Thanks Belle!

Raddest Advent Calendar ever!

I got this in the mail and was so excited when I realized what it was! I saw one in a scrapbooking magazine and wanted to make it, but then i realized just how much work that would be.

Thank you Belle! We love it:)

Merry Christmas

Travis and Brooklyn with Santa

Glitter shoes and Christmas songs

Last night was Brooklyn's school Christmas program and it was just me and the kids. Jon went to a concert with friends(a Christmas present), so I was left to fend for myself.

I, of course, underestimated the time it would take to get ready and ended up running out the door frazzled, thinking to myself "Am I dressed? Did I put on deodorant? Is the baby changed? Does the kid have underwear on? Where are my keys? Is the camera charged?" As you can see, it's pretty stressful and crazy in my brain.

We got to the theater and it took me awhile to wrestle the baby into the baby carrier which I was so thankful that I remembered, or truthfully, had left in the car from the last time I had used it. Then I slung the camera bag and diaper bag over my shoulder, grabbed the girls hand, locked the car and then weaved my way through the busy parking lot to get into the warm theater.

Once we got inside I went to our section and took pictures of all the kids in their holiday best, looking so adorable in ties and dresses. Brooklyn wore her white flower girl dress from my sisters wedding along with silver glittery shoes; it made her feel like a princess and it showed. Next year she said she wants to wear a red dress and the year after that, a green one. She decided that she would rotate the Christmas colors each year. I love her:)

When it was time for the first grade class to go up on stage I pulled out the video camera. Of course it is at that time that Travis decides to cry. So there I am, bouncing the screaming baby and trying to record my first born singing with her class. Every time I would look down at the baby to try to hush him I would look back up only to find that I was filming the floor. I will have to remember to hand out barf bags when we view the tape later.

Thankful

I am thankful for:

• My husband Jon. I would not trade him for anything, except maybe coffee, but probably not.
• My daughter Brooklyn. She is hilarious! I laugh everyday with her around.
• My son Travis. When he smiles my heart explodes. That's a good thing.
• My huge family. They have made me the crazy person I am.
• My husbands family. They are amazing.
• Coffee! Without which nothing would get done.
• Digital Cameras. Without pictures I have no memories.
• Facebook and Blogs. Don't judge me, you are too!

...and so much more.

I am so blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Gingerbread and Family Traditions.

With the beginning of the holiday season comes all the gingerbread stuff which reminds me of my experience of baking gingerbread cookies for the first time. This is a blog from December of 2006:

Before Thanksgiving I was reading a magazine and there was an article about people's favorite things about Christmas. One woman wrote that there was nothing better than the smell of Gingerbread baking. I have never made them. My family has never made them-at least not when I was around. I decided that I was going to start a new Culp Family Tradition for Christmas-Baking gingerbread men (and women).


About a week ago I was talking to my sister Fish on the phone and I told her about my newest tradition. She asked me if I had ever tried them and I said no. She laughed at me and suggested that perhaps I should try them before I decided to make them a tradition. I told her that I just didn't care. I liked the idea of Gingerbread men(and women) being a Christmas tradition for my family; that Brooklyn would one day grow up and make them for her children and that the smell of them would bring back memories of Christmas Past. I even told her that even if they were nasty I would make nasty cookies every year because it was a tradition-I think I may be a little stubborn:)


Today I drove to a couple different stores looking for the cookie cutters...the gingerbread man shaped one was everywhere, but I couldn't find the one shaped like a woman-with a skirt as opposed to wearing pants as if that really indicates the sex of a cookie, but it was the principle. I finally found her in a 20 pack of christmas cookie cutters at Bed Bath and Beyond. Score!!! I went to the grocery store and got all the ingredients that I would need to bake gingerbread cookies as well as sugar cookies. I pulled out my cookbook and flipped to the recipe so excited to start my great new tradition. I made the dough for the sugar cookies and put them in the fridge and then I started on the gingerbread. Halfway through the mixing I noticed the nastiest smell but ignored it hoping that it would get better-it just had too! When I finished mixing the dough the smell seemed even worse but I thought, "Well, it is supposed to be refrigerated for at least two hours, maybe the smell will be not so bad then. Or maybe it smells oh so much better once it's baking in the oven. That is what that lady in the article said....that the smell of it baking was wonderful."


Fast forward a couple hours.....I finished baking the sugar cookies-yummy!!! Now on to the gingerbread!!! I pulled the bowl out of the fridge and opened the lid expecting to inhale this heavenly scent-despite the fact that three hours prior the smell had made me want to jump out a window. What I smelled hit me like a brick wall and sent me into a gag attack that would make any bulimic proud. It was even nastier then before! All I could think of was the poor woman whose fondest memory of Christmas was the stench of this wretched stuff baking. Oh the poor woman! What kind of torture has she endured in her life to make this seem pleasant? Once my stomach stopped turning I laughed at myself and dialed my sister Fish. I knew she would get a kick out of my new "tradition" and what a flop it had turned out to be. We laughed and then I would smell it again(out of morbid curiosity-you would too)and then the gagging would start again which would make Fish laugh harder. I threatened to smear some on a card and mail it to her so she could share in my pain, but decided that the postman did not deserve that. Needless to say Gingerbread men will not be a Culp Family Tradition, but this story will be told every year at every family gathering and pretty much any time gingerbread is mentioned.