Christmas Card 2013

Happy Holidays from the Parsons Farm!

 

We have experienced many blessings and hardships this last year. We appreciate the Lords hand over us through it all.

The BEST news of the year is that we adopted a beautiful baby girl, Luella "Ellie" Faith Parsons!! She was born in Spokane on May 21st and we were able to be present at the hospital for her birth, she was 19 inches long and weighed in at 7 pounds.   We brought her home on May 25th.  She is the light of our life and has brought us great joy.  We became an "official" family on September 6 after "appearing" for our court case over the phone.  We are in communication with her birth parents and are so appreciative of the gift they had given us.  At this time she is sitting, almost crawling, standing with slight assistance, and has TWO teeth.

Ashley is back to working at CCS this year, Wahoo!!!  This is her first time returning to the same teaching position and she couldn't be any happier! Thomas is still the Head of the Social Studies Department at WAHS and coaching tennis.

Ashley suffered from two ectopic pregnancies this year, one in January and the second in September.  Luckily these two did not require surgery as we knew the warning signs and symptoms to be proactive.  These losses have been difficult, though we know the Lord has a plan for us and we are so in Love with our sweet Ellie Faith.   We would appreciate prayers for healing and continued peace.

Ashley enjoys blogging at "Life on the Parsons Farm" (Ellie is a huge part of the blog now) and shopping at "Junk Shows".  Thomas loves fishing any chance he gets and of course his Seattle Sounders.  We celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in August in Leavenworth and Lake Chelan (with Ellie of course!).  The chickens are on strike this winter. The horses are doing well though not as much time has been spent with them since we brought Ellie home, soon that will change!   The goats are total characters and make us laugh often.    Cooper and Sakari are adjusting to life with a baby and they adore her!  Our garden did well this year with great crops of beans, peas, kale, cabbage, and broccoli, which Ashley preserved to use for baby food for Ellie.  So far our bounty has been enjoyed greatly by her!  We even grew our own pumpkins this year for Halloween!

We wish you the happiest of days during this holiday season and into the New Year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We pray that 2014 brings you many blessings.

Love, Thomas, Ashley, and Ellie Parsons

Jazz, Paladin, Rags, Cooper, Sakari, Penelope, Annabelle, and the Chicks.

(would you believe that the picture posted above was only the second one we took on a self timer! I am quite impressed that we got both dogs and Ellie to look at a camera with no one behind it!!)

-Ashley 

{monthdate} 7 months!!!

Somehow it's December and Christmas is in 4 days.... Luckily for us we get to celebrate seven months with our sweet Ellie Faith! And what a happy monthday we had!

Granted Ellie is less than a yearso everything is basically a first for her, but we are so excited to have this first Christmas season with her and continue our traditions, and make some new ones too!!

We celebrated you Monthday today with attending "Scrooge" a musical at a local church and then dinner at Red Robin afterwards!  What special day we had!

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving and got to join us at the table in your high chair.  It was so fun being able to give thanks for you this year!

You have two teeth and are SO close to crawling and walking! You love to eat your solid foods but sometimes get worried when you think it won't get followed up with a bottle!

You also got to go on your first "vacation"  with a hotel stay AND it was even out of the country in Canada!  You were a great traveler and a complete joy to be with!

Our Christmas traditions that you have been a part of so far: Ladies Christmas Tea, Present Shopping, Holiday Play/Musical, and Decorating the Tree and House for Christmas.

New Christmas Traditions: visit to Santa, visit to a U-cut Tree Farm, and to the local nursery to see Santa's Reindeer. 

Stats: No official stats due to no appointment. 

Height: guessing around 25"

Weight: somewhere in the 17 pound range

Head: larger than 16"

Food: eating about 6 ounces at each feeding for about 28-30 ounces a day. Solid foods!! Rice cereal, peas, broccoli, beans, yams, and butternut squash. 

Diapers: size three

Clothes: 3-6 month sizes are fitting super well and we have a TON in this size!!

Sleeping: pretty well through the night 7-10 hours. And then still has a few naps during the day. 

Cries: when hungry and sometimes when she is tired or unsettled or when her teeth are hurting.

Loves: baths, eating, diaper changes, her crib mobile, holding her blankets, clapping, spinning her foot, kitchen utensils, rolling over, sitting, standing with assistance and laughing. Santa Claus!!!

Hates: still not a big fan of getting her boogers out and being hungry.  She also doesn't like the taste of hand sanitizer on our fingers.

Mama's proudest moment:  having Ellie be part of our Christmas traditions!

Daddy's proudest moment: her excitement of shoulder rides!

Oops of the month:  taking the extra change of clothes out of the diaper bag, only to have a poopy diaper blowout at a restaurant. (Luckily the spare was in the car!)

Things we are looking forward to: Ellie's first Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and crawling. 

