Crèches and Carols.

For the last six years or so, 3 LDS stakes have collaborated to put on a weekend of Crèches and Carols. I ended up going twice (once with Brie, Myriam and Esteban and another time with Bry, Brie, Kate & Steve) and was SO glad that I did! It was fabulous and very well done! I loved seeing the myriad of nativity scenes from around the world. It was SO impressive. AND, I loved their "Christmas Card" room---with a nativity back drop, a whole line up of costumes, and a photographer to take your picture. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the second night when we went as a family.




I especially love this last one of Brie. What a cutie. And really, most of the time, she is an angel.

Anyway, we're finishing up the last final details for our trip then heading to bed. We head out tomorrow morning for 3 weeks of family-filled fun. YAY! In any case, we hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Take care!

Sweet Girl.

This morning I was sitting on the landing, trying to get suitcases packed for our upcoming trip and feeling pretty frazzled. Brie was obviously lacking attention and kept buzzing around and getting into things. A little bit frustrated, I told her to please move and go to her room to play. She finally went. A few seconds later I looked into her room to see her smiling at me. I was a little puzzled. Then she stood up, walked over (still with the smile on her face) and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was the sweetest thing and melted my grumpy mood. She knew just what I needed. What a sweet girl. Anyway, just had to share.

Supermarket Sweep.

For Brie's main Christmas present this year we got
her a little kid shopping cart (from good ol' Aldi's)...


She quickly filled it with everyone else's presents, including the little newborn froggy outfit we bought for her baby brother (to wear home from the hospital).

Currently, she loves her cart, especially pushing her baby up and down the hall. Cute, cute.

Vichyssoise.

Have I mentioned that since we've been married, Bry & I have had our own Christmas Eve and Christmas morning before the actual holiday? (So that we can start establishing our own little family traditions...our families have their own fun traditions and we typically celebrate with them on December 25th.). Typically on "Christmas Eve" we have a special dinner with Vichyssoise (a yummy potato and onion based soup that his Mom and Grandma would traditionally make this time of year) as the main dish.

Last night (19 Dec. 2010) I was setting the table extra nice for the occasion. I had only set two places because I figured that Brie would just sit in her high chair, like normal. She came into the room, saw the spread (and a little bowl of peanuts and M&M's on the table :0)) and started saying, "booster chair, booster chair!" Meaning that she wanted to sit WITH US at the table. I thought that was cute. Bry grabbed her little blue booster chair and we made room for our little bug...she was very excited! :0)


It was a nice evening. We ate dinner by candlelight (battery-powered since Brie was at the table), had Christmas music playing in the background and enjoyed each other's company. Afterward, we read "The Night Before Christmas" and sang a few Christmas hymns. Before putting Brie to bed we read her "Polar Express" (she loves trains!), a little board book on the nativity and ended the night by singing "Silent Night." This is the first year that Brie is starting to figure Christmas out. She still doesn't understand most of it, but it's starting to fall into place and it's cute to see. Anyway, YAY for family traditions :0)

Visions of Sugar Cookies danced in their heads.

(Saturday, 19 December 2010)

Back in November Bry and I (during our drive home from Ohio) planned in all the Christmas festivities we wanted to make happen this year. One of them was Sugar Cookies. Brie is getting more interested in helping me in the kitchen so I tried to include her in as many steps as possible. She spilled a little flour here and there, but that sounds just like her Mom :0) Bry even took a break from all his school work (he's been so busy and has tried to balance school with as many holiday activities as possible.) to help Brie cut out the cookies, get them on the sheet and frost them later.

(the adorable little apron and hat are
from the Gublers. Too cute! Love 'em!)

Sunday afternoon we bundled up and dropped off a few plates of cookies. It was so fun to do it as a family...and hopefully brought a little Christmas cheer to others too!

We love Park Forest.

Yep, it's true. We love our complex! And another to reason to love it here...the awesome Christmas Party they threw last weekend in the clubhouse. A lot of the residents showed up so it was pretty cozy in there...with few tables or chairs, BUT they had dinner and dessert, at least a dozen door prizes (AND they gave away an IPad), Santa Claus for the kids, and carriage rides around the complex.


