christmas recap.

christmas was so good this year.
it's good every year, but this year seemed seamless.
no hiccups.
no tangles.
we were where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to be there.
{hubs was home and not in afghanistan.}
we visited with family.
we were loved on and shared our love.
our children were spolied rotten.
and so were we.

we are blessed.



santa visited.


christmas morning. 6:34 am.



next stop?
grandma and papa's house.



grandma got mckinley a purse filled with girlie goodies and refinished a chair just for her.
mckinley could have gotten nothing else all day and been a happy camper.


jett got a nintendo dsixl.
happy camper.






oh my gooly!
all four kiddos in picture.
smiling.
somewhere in the world pigs are flying.



back to ganny and poppy's.

noah got a camera.
happy camper.
{love this little boy.}

now, on to aunt debby's.

grandaddy getting him some grub.


hubs, jake, and isabella playing family feud on her new ipad2.


granny got a camel.
she was tickled pink.
{apparently, there's a family joke.
i don't get it.}


gathered 'round the tree.



and...




what christmas is complete without a hayride through the neighborhood.
of course, you must have multi-colored lights and christmas songs playing loudly.









you thought i was kidding.
i never kid.

'tis a true story.
for reals.

*********************************
how was your christmas??
did santa bring you all that was on your list?

instafriday.

the two week edition.


*lunch.
*new hats from mrs. sandy.
*a helpful hubs.
*jonah's teacher spoiled him with christmas gifts.


*frugal garlic bread.
*cleaning out the pantry dinner.
*YIKES! a kitchen fire.
*grocery shopping before 9am.


*she fell asleep in my arms.
*she wasn't tired, y'all.
*this little boy is too big for naps. {coulda fooled me}
*and again, too big for naps.


*tea lover gift.
*tea lover gift sent across the country.
*two tea lover gifts sent across the country.
*a surprise gift for me from my favorite jewelry gal.


*sick.
*sick times four.
*jake was "aqua elf" in the school's christmas production of "a pirate's christmas."
*school is out for christmas vacation.


*applesauce out of a straw. in his undies.
*she told me "jesus is my best friend."
*jett told me "i love God."
*make-up + newly three-year-old = fun times.


*lucy made herself comfy in my freshly laundered clothing.
*roy g. biv books.
*it's her birthday and she'll cry if she wants to.
*big helper. {read mess maker}


*jonah and santa at the px.
*presents.
*"hand" made rudolph.
*bah-humbug.


*can you believe this beauty was at the road awaiting the trash man?
*i begged hubs to load it up and bring it home.
*it didn't happen.


*haircut number one.
*haircut number two.
*haircut number three.

linking up with jeanett over at liferearranged.

florida.

oh my goodness, just thinking about this drive again makes me cringe.
it's so far.
so long.
such a legs-cramped-in-one-spot-and no-comfy-way-to-lay kind of drive.

here's a snipet of our drive.
our very long drive.


please, let's get there already.


one of our few potty stops.


this little pit-stop may have saved our sanity.


yes, we're crazy and stopped at chuck e. cheese.
trust me when i say $20 will buy you a few extra hours of silence...
or, at least a few hours of no "are we there yet's."


this sweet little face was g.r.u.m.p.y. about 12 hours into our trip.
stick a campera phone in his face to document to the world and he smiles.
really?

and this, my friends, is what traveling with six looks like.

you don't even wanna see the kids section.

FLORIDA!!!


what could be an even better sight than the florida sign?
JACKSONVILLE!!!


halleluah!!
we're here!!






**********************************
did you travel to see family for the holiday??
the CHRISTmas holiday??

hooray for water. {and a winner}

we did it!
you did it!
another well will be built because of your gifts!

in three years, together we've built FOUR wells.
amazing stuff, y'all.

and while the giveaway may over, the giving doesn't have to end.
the donation page will be open through february.
let's build another well!
{we're already $1,000+ closer to a second well!}

you're dyin' to know who won my giveaway, yes?
the winner is jonnique!!!
congrats, girlie!
and thank you!

thank you ALL who donated!!!

project320. {charity:water}

two years ago six amazing gals set out to raise money to build one well.
since then they've raised enough money to fund THREE wells.
through project 320.

every year i read their inspiring words.
in every blog post they tell how grateful they are to have clean water to drink.
clean water for their children to play in the sprinklers with.
clean water to wash their clothes in.
clean water to brush their teeth with.
clean water to soak in a bath with.
clean water to wash our dishes in.
clean water!

we are so very blessed to have clean water.
water we don't have to worry about contracting a disease through.
water we can make our babies bottles with and not worry about their health tomorrow.
water we know animals didn't trample through.
clean water!



that brings things in to perspective.
wow!