Dear sweet Ellie Faith we love you so and adore your little personality so much.  You are growing up to be a wonderful baby with a great temperament. We seriously couldn't ask for a better daughter!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

-Ashley 

5 on Friday

Back to joining Darci for her Five on Friday posts.  We had a spectacular week and I just know the one coming up will be awesome!!

(One)

I hosted my annual Ladies Christmas Tea last Saturday. Fun was had and good food went in our bellies. Ellie had a great time, so much so she fell asleep sitting on the couch!!

(Two) 

Christmas shopping is almost done. Now it's time to start wrapping presents. I love wrapping presents bit sometimes the paper is so expensive. So I use what I have and wrap with our paper grocery bags so I can have brown paper packages under my tree!! I don't know hy but Christmas totally snuck up on me this year, must have been the late Thanksgiving. 

(Three)

I know this is Ellie's first year of life so everything is a first for her at this point. But she got to attend her first tea party last weekend and this weekend she is participating in another one of our holiday traditions; a "Christmas" play/musical!  We are going to see Scrooge. I know she won't comprehend much but we are willing to step out into the lobby if we need to.  She also got to see the "Big Guy", Santa Claus!!

(Four)

My Christmas vacation is starting a day early due to snow in our area. I'm thinking I might get our little nugget bundled up and make a snowman!! Our husky, Sakari, is in love with the snow and refuses to come in the house!

(Five) 

If you read my previous post, today is the last day to order a bracelet from Chavez for Charity to arrive in time for Christmas. They start at $10 a bracelet and a portion of the proceeds goes to charity! What a great way to give back when you give a gift!!

♥ Ashley

Give Back with these Last Minute Gift Ideas

Christmas is 6 days away!!!  I was looking through my Better Homes and Gardens magazine yesterday and came across these beautiful bracelets from "Chavez for Charity".  I fell in love with these designs and that the proceeds go to charity.  

Here is an excerpt from the website about the company:

chavez for charity is a new collection designed by Julie Marie Chavez, founder and Creative Director of the fashion jewelry line mariechavez.

Through the sale of a colorful assortment of bracelets, Julie's mission is to raise money and awareness for some of today’s most important and necessary charitable initiatives like providing access to clean water and sanitation and helping to end violence against women and girls.

Each colored bracelet represents a specific cause. mariechavez will donate 25% of the gross proceeds from the sale of a specific colored bracelet to its corresponding cause.

There are 10 colors to choose from: Black, Blue, Brown, Gold, Green, Multi-colored, Pink, Purple, Red and Yellow.  Each color represents a different cause/charity as well as a variety of bracelet styles and shades of that color.  Individual bracelets start at $10!!

Green

Red

Gold

Blue

These are just a sample of what are available on the website.  If you HURRY and order by tomorrow you can be guaranteed delivery for Christmas!  

These bracelets would be the perfect gift or stocking stuffer! 

And what better way to give a "double gift" at Christmastime, by giving back with each purchase?

♥ Ashley

**I was NOT compensated for this post.  I just love these bracelets and wanted to share with you all!**

Salami Chips

I posted on Sunday about the Ladies Christmas Tea I host each year and promised to follow up with some recipes.

As I mentioned the Salami Chips were a total hit!  I originally got the idea/recipe from my November issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Though upon making these I have some ideas to help them cook more evenly.

 

Ingredients:

Thinly sliced Salami

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 375.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment, a silicone baking mat, or foil and then top with a rack.
3. Place the salami in a single layer on the baking rack and bake for about 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.

(**when I made these I put the slices directly on the baking mat and the edges burned while the center remained soft.  So I think the baking rack will help them cook more evenly**)

Serve with your favorite dip.  I served mine with Cranberry Rosemary Spread.

linking up: via

♥ Ashley

{weekly update} week 30

I cannot believe that Little Miss Ellie is already 30 weeks old!!  The time is just flying by and we are enjoying every moment!  Next week will be Ellie's FIRST Christmas and we are busy preparing ourselves for this wonderful event.  This whole month has been super busy and our little angel has been a total trooper!!

Diet: EF has been a hungry girl this week.  She has upped her formula consumption to nearly 30 ounces each day in addition to her "solid" foods.  She is eating Rice Cereal, Beans, Peas, Yams and Broccoli.  I got some butternut squash at Costco and am planning on making that for her as well.  I think she might be ready to start trying "puffs".

Sleep: This past weekend was a little crazy busy so her sleep schedule got a little off, though you would never know it.  She is still sleeping close to 10 hours at night and then her naps during the day.  Usually she gets a good 2.5-3 hour nap in the morning but she has started to take to just a bunch of cat naps.  Hopefully she will go back to her long naps pretty soon!

Crying: She is really good.  There are moments when her teeth are really bugging her but mostly she is a  happy baby!!