We didn't win anything (maybe next year :0)), but we enjoyed the food, mingling with friends, seeing Brie meet Santa Claus for a second time this year, AND a cold but fun carriage ride. It was great! Anyway, I love the feeling of community that they create... it's something you don't find in your typical complex. We're happy to have ended up here.

A Gospel Christmas.

(Thursday, 16 December 2010)

Last month I was looking through Christmas concerts and came across a Gospel Christmas Concert, featuring vocalist Wintley Phipps. I thought it'd be a fun Christmas celebration here in St. Louis...with a twist that was more unique to the area. We saved up our date night money for December and bought the tickets. We're so glad we did. What a wonderful and uplifting occasion! Plus, it was so fun to get all dressed up for another evening out on the town with my sweetie :0)




Powell hall itself was amazing and beautiful, all decked out for Christmas! And the music was so upbeat and performed with so much heart. I commented to Bry afterward that I don't think your typical Christmas concert would have been so focused on Christ as this one was. The highlight was definitely hearing Wintley Phipps sing....his love and admiration for Jesus was so apparent in the way that he talked and sang...I really felt inspired while listening to him. (If you have never heard of him, check out his renditions of "It is Well with my Soul" or "Amazing Grace" .)

Afterward we came back home and enjoyed "Snowman Soup" (Hot chocolate + M&M's + Hershey Kisses...stirred together with a candy cane), thanks to my cute visiting teachers. What a great evening!

Baby Bump: 22 weeks.

(I need to just ask Bry to take a picture of me, instead of turning the camera to auto, self timer and putting it on the stairs!)

Here I am at 22 weeks. I thought it was probably time to put up my first baby bump picture. It's not a great one...the outfit doesn't really emphasize my tummy so it's hard to tell how big I really am. Let's be honest...having never slimmed down after Brie's pregnancy, I feel like I'm starting to show a lot more and a lot sooner. But that's OK. I'm just going to be happy with however things go and be grateful to have a sweet little son growing inside of me :0) In any case, I've been feeling him move more and more and it's so exciting to be reminded that he's there with me...alive and well!

Let it Snow in St. Louis.

Last Sunday (12 Dec.) we got our first real snow in St. Louis. I didn't pull out my camera that day, but here are a few from the day after.

Brie coming up our walk after helping me deliver Christmas cards. (Mind you that we got all bundled up because it was only 10 degrees outside!!)

Oh that girl, what a joy!

A view from our bedroom window.

As much as I don't like COLD weather, the snow definitely makes it feel more like Christmas time.

Countless Cupcakes.

(Saturday, 11 Dec. @ 11 AM)

Well Brie's bday party has finally come and gone! Since my Mom, Em and I started brainstorming for it back in September, it feels like it's been in the works for a long time! Plus, all week* I was working on little projects and preparations to get ready---making mini cupcake boxes (so the kids could take their decorated cupcakes home), hanging banners, making cupcakes, mixing frosting colors, making party favors, etc. Brie helped me with several little tasks here and there and it was fun to have her working by my side, getting ready for her party. Needless to say when Saturday came it was fun to see the party come to life with all the little kids and their moms :0)

*It was nice to do things little at a time, without the stress of procrastinating or doing things last minute. This is something I need to remember for future projects! :0)



Have I mentioned that back in September my Mom sent me home with all sorts of fun cupcake paraphernalia? (cupcake liners, tins, sprinkles, napkins, etc.) AND that Em let me borrow who giant cupcake pan from last year? So, much of the FUNness of the party is thanks to their thoughtfulness and generosity :0)

(Each toddler had a cupcake decorating station---4 mini cupcakes and 5 different kinds of sprinkles. There were 6 different colors of frosting on the table to share. We had to switch out stations a few times since all the kids couldn't fit at the table at the same time. It got a little crazy and chaotic, but I think the kids had fun!)

