Shepherd Family

(photo courtesy of Kim Harms Photography)

I decided not to send out a formal Christmas card this year. So this is the "informal" version:)
Thinking maybe I will send out a picture once our family is all together again.

Decisions, Decisions...

So I am having trouble deciding on which gift to get ms. Jilli for Christmas this year. I had my heart set on this:

She loves to take pictures and I thought she would enjoy taking pictures and sending them to Mark.

But thanks to the demons of commercialism (if that's even a word), she is obsessed with this:

I am torn between purchasing a fun practical gift that I think she would like or cleaning up after a "potty training" doll that I know she loves.

Oh decisions....input would be helpful:)

Be Thankful

Today I am thankful for our two beautiful girls. Jillian has a contagious laugh and Emma's smile can't help but make you like up too. I love to watch them grow, learn new things, bring out the kid in me, and even in the hardest times and toughest days...these little girls are what keep me going.

Here are some pictures I took of them in their Christmas dresses for my very amateur attempt at "cheap" Christmas pictures:)

tis the season...

Before I was married and had children, there were always a couple of things that I knew I wanted to do or did not want to do. One of the things I did not want to do is include Santa as part of Christmas. And one thing I did want to do is really instill the true meaning of Christmas in our children, therefore not really making room for Santa.
I don't mean to sound snippy or snobby about the whole thing, I just never felt that we should make Santa this huge thing, and really just another reason for the kiddos to expect more gifts, something else I did not want. When I was growing up, much younger, Christmas morning was like heaven on earth. We got EVERYTHING and loved every minute of it. But I feel that helped us to want more as the years went on, and I am pretty sure that is never what my parents had in mind:)
Now don't get me wrong and if you know me, you know i LOVE presents! I love getting new stuff and really love unwrapping. But I am giving that obsession up to make room to show the girls more.
We do have a budget for gifts, but it is very small and this is for 2 reasons. We figured with two little ones, what better time to make a plan on how much to spend that would always be feasible, never outrageous, and always make room for us to include other things in our holidays besides gifts for ourselves. The other reason is simply "avaliable funds". We are planning our future, life outside the Army, therefore excessive spending can just not happen. Which is ok with me.
Anyway, off the soap box now. I am looking for ideas for the holiday season for the girls and I. I really want to introduce them to new people and new experiences, even in our small town. I want to show them the true spirit of Christmas by "doing" and "giving", but I really have no idea where to start. So I am all up for suggestions.