christmas 2009

merry christmas! holy cow has the year passed by so fast, and already it is christmas. the first thing we did when we woke up was get the monkey bread in the oven. we then headed into the living room to hang out with our tree and open our presents. we kept a really small budget (see's candy is not part of the budget) this year. we don't need anything, and want a lot more for the future. paul of course went over budget (like every year), but kept control which made me proud. i got paul 'get smart season 2' , cabella's gift card, an orange, i made him a photo rubic's cube, and of course see's candy. paul made me a mini album on why he loves me (i LOVED IT!), a camaro calendar, 'strange brew', see's candy, and an acorn bowl. our sweet neighbor gives paul a hard time each sunday about is lack of shaven face, so he brought paul some razors, and me some m&m's. it was a really nice morning. the sad part for me was i didn't feel that we got enough out of our tree. i know i have high expectations (with myself), i mean even if we spent an hour each day with the tree, i would still be frustrated that i didn't spend more. i love our tree, it was so pretty and i wish it could last forever. we spent christmas day at g. birrells for a few hours mingling with those we love, then the rest of the time with dad & mom. we decorated the table, made a delicious dinner and spent the rest of the evening together.

this year i took more time to reflect on jesus christ and his birth, and what it really means. i had some wonderful experiences, and love his birth and all the circumstances surrounding it. it would have been so cool to be a shepherd hearing the angels singing, or looking towards the heavens and looking at a new star.

merry christmas!

paul and i hope you have a very merry christmas and a wonderful new year! (yes, that is snow on his eyebrow, and yes he hates it...but if amy had her way, she would have made them for me with just his eyebrows)

-paul and ashlee

monumental

paul and i ate dinner at the dinner table for the 3rd time (since we have been married!). i made my favorite...spaghetti and of course with the garlic bread. we usually eat watching seinfeld, little house, antique roadshow, so you think you can dance, transformers... i thought it would be good to start some good habits and eat at the table like a normal couple...

-ash

paul didn't like the photo of the massive plate of garlic bread (we look unhealthy)...

yes...we do eat that much garlic bread in the space of 2 days

skiing anyone?

paul and i took out our winter gear and conrad found these...i think i am looking at the next olympic snowboard gold medalist! he wanted to wear them around, but had a hard time seeing and would run into the walls...pretty funny!

-ash

heating sugar

so my dream is to be able to make anything, everything. i am having trouble making sugar candy, english toffee to be exact. i made more tonight and my first batch came out so wonderfully. i got so excited i started on the second (yes i am my mothers daughter and don't know when to say when). the sugar separated from the butter and it caramelized (wind out of sails and frustration). the same thing happened last year too. maybe i am doomed to make ONE batch a year...

-ash

hot chocolate

i have always found it strange when i find someone who doesn't like hot chocolate. seems silly that a warm chocolate drink, when below zero outside, doesn't sound good.

paul is one of those people. it is a little chilly outside (and snowing FINALLY!) and i asked paul if he would like a drink to warm him up. of course he said no...(then came why...) "i can't drink it as fast as i can cold stuff...is burns my tongue...i don't like that!" it is hilarious to me that it boils down to that, although it doesn't surprise me. he can eat so fast it is shocking. no wonder he stays away from food he can't eat/drink at a ridiculous rate! secretly he eats so fast so he can have more than me....

example...oreo cookies...the last bag we got i had 2 cookies and he scarfed the rest...(yes a month later, i am still mad!)

paul thinks this is wrong information, and if anyone cares for the "truth" can contact him...

-ash

neighborhood christmas

tonight we were able to go to our neighborhood christmas/talent party. there are so many young kids who have no problem going in front of the crowd to sing or play a musical instrument. me...no way! we had a little slideshow with photo's of the birth of jesus christ. it was beautiful. i love this time of year. i love jesus christ and find it so amazing that he was born in such humble circumstances. i would have loved to have been a shepherd to hear the angels singing of his birth. what an amazing moment! he makes me want to live better, to be better and i know through him i can...

-ash

honoring christmas

my friend jenny gave this book to me for christmas. her dad wrote this and i can't wait to read what it's about. i LOVE the mini christmas books, more importantly, i LOVE the message in them. i'll start reading this tonight and have it done by tomorrow.

-ash

relief society

tonight we had our relief society christmas dinner. it was nice to be with all my friends in the ward. we had a progressive dinner (really good food thanks to vicki), christmas lights and center pieces on each table (at my first table, the centerpiece was santa looking down in the manger at baby jesus...i thought that was a little strange. which i said to the owner of it without knowing it was hers oops!), and a band 'temple squares' came and played some folk music for us. it was a great way to help feel the christmas spirit.