WOW!!

which gift can you sacrifice this year to bring clean water to others?

want an incentive???
how about a $30 Starbucks gift card?
and an inspirational print for your wall from jonahbonah?
and an appliqued tee with africa right on the front from jonahbonah?



also, alexandercreative has kindly donated a $30 credit towards anything in their shop!
have you seen the awesome prints and canvases that come from this awesome shop??
i have this one and LOVE it!!!


it just keeps getting better!
beki, at the therustedchain, has donated a $25 gift certificate to her store!!
i'm thinking i might wanna win my own giveaway!


with every $10 donation to charity: water you can be entered to win ALL of these fabulous items!!!

here's how it works.
go here and give $10. $20. $100. {http://mycharitywater.org/project320for2011}
whatever amount you feel the Lord laying on your heart to give.

for every $10 donation you make you can leave one comment to be entered in my giveaway.

if you give $20 leave two comments.
if you give $100 leave TEN comments.

let's build a well, y'all.
together we can do great things.



thank you, project 320 girls, for giving us the opportunity to give so little and make a HUGE difference in the lives of so many!

winner will be chosen in one week.
don't wait, give today!

green giant and myblogspark. {giveaway}

Making meal time easier than ever, Green Giant has introduced vegetables with pasta and savory sauces to their already convenient and tasty line-up of Valley Fresh Steamers frozen mixes.

New Valley Fresh Steamers Vegetables with Pasta varieties include:

*Macaroni and Cheese Sauce with Broccoli - classic elbow pasta and broccoli in a mouth watering cheese sauce

*Pasta and Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce – delicious corkscrew pasta with carrots and broccoli in a savory Alfredo sauce


wanna win this super fun prize pack???

leave a comment telling me, Do you ever have to be creative to get your child(ren) to eat vegetables?

for additional entries...

*follow this blog via google friend connect.
*follow me on twitter, @jonahbonah.
*tweet something like "i wanna win a fun prize pack from @jonahbonah, #greengiant, and @myblogspark! http://theperfecttrio.blogspot.com/2011/12/making-meal-time-easier-than-ever-green.html #myblogspark".
*"like" green giant on facebook.

leave a seperate comment for each of these you complete.

giveaway ends december 18th.
winner announced on the 19th.

good luck!

disclosure: thank you green giant and myblogspark for sending me these goodies, information about the products, and an additional prize pack to giveaway!

my baby is THREE.

how on earth does this sort of thing happen?
one day you're headed to the hospital, so ready to bring a new little one in to your life.
then, you're wishing the sleepless nights will let up long enough for you to send the bags under your eyes packin'.
before you know it, she's telling you "no!" and then you can't remember why you were so excited for her to start talking.

but, seriously...
she's THREE!
mckinley is three.

i have no more babies in diapers.
{she's been potty trained since the ripe old age of 26 months. thanks, daddy!}

no more getting up in the middle of the night to nurse.
{as much as i love my sleep, i also LOVED nursing my babies. such a sweet sweet time}

no more diaper bags.

no more strollers.

ay, ay, ay!
i'm making it sound as if i miss it.
ok, i kinda do.
some days i feel like i've got one more baby to meet.
and other days i feel so very content with what the Lord has blessed us with.
four beautiful babies...and one more waiting for us in heaven.

happy birthday, mckinley rose.
you are momma and daddy's princess!






my oh so amazing friend, jamie, made cake pops for the party.
the girls insisted on digging into this cake before chowing down on a cake pop. or two.


present time!!!
















mckinley got a make-up set from ganny.
emma, tally, and mckinley headed straight up stairs to play dress-up.
{man, i love having a girl!!!}