is very likely that the 

Wisemen were not at the manger (the Bible mentions them going into a "house" to see Jesus and present their gifts-see Matthew 2:11).  It is also possible that Jesus may have been as old as 2 years when they came (one of the reasons for this theory is the fact that when King Herod heard about the birth of the "King"-Jesus, he ordered all of the baby boys 2 years old and under to be killed-see Matthew 2:16).  Personally, I find this all fascinating and like to be Biblically accurate.  You may now know way more about the Wisemen than you ever wanted to, though. :) 

Here's our tree.  It's our first year using an artificial tree (basically because it was convenient after the craziness of the wedding and Thanksgiving).  I've always been into having a real tree, but I have to admit that the fake tree idea is growing on me.  I mean, I don't have to water it, it doesn't shed needles all over, and when I'm done with it, I stuff it into a box and don't have to think about it for another year.  Best of all, it was pre-lit, so my hubby didn't have to string lights.  That made him VERY happy.  The main thing I missed was the smell of a fresh tree, but then my brother and sister-in-law found me a special ornament to hang on an artificial tree that makes it smell like a real one.  And unlike most pine-scented items, it doesn't smell like kitchen cleaner! It's the best of both worlds.  Who knows?  I may never have a real tree again! :)

Here's a special embroidered picture, handmade by my grandma.  She passed away when I was in high school, so it's nice having a reminder of her.

Here's my festive shelf, complete with fuzzy bears and a pine cone tree made by my oldest daughter in Kindergarten last year. :)  

Our piano decorations.  The piano is usually the main spot I decorate now.  I used to be the type that decorated every flat surface, but having 3 kids cured me of that.  There may be a time for that in my future, but we'll see! 

These snowmen are really special to me.  When I was growing up, my mom had a set of snowmen just like these, made by my grandma, that represented each of our 4 family members.  When I got married, my mom talked to one of the older ladies in our church and asked her to make me my own snowman family (mom had the same pattern that my grandma had used).  Every year we had a baby, I got a new snowman for my family.  It always makes me smile when I see them.

  

This snowman was a gift from my longtime best friend.  I always think of her when I set him out. :)  Next to him is one of my Boyds Christmas figurines-it's a family of caroling cats.

Some more festive little guys.  The white snowman on the left was my husband's when he was little, and the mouse was my grandma's (the same one that embroidered the picture and made my mom's snowman family).  The snowman with the accordian was one I purchased on a sale several years ago, and the snowman on the far right is another Boyds figurine.

Do any of you remember Rodney reindeer and his friends from Hallmark in the 80s?  You might remember them from their re-issue last year...that's where the big Rhonda in the middle of the picture came from.  The smaller Rhonda and Ramona (the girl in the red jammies on the left) were in my Christmas stocking one year as a little girl.  Rodney and Randy (the other one in red jammies on the left) were eBay purchases to help me relive my childhood. :)  I get the reindeer out each year for the girls to play with, just at Christmastime. 

Here are our Advent Calendars.  The red one was mine growing up.  My mom got it at a craft fair.  The tree has 25 buttons on it, and below it are 25 pockets.  Each pocket has a mini ornament in it that you can hang on a button to help you count down to Christmas.  The girls love taking turns with this calendar. 

Our other calendar is a Playmobil one that was given to us as a hand-me-down.  Same concept (duh, it's an advent calendar) :)...it has 24 boxes that each have a Playmobil toy in them.  There's a little display that goes with it (see pic below).  The girls love playing with this one, too.  They're always sad when it's time to pack the toys away until next Christmas.  I'm not sure how long this one will last.  It's made of cardboard, for one thing.  The other problem is it's really hard to keep track of all the pieces.  Last year, we lost one Playmobil person.  This year, I was able to shuffle things around in the boxes so that there would still be something to open on each day.  If we lose too many more, though, I'm not sure what I'll do. :)

And last, but not least, here's my doll room.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.  You can see more pics at Tess and Maggie's blog HERE.  I did a fun little "decorating for Christmas" story with lots of pics.

Hope you enjoyed seeing all the pics, and hope you're enjoying decorating your own homes.  From our house to yours, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :)

I Finally Saw "Tangled"!! :)

Hey guys!  I am so excited!  It finally worked out for me to go see Disney's 50th animated film, "Tangled".  I thought I'd share a few thoughts about the movie with you. 

