Happy / Surprised / Scrunched up

The days left till Christmas is winding down, but the craziness certainly isn’t! Between chores, two high-energy boys, and a baby that wants to be held all the time, there is no time for peace and to pee (alone). But Ryan’s brother flies in tonight and his parents tomorrow, so despite all the busy, it’ll be nice to have a change of pace and feel some CA love. We live fairly close to the NASCAR Speedway, so we plan on viewing their Christmas spectacular and live nativity where you can hear Mary, Joseph, and Roman centurions say their lines with a southern drawwwwl.

And I’d like to say thank you for reading this blog and for your supportive and friendly comments. It’s been nice getting to know some of you online and making new friends, IRL even. It’s meant a great deal to me since I’m still in mourning over our move and missing my besties back in Ventura. But if I could sit down and enjoy a hot cup of cocoa with you (unless you’re a killer or kidnapper), I would. The closest thing would be to share our simple hot cocoa recipe:

Hope you enjoy the season with all of its gingerbread-baking, gift-wrapping, spending-time-with-family goodness! And I try to remind myself that I’m too blessed to be stressed.

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Congrats to Kendall, comment #84. She is the winner of the JetPens giveaway.

Some Instagram pics from the past few weeks or so. I’m always forgetting to bring my real camera, so my phone has been handy. Seriously, what would I do without my phone? I’d get lost around town, couldn’t call anyone (even my own husband!), be without any novels…the dependence on my phone is intense.

Ryan’s parents and brother are flying in from California next week and we’re really looking forward to that. It has crossed my mind to ask them to bring some In-N-Out, but then the thought crossed right back out for obvious reasons.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! If you’re like me, you will be gift wrapping, sending out packages, and prepping the house for visitors. And lastly, enter the giveaway for a JetPens certificate if you’d like to shop for some Japanese pens and stationery!

We’re so happy to announce the newest addition to our family! Mara Noelle joined us Kirks on the 16th. We’re all in love, and the boys have been so sweet and enamored with her.

Even at a nice 8lbs 8oz, she still feels tiny to me (and conversely, the kids seem gigantic). And she’s super cute, so I’ll probably be posting/Instagram-ing tons of pictures of her from here on out!

{Instagram pics of Mara at 2 and 1 day old}

A much better time-waster than the breast-augmentation app.

Thanksgiving weekend was well spent with family a little ways up north. We relaxed, ate, played games, ate, fed ducks, saw the most amazing cats, and ate some more. I am sufficiently padded for the cold winter months ahead.

The fall colors were a treat, too, since there is no such thing as seasons down where we are. The boys have yet to see snow.

And thank you all for your kind words regarding my dear grandmother. It was very comforting to hear your condolences. She was a beautiful and kind-hearted woman indeed. With the best sound bytes, to boot. You would have liked her. : )

The day of our shoot quickly went from partly sunny to overcast, especially the closer we got to the beach. With a slight chance of rain, the clouds began rolling in, creating a gorgeous, foggy backdrop. The soft, hazy mountains in the background remind me of Asian brush paintings. Beautiful. And I love how the images have a quiet, subdued feeling to them. Natural lighting is where it’s at. We are so grateful for Raya’s time and talent, and are thrilled at how these turned out!

{All images by Raya Carlisle Photography. Children by Ryan and Jenn.}