The BirthMonth

So, my BirthMonth is winding down and the celebration has been fantastic!!! I have posted a few of the things we have done. I have been taken to great restaurants, gotten pedicures, TONS of coffee, gone to movies and have gotten some fabulous gifts. But even greater than all of the "stuff" has been my friends. I am truly blessed to have each of them in my life. It's exciting to see how their quirks and uniqueness add so much to my life. There are always "surface friends" that you have in your life. And they are fun, but there's no depth to the relationships. But my core of friends are far beyond just "fun." They are strength when I need it most, continuous encouragement, full of integrity, Godly AND FUN! I have had a great month and am excited for next year's celebration. It's going to be even bigger- it's my 30th!!!!!

The Beginning

I started my BirthMonth off right. For the first celebration we went to my favorite restaurant, Palisade. I should have taken more pictures but didn't think about it until we were on our way out.

Another Birthday Party

Yes, another birthday party. It is my birthmonth and I have truly celebrated all month.

I love my goofball husband!Dee, Anna, Geoff
Melissa, Jenny, Rachel

There weren't a lot of pictures from this party because we were so involved with the game we were playing. It is our newest favorite- Last Word. It's loud, fast, fun and completely out of control! There were actually tons more people but I didn't want to post too many pics of just random people :)

The "Party" at Joey's

A few friends and I went to Bellevue to Joey's for dinner. (PS- yum!!!!) Dinner started out normal until each girl was handed a gift bag. There was a lot of confusion as they opened them to find unusual items, such as string and balloons. I quickly explained that at my birthday party, I love to have all the festivities. So, since we couldn't decorate the restaurant for the party they would become the "party." Each girl was given a party item that they were to become- such as Streamers & Balloons or Gift Bags. The first question was, "Do we really?" But that soon turned into "What do you think about more balloons?" I have some pretty outgoing friends that love to be the center of attention, which we soon became! People from other tables were asking their servers what was going on over there. With so much laughter, you had to wonder what was happening. My girlfriends truly were the life of the "party!" We became a Traveling Party as we wandered from Bellevue Place to Starbucks.

What started as a normal Birthday dinner soon turned into so much more...

Sarah (Gift)

Anna (Party Favors)

Shannon (Balloons & Streamers)
Sarah, Me, Anna

Shannon, Bridget, Jenny (Balloons, Gift, Ballons & Streamers)

The "Party"

Thank you, Girls, for being such great sports and for being a "Party"!

Christmas at the Carpenters

Waking up Christmas morning to a stocking in her bedShe's not really a morning person, I mean dogWe loved the new outfits!!

It snowed for about an hour. I didn't quit capture the snow, but Chloe was hilarious!

This isn't Christmas but I love it!!! He loves having a snack in his new chair!

We had a great Christmas! Christmas eve we spent at Jeremy's parents and then had our Christmas Eve Service at 9pm. By the time we got home, the kids were so tired that even the excitement of Christmas couldn't keep Chloe awake. Someone asked Chloe if Santa was coming to her house. Anyone that knows Chloe knows that she does NOT like Santa! Her reply, "No, we don't have a chimney so he can't get it. And if he tries to break into our house, my Daddy, Logan and me all know kung-fu and we will beat him up!" On Christmas morning, our kids gave us the best gift ever!!!! They slept until 7:30! They might have slept longer but I was so excited about Christmas that I woke everyone up :) Christmas day was very relaxed for us. Jeremy's family came over to our house for presents and lunch. I was so appreciative because we run nonstop this time of year, so to be able to just stay home most of the day was great.

Chloe was a lot of fun for Christmas. I love shopping for her because she is easy- pink and girly. We also had a lot of fun shopping for everyone else. She even bought presents for her friends. I am amazed by how smart she is! I am with her everyday but there are moments when I look at her and it's as if I'm seeing her for the first time. She will say something that is far beyond a 4 year old. And she is so beautiful that I just stare at her sometimes. If you ask her what her favorite Christmas present was, she names everything she got!

Logan wasn't really into opening his gifts. Jeremy got him a truck thing that he loved. He is definitely a Carpenter boy! If it wasn't a truck, he was trying to use it as a club. Poor Sissy was usually at the other end of Logan's haphazard swings. He loved his bouncing zebra and his learning chair. I am learning to shop for a boy. I understand girls and their toys but now I have to learn about boys. For the most part, I'll let Jeremy handle to toy department. Logan has 4 teeth now and is starting to stand on his own. I'm praying he won't start walking until Easter but I don't know if I can hold him off that long. We are still working on his sign language. He does Please, More, All Done. Now we are working on Thank You, Hungry, Thirsty. But he also likes to grunt.

Jeremy technically had the week between Christmas and New Years off, but because we had 8 services, he really didn't get much of that time "off". Oh, well. That's what vacations are for.