Tirzah's First Birthday

One month ago, we celebrated Tirzah's first birthday!

It's hard to believe that if she had arrived on her due date, we would have had a party this past weekend instead!

What's even harder to believe is that this tiny 5 pound 12 ounce bundle of pure sweetness is now an active, determined curly-headed toddler!

This first birthday celebration always contains so many emotions for me.

But the strongest emotion I always feel is JOY!

These little ones are such a gift, even though not every moment of that first year feels like it.

There are plenty of highs and lows, sleepless nights and milestones to celebrate.

My husband always jokes with me that the party is more for me than for the baby!

I just smile and say that he's probably right.

Getting through the first year of life with a baby feels like a pretty big deal to me! 😄

I had some (unrealistic) dreams of making a naked smash cake for her party.

It looked incredible...in my head!

Turns out, cakes have to be basically perfect if they're not going to be covered with icing. 

And mine never are!

I ended up just frosting a simple cake and adding flowers and this gold topper that my sister-in-law loaned to me.

I think Tirzah was just fine with it! 😊

This "first year stats" board was so fun to create!

After making some for a friend's twins, I decided I wanted the same thing at her party.

I made these vanilla cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting, and Eddie declared they were the best cupcakes he's ever had! 

I call that a win.

We planned a big party with both of our families and some friends.

The day of the party, there was a big snowstorm in the forecast.

And snow it did!!

After having two birthdays during the summer/early fall season, I'm still getting used to the challenges of winter celebrations!

Thankfully, my parents were able to make it here safely before the storm hit us.

Judging by the photo, you'd never know that some of us were happy,

but we really were so glad to have both sets of parents here to celebrate with us!

I love this picture of our happy little birthday girl! She was clapping her hands and enjoying all the attention that a one-year-old gets at their party. 😍

Earlier in the day, she was taking quite a few steps, to the delight of her grandparents and family!

Tirzah loved the icing on her cake, but she didn't actually do much smashing...

...not until she had some "help"!

I think her siblings ate more of it than she did!
(Notice the fingers in her brother's mouth!)

As you can see, she's often the center of attention around here! 

  

This is her "Why-did-you-take-away-my-cake" face!

It's amazing how much extra love one little person can bring to a family!

She's our feisty little snuggle-bug,

so determined, yet so sweet.

She's fearless, which has caused her mama more than a little stress.

She loves to climb the stairs, clean out the cupboards and go fishing in the toilet. (Why??!!)

She loves to dance, play the piano, and "sings" loudly when she hears us singing.

It's so fun to hear her say "Mom!" and chatter "Papa" when she hears his voice on the phone!

She's the delight of our family, and we love her so much!

Happy birthday, Tirzah Anne!

My Christmas Home

It's the most wonderful time of the year again!
The lights twinkle on the trees while the aroma of freshly-baked cookies fills the kitchen.
Excited children count down the days until Christmas,
and carols play on Pandora.

I broke my tradition this year, and began decorating for Christmas before we even celebrated Thanksgiving, thanks to some pleading from my children!
But I'm not even mad about it.
A few extra weeks of enjoying the coziness of evergreen and twinkly lights is just fine by me!

I hung my hand-crocheted snowflakes (gifted from a friend) on a branch,

and then added some mini trees and a cloche to the arrangement, along with some candles.

This is probably one of my favorite spaces in the house!

I love the mini white church and house that I found at the Embellish Christmas sale!

Aren't they the cutest?!

I hadn't found any Advent calendars that I liked, but wanted something visual for the children to count down the days until Christmas, so I was happy to find these printable tags online! 

Just don't ask me how many times they have fallen down! 😏

I may need to come up with a more stable solution for next year. (See what I did there? Stable?! haha.)

This is Mom's corner: aka my personal hot chocolate bar.

And yes, salted caramel can take that drink to a whole new level!

You're welcome.

Who doesn't love a crackling fire?

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

but there's only room for two of them there!

