I will not feel guilty about not sending Christmas cards

At least that is what I have been telling myself over and over in my head, trying to convince myself it is true. This is yet another guilt trip I have allowed myself to take. Since motherhood, I have traveled down this road of what I think I should be doing, measuring myself against others and the "standard". (I think there may be a resolution there!) And at this time I feel like I should have sent a Christmas card to all of my friends and relatives. But the reality is that I did not. The desire was there, but I just could not make it happen. And Christmas came and it was absolutely wonderful. The children were happy, we had a great time with all of our family and it really didn't matter that I didn't mail out those cards. Really, most of the people I am closest to read my blog. So here is an online version of what I would have mailed to you! :





The Prevette Family wishes you and yours a very merry Christmas and a blessed new year!

Christmas Questionaire

I was "tagged" twice to do this fun, Christmas questionaire. So either my friends Dawn and Beth really want to know some fun facts about how I celebrate Christmas or they were giving me the kick in the rear I needed to finally post something!



1. Egg nog or Hot Chocolate? Definately hot chocolate!


2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We don't do Santa at our house. We want to be sure that we are telling our kids the truth and that we are celebrating the real reason for the season. If our children are to believe in a man that they cannot see, I want it to be Jesus! However, we told Anagrace that people like to "pretend" about Santa at Christmastime and she said she wants to pretend, too. Pretending is fun and that is fine with us! But the presents are from mommy and daddy. We get the credit for that! And we (and by we I mean I) wrap them; it is just more fun to unwrap a gift, I think!

3. Colored lights or white?White.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Sometimes, I didn't find it in the boxes of decorations this year. Our decorations are simpler this year than in years past. Three children will do that....so, yeah, not hanging mistletoe is probably a good thing right now!

5. When do you put your decorations up?The Saturday after Thanksgiving

6. Favorite holiday dish?Hmmm, I like the sweet stuff. Sweet potato casserole and any dessert!

7. Favorite childhood memory? Celebrating Christmas at Disney World with my dad.

8. When/how did you learn the truth about Santa? Some little boy at school told me, in the second or third grade.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, that's cheating!

10. How do you decorate the tree? We bought an artificial last year. It is one of those tall, skinny "pencil" trees. It is pre-lit (what a blessing). We put on the red wooden bead garland first. Then add our ornaments, which are a mixture of some from my childhood, some from our first year of marriage, and all of the "baby's first" ornaments.

11. Snow. Love it or dread it? Love it. I really hope I get to go skiing this year.

12. Can you ice skate? Kind of.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Yes, my engagement ring! Justin proposed Christmas of 1999.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Celebrating the birth of our Savior with my husband and children!

15. Favorite holiday dessert? Tough choice, I love them all. I miss the spritzer sugar cookies my grandmother used to make. I make fudge every year.

16. Favorite Christmas Tradition?We started a couple of traditions with Anagrace that will be fun with all of the kids in the future. We read the Christmas story and set up our nativity scene on the mantle. And we bake a birthday cakefor Jesus on Christmas Eve to eat on Christmas morning...there is no other day of the year that cake is allowed for breakfast!

18. Do you prefer giving or receiving?I like both. Finances and indecisiveness cause some stress with giving, but I still enjoy it. And who doesn't enjoy receiving?

19. Favorite Christmas song? I'm not sure of the title, "Night Divine" maybe. It's the one that says "fall on your knees and hear the angels' voices, oh night divine, when Christ was born"

20. Candy canes. Yum or yuck? I'll eat them occasionally. It depends on my mood.

21. What do you want for Christmas?This is just a want in general, I know I can't get it for Christmas...I really want to close in our screened porch and make it a playroom.

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? Yes, we attend Justin's company Christmas party.

23. Do you dress up for Christmas Eve or wear P.J.'s? This year we will dress up because we will attend Elevation's Christmas Service.

24. Do you own a Santa hat? I don't. Anagrace has one.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Most of our family live close. So over the course of the weekend, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we see parents, grandparents, brothers, aunts, uncles , cousins, neices,nephews, ...

I'm going to break the rules and not tag anyone. Instead, I'll invite anyone out there who wants to participate to post this on their blog! Let me know if you do! Merry Christmas!

A Post about Gratitude

I intended to post this at Thanksgiving, but you know how that goes. A bit late, but here it is:


Pastor Steven preached a few weeks ago about money, and how we all are rich. We are so blessed to live in America and live like we do. He explained that we are all rich, we just need to change our perspective. He gave a series of examples like:

"If the heat goes out in your house, that's a rich people problem. If your car is not the latest model, that's a rich people problem. If you lost money in the stock market...If you can't sell your house..." Just about every problem we have can be turned around to show how blessed we are if we can just step back and change our perspective. Here are a few that I thought about this Thanksgiving:


I am thankful that we celebrated Thanksgiving at 3 different locations, that means we have a large family that is close by. We can see them on the special holidays and all throughout the year!


I am thankful that I am exhausted, that means I have a small baby to care for, to hold, to nurse, to snuggle on the couch with in the wee hours of the night/morning. Some women are up at night longing for that very thing.


I am thankful for my messy, noisy house. The floors are covered with Cheerios, crumbs, books and toys. It is loud with the sounds of squealing and laughter (sometimes crying and whining), but that means I have healthy children that run and play in our home. They grow up too fast!