Thanks to all you who came to celebrate with Brie AND thanks to everyone who sent cards & packages for Brie's special day! What would a birthday be without GREAT friends and family?!

Pink Polka Dot Tights.

I didn't document Brie's birthday like I did last year, for everyone's sake :0) But here are a few pictures of her first day as a TWO year old!...


Some of Brie's birthday moments...French toast with strawberry syrup for breakfast, cute new outfits and swimsuit from Bompa and Mémé, story time at the library, a Hello Kitty shirt from Esteban, YUMMY lasagna lunch made by Myriam, marshmallow suckers with Mom, Pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert, getting fun BLOCKS* from Kate & Steve, and getting a giant cupcake (filled with plastic toy treats) from Mama & Dada.

*Before she unwrapped her present, Kate & Steve jokingly told her to shake it to see what it was. She shook it and said, "blocks." And sure enough they were blocks. Lucky guess? :0)


We went to story time at the University City Public Library with our friends Myriam and Esteban. Afterward, I sat her down on the chair to get her coat on and realized what a GREAT chair it was. Many pictures naturally followed :0))

(I love all of her different facial expressions.)

What a great day! I was grateful that I had gotten things done earlier in the week so that I could just enjoy the day with Brie. That little cutie. Up next, pictures from her Cupcake Birthday Party :0)

Carols & Goodies.

When I was in high school, one of my good friends' family (the Swims) had a Christmas tradition centered around the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. They would invite friends over to go caroling then everyone would meet back in their warm and beautiful home for an assortment of Christmas goodies (which were always amazing and delicious, knowing them!) while watching the devotional. Good memories! Almost a decade later, I decided that I wanted to try their tradition with some friends and families in our complex...

We had about 5 families join us to brave the cold and out we went caroling to some of our neighbors (battery-powered candles and printed out carols in hand). It WAS cold, but it was SO fun to see the faces of the people we caroled to...it totally made it worth it. Now THAT's where the true spirit of Christmas can be found, eh?...as we sacrifice to bring joy to those around us!

Afterward everyone met back at our place for hot wassail, cocoa and goodies (potluck). We didn't watch the devotional together because most kids needed to get home for bed time, but it was such a delightful evening. I hope to keep up this tradition!

Here comes Santa Claus...

A little over a week ago (4 Dec. 2010) our ward had a Christmas breakfast--pancakes, egg casseroles and oranges. Yum. The best part though was getting to better know some ward members, singing Christmas songs AND watching Brie meet Santa Claus for the first time :0)...

She was a little hesitant at first (I don't blame her), but seemed OK with a little reassurance from me and Bry.

(I LOVE that far right picture of Brie & Bry, oh my sweeties :0))

Brie's Big Début.

Two years ago yesterday our sweet Briana Joyce joined our family. We sure love you Brie!!! Lots and lots :0) More to come later on her birthday...

To Ohio We Go.

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Ohio with my MTC companion and her cute little family. It was so wonderful spending several days with them in their beautiful home. Some of the highlights include: chatting, making/eating good food, watching the kiddies play, doing craft projects while the guys watched football, watching "A Christmas Story", more chatting and catching up, more eating of good food :0), etc...We had a delightful time!

(Cute, cute, cute!)

On Thanksgiving Day, while the kids (Mel, Brie and Geni) played, Mark, Britta, Bry and I pitched in to bring about a delicious and beautiful dinner. I couldn't help but comment over and over again how fun it was to work together. I love collaboration, team work and synergy!! Anyway, here is what was on the menu...

Thank you, Ropers for such a
wonderful Thanksgiving vacation!!!

(Bry was a champ and drove there and back. Thank you, Sweetie! On the way there it rained the WHOLE time (I looked through 2 whole baby name books and started compiling a list of possible names for our little boy.) and on the way back it was sunny and beautiful! It was about a 9 hour drive each way and I thought that it was going to be horribly long, especially with a toddler, but it wasn't bad at all.)

Thanksgiving has come and gone.