Let me just start by saying that this movie met my high expectations.  The characters were engaging and funny, the story was entertaining, and the animation was absolutely beautiful.  I didn't see it in 3D because I just wanted to focus on the story itself the first time I saw it, so I can't tell you how it was in 3D.  Even in regular 2D, though, the movie is so lovely to look at.

I've had my concerns about how this movie would end up.  From the previews it looked like they were just trying to make another "Shrek" type movie.  It looked like a hip, modern comedy.  That's really not the feel of the movie, though.  Sure, it has its humorous parts, but it's also got a lot of heart, beautiful music, and romance.  Most importantly, it didn't delve into the crude sexual and toilet humor that the Shrek movies did.  That's something that I've always appreciated about the Pixar movies.  They didn't use crude humor to carry their movies.  Pixar every once in a while had some small things interspersed, but it was nothing like the content in the Dreamworks movies.  I'm glad to see that Disney is going the same route (having John Lasseter at the helm is a big part of that, I'm sure).  In all fairness to Dreamworks, though, their movies have cleaned up considerably (I especially enjoyed "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Kung Fu Panda", where the crude humor was toned down considerably-in HtTYD it was almost non-existent).

Another thing I really appreciated about this movie was that it really didn't have a lot of "scary parts".  The scenes with Mother Gothel were very emotionally intense and manipulative, but overall, this is a movie that could be watched almost all the way through even by my 2 year old (minus a few emotionally hard parts and 2 intense scenes).  You know, everyone keeps talking about how "The Princess and the Frog" didn't do as well as expected at the box office, which was part of the reason that Disney completely revamped "Tangled".  Several of the articles I've read said that Disney felt that the reason "The Princess and the Frog" did so badly is that it didn't appeal enough to boys.  They also mentioned the shifting target audience, as little girls are growing up faster and faster.  It's now 4 year olds and under that are the most interested in princesses.  That being the case, could one of the reasons that "The Princess and the Frog" failed to meet expectations be the demonic bad guy scenes?  I mean, if I had seen TPATF when I was a young girl, those scenes with the creepy shadows chasing Tiana and Naveen through the city and bayou would have given me nightmares for weeks.  And what about that big ram's head mask that Dr. Facilier was always negotiating with?  Not to mention the ending, where the doctor gets dragged to his own grave.  For a target audience between 2 and 4 years of age, that seems a bit inappropriate, don't you think?  My own 2 year old daughter LOVES Princess Tiana, but there's no way I'd allow her to watch the movie...I want to sleep for the next 3 months, not be up comforting her from bad dreams.  :}  Quite honestly, not even my 6 year old could handle that movie.  How refreshing, then, to have a Disney princess movie that my girls can watch most of the way through!  If Disney made more movies like this, maybe they'd do better at the box office!

I really appreciated the sacrificial love displayed by both Rapunzel and Flynn towards the end of the movie.  Love is seeking the best for the other person, by the Biblical definition.  Both characters displayed this.  I love it when movie characters make decisions that make them good role models for the young people watching them.  Although Flynn starts out as a selfish rogue, in time he begins to see Rapunzel's good qualities and appreciate her for the person she is.  He wants to do what's best for her, no matter what the cost to himself may be.  Rapunzel also grows from an unsure, frightened girl to a confident, brave young woman, willing to risk everything to save the one she loves.

And who wouldn't fall in love with the 2 animal sidekicks, Pascal the chameleon and Maximus the horse?  Even without speaking, these two did a great job stealing the show with their shenanigans.  If reptiles didn't creep me out in real life, Pascal would make me want to get a chameleon of my own. :)

Finally, I have to talk about the music.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the music was composed by Alan Menken, who brought us musical treasures from "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast", "Aladdin", "Newsies", and "Enchanted", among others.  Because I grew up listening to his music, it was especially fun for me to hear it again in this movie.  Many reviews have called his score for "Tangled" nice but forgettable.  It may not be his most amazing score ever, but I really enjoyed it.  The music fit the movie perfectly.  And, just as I thought I would, I loved seeing "I See the Light" in the context of the movie.  It was beautifully sung and beautifully animated.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this movie 10 stars, and I'd highly recommend it.  For those of you who've seen it, what do you think?  Did you enjoy the movie?  What would you rate it?   