-ash

a little color

i don't paint my nails a lot (hardly ever) but i thought a little red would be fun for the holiday season...no i didn't paint my fingernails...painted fingernails drive me crazy (esp when the paint starts flaking off...tacky).

-ash

neighborhood gifts

this year, paul and i got some supplies to make chocolate dipped pretzels for our neighbors. the problem is, i love to eat them a whole lot... so a who lot aren't making it into the bags.

-ash

birrell collection

i pulled this jewel out today. when i look at what mom did with her wood, i remember what it was like as we laid all of them on the lawn, sprayed them and bagged them, set up quilted bear, watching mom as she licked the pain brush after she put their eyes on, having containers full of paint wash, and neighbors who helped dropping wood off. she is so talented and can do anything she wants...i guess i love anything that reminds me of being little again. when did life become so fast?

-ash

villages up!

i remember going to my grandpa and grandma pool's house and i would lay by their christmas trees (they used to do 3). i loved looking at how they decorated with christmas villages under their tree. my sisters and i would imagine ourselves living in the little towns and living in the homes. when i was younger, i wanted to have a village. grandpa birrell even came over one year and helped us.

today, paul and i took a couple hours and put our villages up under the tree. i didn't put up any of the offices/stores because i just wanted a countryside look. keep it simple. in fact, when i thought about what i wanted it to look like, tennessee immediately came to mind. i wanted some rolling hills, a few farm houses. well, it didn't exactly turn out like scott and becky's home. for one, there are too many houses and another, i don't have a house that looks like theirs.

-ash

christmas ornaments

i love christmas tree ornaments. each year, i think it would be fun to have a snowflake tree, or just bells hanging. then i open my ornament box and those wishes disappear. i love taking each one out and remembering what it was like to open the present from grandpa and nana that would hold our special ornament for the year. i get teary with some of them and laugh at others. its perfect...the lights, the ornaments, everything about it. i love to sit in the living room and just look at it.

-ash

i thought i would share some of my very favorite ornaments...

1-my all-time favorite...she is so pretty and she was my first ornament too on my first christmas 2-she reminds me of me...i hope i was this cute when i was little 3-reminds me of my late uncle seamus 4-button girl from mom 5-i have not only this little bear in a walnut, but a mouse, and a baby (simpler times too) 6-i bought these last year and saw them again as i was hunting for this years. saw them and bought them again. brought them home, opened my ornament box and saw the two that i got last year...so we have 4! 7-one i made when i was three 8-i love snowflakes 9-aunt becky made this pepper santa...need i say more (plus, it is next to my favorite one!)

our perfect tree

we went to the tree farm in alpine and cut down our tree. it was a really tall tree (12' tall) that we had to cut in half to fit in the house. it is really hard to choose just one tree. i could have three...when we thought we had found the tree, paul went to stand in line to pay and cut. meanwhile, i started looking at all these other trees, and got a little sad when i saw the huge ones that no one wanted and now they are lonely trees knowing that no one wants them. pathetic i know...pretty soon, i looked up and saw this beautiful tree with pinecones! i had to have it. linds ran and told paul the new row i was on...he came, he cut and we were off. i love our tree.

-ash

our tree with pinecones!

fresh after decorating

here we come a caroling...

tonight, the youth in our ward put together baskets of goodies for some families in our neighborhood. we then wrapped ourselves in blankets/coats and loaded a trailer. we drove all around our neighborhood and sang christmas carols. i didn't want to stay on the trailer because last year i froze, so i thought i would walk. i was much warmer. i love the way christmas carols make the holidays brighter, warmer and more enjoyable.

while i love hearing their voices, i also like it when things are organized. some of the kids were singing their own songs, most were talking/texting, and the few others were singing their hearts out. the thing that gets me is when we would stop and sing at the porch of a home, most of the kids don't get up, they stay in the trailer and talk...kids these days!

-ash

its beginning to look a lot like christmas...

tonight, paul and i put up the christmas lights on the house. the worst part was it was 100 degrees below zero with a little wind that took the temperature down a trillion degrees. i had two pairs of leather gloves and my snow boots on (helped a little). truthfully, paul did most of the work. i stood there as a supporting wife and froze. i replaced some light bulbs, shivvvvvered and told paul to hurry and go my fast! it was nice to be out with him talking about some things we would like to do during the holidays. the lights are up and our home is beginning to look a lot like christmas.

-ash