The Jolliff Family

We have all our Christmas decorations up, the lights are on and it snow flurried here today. Christmas is right around the corner and the boys are excited at our house. Sam was really excited to plug the outside lights in for the first time. He gets a thrill to plug them in each night. Inside the house, I have opted for simplicity. I usually do something different every year above the mantle with things I already have and this year I decided to use my greenery and hang my wreath. I like how it turned out! Our side table, with one of my favorite Christmas decorations, camels from Heather! Our Christmas tree was picked out by Sam himself. He looked and looked and picked this one. We think he did a great job!! A look from the kitchen. I enjoy the nighttime when all the lights are off besides the Christmas tree and the candles are lit, so homey and warm! The boys received their Christmas jammies tonight. Since we will be traveling back to Illinois for two weekends in a row f...

Not a day goes by in which I am not thinking of a land far away.

I have decided to add a new feature to my blog called Make It Monday ! Each Monday I will feature something that I have made. It might be something I baked, sewed or crafted in some way. I will try it out for about a month and if I can keep up with it, I will continue it!! Banana Bread!! Yummy. I made this for Sunday School breakfast, but wrapped in a nice holiday towel with a ribbon around it, this banana bread loaf would make a great present for a neighbor for Christmas! Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 2 1/3 cups overripe mashed bananas Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease (and I flour) a loaf pan. 2. In a large bowl, combine flour, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture; stir until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. 3. ...

We have had a really great time celebrating Thanksgiving with our family! It is nice that my parent's and Hap's family live so close together, that we are able to spend time with both sides on this visit. We left home on Wednesday afternoon and headed to Salem to be with my mom and dad. After a slight sickness from Andrew on Wednesday night, Thursday was a much better day. Our attempt at a family picture. I am so thankful for my three guys!! Sam and Andrew sporting their turkey ties! We enjoyed seeing John, Linda, Katie and Aiden along with Jason, Kara, Hunter and Keegan. We had never met Katie, Aiden or Keegan so it was special to be with them for the day. Katie, Hunter and Sam ate at the kids table for Thanksgiving dinner. My grandma Rose and Aunt Mary and Uncle Carol also came for the day! Here is our attempt at a great-grandchild picture with Grandma Rose!! haha, I took about 10 and this is the best one:) Hunter, 5, is totally bored. Katie, 4, is wanting to go to ...

Happy Thanksgiving! Love, Hap, Elizabeth, Sam and Andrew "Rejoice always, Pray constantly. Give thanks in everything for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The boys and I have had a great day so far on this chilly Tuesday! Besides both boys getting a hair cut and finishing some laundry, we have done some other fun things. 1. Play with cookie cutters. These provide endless fun some days. Andrew enjoyed dumping them out and then picking them up and them dumping them out and you get the point:) 2. I decorated the side table that I refinished yesterday. I have been wanting to refinish it, this was saved from Hap's grandparents garage before I moved to Indianapolis and it used to be a dark oak color. So I borrowed Amanda's electric sander a couple weeks ago and took the table apart. Hap told me on Sunday that I wouldn't finish it before going to Ethiopia... so it was game on:) And I finished it yesterday and am in love with it!! I put some decor on it today and am already thinking of my next refinish project. 3. Make Marshmallow Pilgrim Hat cookies. Sam and I had some fun in the kitchen this afternoon and made a Thanksgiving ...

This morning we had a parent teacher conference with Sam's teachers, Mrs. Friend and Mrs. Robinson. They are such sweet ladies and I am so glad that Sam has them as his teachers this year! They said Sam is such a jewel to have in class. They both commented that since he is one of the smaller children in the class, they just want to pick him up and squeeze him!! They did say that although he was small, he is assertive with the other kids. They indicated that he plays very nicely with the other children but also enjoys playing by himself. They said that he always treats the other boys and girls nicely and listens well. I was thrilled to hear that as he doesn't always "listen well" for us!! They both commented that he was one of the more mature kids in the class and was a leader. I had to laugh because they said he loves to paint and sometimes "get it all over". (The picture below is some of his arts and crafts from this fall.) They did indicate that ...

I could just eat these boys up:) Happy Friday!!

Sam has really been enjoying doing puzzles again. He was into them for a while when we was younger, but now he has moved onto bigger and better puzzles :) He really likes his letter train and always wants it to be "longer, longer"! He wanted to see if he was as long as the train... not quite!! And proudly displaying his other puzzle. He likes to leave this one out and shut his door so Andrew won't mess it up!! Such a sweet smile... There used to be a family that I knew growing up that always did a puzzle around Christmas time. They might have done them other times of the year too, but I remember Christmas particularly. They would sit around a wood burning stove and work on the puzzle. It was usually a scenic, big puzzle that took lots of time. When I was a kid, honostly, I thought it was lame! But now, it seems like a fun family project for the holidays. Can you believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us?

Today I met Luke Daniel Cave. My dear friend, Laura and her husband had their second son yesterday morning. He looks just like his big brother John, just chubbier cheeks! He weighed in at 8lb 9oz and was pure preciousness this morning!! Welcome to the world! " Jesus said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Mark 10:14

I found a gray hair. I know, it frightened me!! I was fixing my hair and I saw a gleaming piece of white. At first I thought it was a really blonde piece. I repositioned my hair by running my fingers through it. It poked through again and was gleaming in the bathroom lights. Almost blinding!! I immediately pulled it out and then remembered that when you pull one out, three grow back! I'm getting old. Or maybe it is stress from being chewed out by my patients boyfriend's step mom!? Happy Monday!

I do realize it has been over a week since I last blogged and now I am playing catch up on the blog. Last Thursday, Sam, Andrew and myself headed to Salem for a visit. The main reason I went back to Salem was to spend an evening with Suzanne. Suzanne lives in Oregon and only gets home once or twice a year. She came over and the boys had fun with her. Suzanne played on the floor and enjoyed her helmet Sam gave her quiet a bit:) Notice how Sam's arm is around her!! It was a great evening and I am so thankful Suzanne came over!! While in Salem, we always go and visit my Grandma Rose. The boys have a blast at her house. They love to chase the cat around. Where is that cat anyway? And then they enjoy a ride on Great Grandma Rose's walker. She pushed them all the way from her apartment to the front door. Pretty heavy load for a 90 year old!!:) We also spent a couple hours in Patoka visiting. Sam was excited to watch for Hunter and Beau to get off the school bus with Gigi! ...