P.S.   For those of you who are interested, I've included a link to the pluggedin.com movie review of "Tangled" HERE.  Pluggedin.com is a Christian website affiliated with Focus on the Family that reviews movies, music, TV and more from a Biblical perspective.  It's also a great way to evaluate a movie before seeing it in the theater, as it tells you all of the possible objectionable content.  It's a wonderful resource for families.  Just a few warnings:  1. These reviews sometimes have spoilers, although they announce them as such in the article.  If you like to be completely surprised, I wouldn't recommend reading their articles.  2. They have several categories that list everything that happens in the movie, such as Violence, Sexual Content, etc.  In each category, they list everything that a parent might want to know about the movie.  So in the Sexual Content part, they will mention if any characters kiss or have revealing clothing.  I just wanted you to know they're not saying kissing is evil, per se. :)  They just want parents to be able to evaluate what is in the movie and decide for their own families what is most appropriate.          

Happy Thanksgiving! (and a Thanksgiving book review)

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  I hope you all have a great time celebrating with family and friends.  Enjoy your turkey, football, parades, and whatever other traditions you share each year.  I hope that in the hustle and bustle we all remember the true reason for this holiday:  being thankful to God for His many blessings, and also remembering the first Thanksgiving feast shared by the Pilgrims and Native Americans. 

Our family has a great book that we read every year for Thanksgiving.  I've always been saddened by the fact that Thanksgiving is so overlooked.  It seems like our country goes straight from Halloween to Christmas.  It is so important for us to remember the founding of our country, and the brave men and women who came here so that they could have religious freedom.  Of course, part of the problem is that Thanksgiving isn't nearly as marketable.  There are some Thanksgiving decorations, but not nearly as many as for Christmas.  And how many of us have a cd of Thanksgiving music?

I tried to think of a way to fix this problem for several years.  Then, last year I was listening to our local Christian radio station and heard an interview with a lady who had the same concerns.  Her name was Barbara Rainey, and she had written a book about Thanksgiving that could be used by families to help remember the true meaning of the holiday.  I found a copy online for a good price, and we started using it that very year. 

The book is called:  "Thanksgiving-A Time to Remember".  After a short introduction explaining the author's reason for writing it, the book starts with the story of the Pilgrim's journey across the Atlantic on the Mayflower in 1620, to the very first Thanksgiving feast in 1621, and goes all the way to the Thanksgiving feast of 1623.  The story has sections printed in large and small type, so that those with younger children can read only the large type parts and still get the essence of the story without losing the attention of their little ones.  There are also extra articles interspersed throughout the book with more in-depth information on certain subjects. 

The last part of the book explains a Thanksgiving tradition that families can follow today.  We tried this last year and it was really fun.  At Thanksgiving dinner, everyone is given 5 kernels of Indian corn, a sheet of paper, and a pen.  Everyone writes down 5 things they are thankful for.  Then, the family passes a basket  around, and everyone puts a kernel in, one at a time, and shares what they're thankful for.  It's such a blessing to do this.  We got a kick out of our daughter's lists last year (it's really cute what a 5-year-old is thankful for:  butterflies, Jesus, friends, flowers, and food-this was my oldest girl's actual list). :)

The book even includes a cd of pretty instrumental music for Thanksgiving.  So now we can  have music for Thanksgiving.  :)

It is so important to me that my girls grow up knowing how our country was founded and why we celebrate this special holiday.  I'm so thankful that I heard about this book.  I would encourage you to try it for yourselves and start a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition in your own families!  :) 

I wish you all a wonderful day with your loved ones.   

Tangled Opens Today!! :)

Hey, just a quick reminder that Disney's "Tangled" opens in theaters today.  I was planning on going to see it tonight, but my babysitter (aka hubby) fell through.  He works for Coca-Cola and UPS, and both places need him this afternoon and this evening. : ( 

So all of you lucky ducks who get to see it today will have to tell me what you think.  Don't give me too many details, though.  :)  I still want some surprises (although I flipped through the coloring book in Target yesterday and it pretty much gave away the entire plot). :}

Now all I have to look forward to today is acting as referee for 3 cranky kids (my oldest has the day off from school and everybody's been arguing all morning).  Whoop-de-doo!  I just hope they all nap today...because I need one too!!

God's Jewels

I just had to share some pics with you from this morning.  We got to record-breaking low temperatures last night, so it got really cold.  The other thing you should know is that our sprinklers are on a timer and we keep forgetting to turn them off now that winter is approaching.  So, what do you get when you cross a freezing cold morning with running sprinklers?  God's jewels on your lawn!  :)  

Tess enjoys the frosty morning. :)