Okay, I'll stop with the cheesy rhymes!

The wall seemed bare so I used some embroidery hoops to create a few simple wreaths.

Maybe they still need some ribbon, but I like the simplicity of the evergreen.

Target has some of the cutest ornaments!

I found this one on clearance after Christmas last year.

Rather than use just one style of ornaments, I like to collect a variety over time from different places.

After last year's tree issues (in which the tree shed half its needles before we even made it to Christmas 😞), I'm happy to report that this tree has been good to us!

Is there anything better than the glow of twinkly lights at night?

I wish I could invite you all over for a pot of hot tea (or coffee!), 

but I sure am glad you joined me on our Christmas home tour!

May your Christmas season be a time of rest

and your heart full of joy in the Gift of our Saviour.

An Engagement Brunch

Last week, I had the privilege of hosting a brunch

in honor of my sweet sister-in-law, Kyra,

who recently got engaged!

We are so excited for her and Nick, and can't wait to celebrate with them in just a few months!

Bridgette (another sister-in-law!) planned the event and would have hosted,

but her baby was born just a week and a half earlier!

So I let her do the hard work of planning the menu, since that's not my expertise,

and I got to decorate. (Don't tell her, but I clearly got the better end of the deal!😉)

I had fun making these watercolor verse cards for each place. 

It was so special having Polly there to celebrate with us!

She and Joe made the trip to VA for Liz' graduation, so it was the perfect time to be together.

Aren't these girls just beautiful?!

I gathered some stems of greenery to lay down the center of the table.

I love that it is simple, but gives impact!

And there were just enough peonies, irises and roses left in the flowerbeds to make a bouquet!

This picture captures the joy of the morning so well!

Is there anything better than good friends, laughter and good food?!

Oh, and a brand-new baby! She was pretty much the center of attention. 😍

The sisters pitched in to help make the food, and it was oh-so-delicious!

I attempted making pavlova, because I've been dreaming of it ever since Amy introduced me to it years ago!

It didn't look like the picture on Pinterest, but it ended up being delicious! I can't wait to try making it again. Maybe I'll get brave next time and make a lemon curd to go along with it!

Even the children got in on the party! We heard them praying, and I ran for my camera, but didn't get there in time to capture that moment! I think they had as much fun as we did. 😊

Iced coffee over ice cream? Yes, please!

And here is the glowing bride-to-be! She's such a beautiful soul, and I'm glad I get to call her family.

This photo was taken by Hadassah! I was impressed that she got us all in the picture, even though some of us weren't looking at the camera or smiling!

This may be the sweetest photo of the morning!

Happy week, friends! xoxo, Ruby

Easter Gardens

As I was browsing Pinterest a few days ago,

I stumbled onto a picture of an Easter garden and instantly knew it would be perfect project for my children and I!

We spend time doing special activities with the children at Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ,

but Easter is an even more significant event for the Christian!

Jesus' death on a cross and resurrection from the grave is our salvation and hope for eternity.

I want my children to understand why we celebrate Easter,

and this seemed like a great way to start more discussions about it. 

There were only a few basic items needed to make the gardens.

(And if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm all about simple projects! 😉)

I found the clay plate and faux moss at Walmart and got the pebbles from Hobby Lobby.

We just picked out some twigs from our backyard to make the crosses.

Not pictured: an empty tin can

We started with a layer of dirt that Nicholas scooped from somewhere (probably my flower beds!),

then added the tin can with the open end toward the front of the plate.

I hot glued the moss over the can and the children placed the pebbles around the sides and front.

I used twine to fasten two twigs together, which created the crosses, and then hot glued them into the moss.

 

I took the children on a four-wheeler ride to find some larger rocks to cover the opening of the can.

That was probably their favorite part of the whole project!

It was such fun to watch their gardens take shape,

but even better to have conversations with them about why Jesus went to the cross for us that day. 

I love how a simple activity like this can communicate profound truth to little (and big) hearts.

What Easter traditions are meaningful in your family?