Before Thanksgiving is officially behind us I wanted to take a minute and type up some of the blessings in my life:

a warm and safe place to live
beautiful autumn
a FUN calling with great kids to work with (one of the music leaders in primary)
a stalwart husband who magnifies his church callings
good health
our baby boy
BRIE :0)
the beauties of the earth
WONDERFUL friends and family
The Christmas season
talents and gifts to share with each other
the restored and complete gospel of Jesus Christ
knowing that my family can be an eternal one, if we work for it
BRY--the perfect husband for me!
having the gift of the Holy Ghost
laughter
good food
chances to give AND receive acts of kindness and service
great examples who I can strive to be like
Bry letting me keep the car so I can be free to go places during the day
sincere smiles
true and lasting feelings that come from the spirit: peace, joy, love, etc.
my senses---being able to experience life---to taste, touch, hear, see, smell
the atonement so that I can change and progress

We are all blessed in different ways, but oh how blessed we all are. I truly have been blessed over the years to associate with such wonderful friends. I'm blessed to know each of you and hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgving!!

And, it's a....

...BOY!! :0)

We were a little surprised (just because this pregnancy so far has felt identical to Brie's) but we are SO excited!!!!! Yay for a little boy!! :0) :0)

Here's the story: Bry, Brie and I all went in for the ultrasound (we stopped at Stake & Shake to get shakes before heading to the doctor's office...to celebrate and to get that baby moving so that we would be able to for surely find out the gender!). Dr. Smith was checking things out, mesuring his head, his femur, etc. At one point it looked like he was waving so I turned to Brie and said, "Look he's waving at his big sister...I mean the BABY is waving." When I turned back I looked up at the screen to see M A L E. The Dr. had sneakily typed it while I wasn't looking. A boy! WOW. I WAS surprised....and all these thoughts of raising a boy flooded my mine...since I really hadn't considered a boy. But oh we were SO excited! How fun it will be to have a little Bryan running around...and to have him raised by such a wonderful dad. The world needs more guys like Bryan :0) Anyway, we are so very excited. Brie's going to have a little brother....Yipee!! :0) :0) :0)

Why the monkey you ask? For my Sister Emily's birthday present we decided to theme it on our ultrasound. We knew she'd love being the first to find out (especially since she was the last out of our families to find out that we were expecting Brie. Long story.) We scheduled the ultrasound for her birthday (23 Nov), sent her a cute little package with Ellie the Elephant and Max the Monkey (to tip her off that her REAL present would be finding out whether she'd be having a niece or a nephew)....and then found out that she'd be out of the country that day. Go figure! So we had her open up the package before she left and we coordinated texting/calling her when we'd find out the big news.

Tactics to get a Toddler to eat.

A little background info before I tell you the story...we frequently tell Brie that Mama has a baby in her tummy.

Ok, so the other night Bry and I made homemade pizza for dinner. Brie was thoroughly enjoying the toppings, but was leaving the crust. In an attempt to get Brie to eat the crust as well, Bry told her that the crust wanted to be in her tummy so she should put the bread in her mouth and eat it. Brie looked really perplexed and I just thought she was confused by what he was saying. After a few seconds, Brie said, "I don't want a baby!"

It was TOO funny! We couldn't believe she had made such a connection. Gotta love it :0)

G.R.A.T.I.T.U.D.E.

(A gratitude turkey, that Brie and I made,
to help us get more into the Season of Thanksgiving.)

Today I opened my General Conference issue of the Ensign and started browsing for a talk I can share for visiting teaching tomorrow. My eyes fell upon, "The Divine Gift of Gratitude" by President Thomas S. Monson. I was touched by so many of the things he had to say and found myself underlining many lines and stories. What a GREAT talk! (The funny thing is that I couldn't remember having heard it during conference. I went back to my notes and had only two things written. Did I doze off during his talk or did I just get distracted? In any case, it was a testimony to me of the power of going back and reading the conference talks. We really DO find new things that are pertinent and applicable for us at the time.) Here are a few of my favorite thoughts from his talk....

• “And one of them [the ten lepers], when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks..."