I am thankful for the pile of my husband's work clothes on our bedroom floor, that means he has a job to go to and is able to provide for our family. And when he gets home he is willing to change clothes and spend some quality time with his family. He is a wonderful husband and father!


I am thankful that my body doesn't look the way it used to, because that means I was able to carry and birth my babies. But I am also thankful that the jeans I bought a few months ago look horrible on me now, because that means my gym visits are paying off! And...


I am thankful that I am almost thirty, because that means I may be able to replace those jeans with some new ones for my birthday!


See, a negative attitude can be turned into gratitude! It really has helped me to put things in perspective.


I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your heart was full of joy and gratitude.

A Picture That Made Me Laugh & A Picture That Made Me Cry

Here is a picture that made me laugh:

Caption: "I can't believe you just called me fat!"

And here is the picture that made me cry:

Caption: "I don't need Mommy anymore".

I know that is not true. I have just felt that way everytime one of my children took their first bottle. Just a sidenote: I am not giving up on breastfeeding, just trying to get it to where I can have a break every now and then!

The Fourth

And no I am not referring to a fourth Prevette child! My dear friend, Dawn (who by the way recently did have her fourth child), tagged my to play this little "bloggy game". You must write a post about the 4th photo in the 4th file of your computer. So here goes...

This is a picture of my precious daughter, Lily Anagrace. It was taken in April of this year. She has those pink sponge rollers in her hair that I think all mothers make their daughters wear at some point in their childhood. I had her hair cut a few months before and the ringlets that she had for four years disappeared. I was so sad. It was a realization that she was not a baby anymore. And in an effort to keep her "my little girl" I have tried multiple techniques to put cute little curls in her hair. She does have some curl left, it is just not like it was when she was younger. Her hair is very curly at her hairline, around her forehead and at the nape of her neck. So, I've tried making the length of her hair look the same. The sponge rollers were the first attempt. We've now moved on to rag rolling her hair with socks. I know, I know! Justin thinks I'm crazy, but I've only got one little girl and I'm going to fix her hair until she refuses to let me do it anymore!

Fun-filled Weekends

We have spent the past two weekends on the road to some fun destinations. Our first roadtrip was to the NC mountains. His aunt and uncle live close to Asheville, and we (along with about 15 other family members!) stayed at their house. I enjoyed the extra help caring for the kids. The highlight of the trip for Justin was a mountain biking excursion with his uncle. And the kids favorite part was the trip to the Farmers' Market.

Anderson loved listening to the band play . And he especially loved eating the fresh mountain apple on the car ride home!

Anagrace picked out several pumpkins to take home with us.

This past weekend we traveled to Columbia, SC. My dad went along for the ride; Anagrace really enjoyed spending time with her Pawpaw. We had a great lunch and visit at my aunt and uncle's house before heading to the zoo. We all had a blast!

The kids really enjoyed checking out all of the animals. Anderson was so excited that he got to walk around the zoo, instead of being in the stroller. We borrowed a "kiddy leash" to use. I used to say that I would not use one of those things, but it worked really well!

Anagrace rode a real pony and took a ride on the carousel too.

Anderson on his "leash" looking at the rabbit in its cage.

An update

I can't keep up with this blog. I feel like I can't keep up with my life! Here's what the kids are up to:

Anagrace says "I love being five, but I just don't want the shots they give five-year-olds at the doctor!" She loves chasing Anderson around the house and making him squeal. She is trying to save up money from "chores" to go to Build-a-Bear workshop. She loves that place...I wish I had invented that concept! She names each one of her stuffed animals, and walks around the house calling their names in search of them. I have no idea how she keeps up with all of their names. I have a hard time keeping just three names straight! Her favorite stuffed animal at the moment is a bunny she named Mimzy. She named him Mimzy after a bunny in a movie that she watched with my mom. The movie was apparently very sad and left an impact on Anagrace. As a result, she is very interested in all things rabbit. She even requested a bunny rabbit theme for her birthday party. It would have been much easier planning for that theme if her birthday was close to Easter. But, it still turned out great.

Anderson is such a funny boy! I laugh at his silliness all the time. Still flexing his muscles regularly. He knows how to show his teeth to smile. He loves to brush his teeth. Everytime he passes the bathroom, he says "teeth" as a request to brush them again. You've got to love a kid who is passionate about oral hygiene! He is starting to say more and more words. I love to hear him talk as opposed to the caveman grunts he usually tries to communicate with. He is a loving little boy, too. Likes to give hugs and lay his head on your shoulder, he is a little more stingy with his kisses. Maybe he thinks he should brush his teeth first!

Ashton is growing like a weed! I can't believe he is almost 3 months old! He is smiling and cooing. He still won't take a pacifier. That would really make car rides a lot more enjoyable. I keep trying, but I think he's going to be a hand-sucker. He doesn't put just his thumb in his mouth, it's the whole fist. He is trying to learn to roll over, but hasn't quite figured it out. He loves to lay on the play mat and "talk" to the hanging toys. He slept for a 6 hour stretch a couple of nights ago, but not again since. I still have hope, though.

So, there's an update of the three littles ones that consume my time and energy and at the same time fill me with joy, love and happiness.