---I was impressed that this leper not only recognized the blessing, but outwardly recognized and humbly gave thanks to the Lord.

• "My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love."

• "We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather than on our blessings. Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, 'He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.'"

• "Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings."

• "This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways."

• "If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

• "The English author Aldous Huxley wrote, 'Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.'"

---Sad but true. I know I am often guilty of this.

• "My brothers and sisters, to express gratitude is gracious and honorable, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts is to touch heaven."

(To read his full talk online, click here.)

In any case, I was so grateful to have read this talk now. Especially as we start preparing and getting excited for Thanksgiving. This year I'm trying to put more focus on making it a SEASON of Thanksgiving, rather than just a decadent meal. Anyway, we truly are blessed!!

I want to dedicate a post, sometime this month, to some of my blessings. Til then, what are some of the things that YOU have been blessed with?

Our little Cuppie Cake.

In just ONE month from today Brie will be TWO YEARS OLD!! Craziness. To celebrate we're going to do a cupcake party with her little friends in the area. I'm excited! I really enjoy planning parties and such. I just love putting together colors and decorations and food to make something creative and fun. So her party will probably be more for me than for Brie, but oh well :0) She'll be all over cupcake decorating with her buddies!

Speaking of Brie...the last few months have been fun AND challenging. Every day Brie gets more and more playful, but also more independent and less keen on listening to her parents. I keep finding myself snapping at her and getting frustrated over the littlest things. It makes me sad (after the fact) how I chose to react and am reminded that I DO NOT want to be that kind of Sarah... impatient, snappy and easy to anger. I don't like how it makes me feel OR how it makes Brie feel :0(

But ya know? Life is for living and learning, and I am grateful that as I choose to turn to God after making poor choices that He is able to cast His light and wisdom on the situation. This week I have found that when I am stringent with my schedule or do projects and chores in a certain way and in a particular time frame....I tend to lose my temper with Brie because I see her as just getting in the way. BUT when I have tried to slow down, to include my shorter-striding buddy and to be more realistic about toddler-appropriate behavior...things go so much better. There is more laughing, more collaboration, more fun. I've just got to remember that when I'm in the moment.

Any thoughts on how to interact with toddlers in a consistent yet fun and loving way?

Girl or Boy?

In a few weeks we'll be finding out the gender of our baby. We're SO excited to say the least! :0) If you want to get in on the guessing fun, leave a VOTE (at the top right of page) ----->

Our little fam.

Yesterday (7 November 2010), after coming home from church, I knocked on our neighbors' door and asked Kate if she could do a mini impromptu photo shoot for us. I've been wanting family pictures with the Fall leaves...and had to seize the moment when all of us were looking presentable :0) Plus the yellow leaves outside our town home are so beautiful! Anyway, here are a few of my favorites...

(click to enlarge.)

Scape : American Bistro.

Since at the time of our anniversary food was my enemy....we decided to postpone our anniversary dinner til 2nd trimester. We ended up going to Scape. It was just what I had in mind---nice sit-down dining, contemporary yet romantic feel and delicious food.

My handsome husband.

My delicious entrée.

Here's what we had:

Country Time Hard* Lemonade
Lemon vodka with housemade lemonade
and muddled strawberries

*We asked for the vodka to be left off. It cut the price in more than half. Yay for virgin drinks.

Scape Chopped Salad
chopped salad greens, radicchio, spinach, candied pecans
and green apple with a citrus-shallot vinaigrette

French Onion Soup
with gruyere cheese gratinee

--it was served IN an onion...so inventive.

Center Loin "Kurobuta" Pork Chop
Oven roasted center cut loin chop with braised collard
greens and our medjool date-cippolini soubis

Macadamia Nut Crusted Chicken
papaya marmalade, sho-yu cream sauce and
mashed potatoes

---This was our FAVORITE hands down. We would definitely go back for more of this chicken dish. Délicieux!

It was a delightful evening---attending the temple first and dinner next. Getting dressed up and out on the town with my sweetie. Good times :0)