Clothes: We "ran out" of diapers so we headed out to Costco to get more.  We decided that since there are so many in the box we would move her up to size 3 diapers.  Clothes are still 3-6 month though some are getting a little small on her.

Social: Busy girl!! Ellie got to go to church again with Miss J for an hour and meet some new kiddos.  She attended her first Tea Party (at our farm). She went to church on Sunday and then to the Mall to meet SANTA!!! Move over best friend baby in the mirror there's a new guy in town and his name is Santa!! lol she loved him.

Baby Gear Love: Our umbrella stroller, Ergo, walker, exersaucer and Sophie are all on the top of the list right now.  We also gave Ellie one of our silicone pastry brushes and she LOVES it - we have to keep an eye on her with it though since she "bites" it.

Milestones: Ellie has TWO teeth, the left central incisor cut through on Friday!  She met Santa.  Is super close to crawling.  And I meant to write this last week but she puts her arms up when she wants us to pick her up! It is so cute.  She also really loves her baths. She also is being quite vocal and has started to fake cough - its adorable!

Mama: I am getting so excited to host Christmas Eve at our house next week and getting all ready for that.  I had an awesome time at the Tea Party and am just so happy that Ellie gets to be a part of all this.  I am feeling pretty good and I think my body is FINALLY getting itself back together after my miscarriage.  I have been thinking about my Momala a lot as well and miss her dearly, but I know she is looking down at us from Heaven with a smile!

Sweet Ellie Faith, you are just the best baby and I love watching you grow and explore.  I am so blessed to have you and you are the perfect baby!  I love you!

♥ Ashley

Christmas Tea Party

For the past four years I have hosted a Ladies Christmas Tea at the farm.  I schedule it for the second Saturday of December each year. I think that's a good time because I have time to decorate and prepare without feeling rushed right out of Thanksgiving and I don't have to worry about Christmas being right around the corner.  I absolutely love it and look forward to it every year. It's a tradition I am so pleased to have Ellie be a part of. 

It's a fairly informal party. I have organized it to be an open house/drop in party. So my guests can come for as long (within reason) or short as they like. Some pop in to say hi while others stay the duration. I love them all.  It's a fun atmosphere and I get to "show off" my house decked out for Christmas!! 

My pantry chalkboard. 

I serve tea. Obviously.  Then also a variety of cookies, desserts, and snacks. I usually make all the food but this year I sourced some of it out to Trader Joes and the grocery store to simplify my life this year. I was the most relaxed for this party, not sure if it's because Trader Joes helped out or if it's because I'm getting the hang of it. 

I also have some sort of party favor for each of my guests. It changes from year to year.  This year the favors were these adorable little jars of honey! I just love them. 

On the menu: 

- Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

- Chocolate covered Mint Marshmallows (Trader Joes)

- French Macaroons (Trader Joes)

- Nanaimo Bars (Vancouver, BC)

- Linzer Cookies (made by my MIL)

- Scones; with fresh whipped cream and jam

- Cranberry Rosemary Spread with crackers

- Baked Salami [much bigger hit than expected!!!]

- Rondele the Garlic and Herb variety (from the store)

- Sundried Tomato and Pesto Torte and Pretzle Sticks (Trader Joes)

Recipes will be coming soon. 

Ellie had a wonderful time and thoroughly enjoyed her first tea party!

Do you have any fun holiday party traditions?

-Ashley

http://www.jenniferrizzo.com 

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

A Christmas Tree is one of the first things that come to mind when I think about Christmas. I love just about everything about them. I love being able to see how people decorate their tree and how it speaks about them. Trees are so personal and versatile. I love how they are all different. 

Some people like full trees, while others prefer the sparse (Charlie Brown) tree. Some stand by their colored lights and others are white lights all the way. Some people swear by a live tree, or even a living tree to plant after the holiday, while others can only handle a faux tree. 

We have a faux tree in our house.  I grew up with live trees, we used to go to a U-cut farm but then as we got older convienience won out and we got them pre-cut from the grocery store. It was my intent to keep the live tree tradition once Thomas and I got married. And we did have a live tree our first Christmas. It took A LOT more lights than I anticipated and was a bitch to water. Not to mention that the trunk was too wide for our tree stand so we had to chisel it down.  We also discovered that year that Cooper, our Miniature Pinscher, was allergic to pine/fir trees. So we had to make the decision to go faux. I have not ever looked back!

I love our faux tree! It's easy, and takes no maintenance, it's already strung with lights, and I'm not picking up needles in July!!!  I love the decorations that we have on it and it's pretty much the same each year. I have started moving the ornaments around a little bit so that they're in different places each year.  It's so much fun unwrapping the ornaments and putting them on the tree, remembering where we got them and getting so excited about ones that I forgot that we even had. We do get new ornaments each year to add to our tree. 

our ornaments are from a variet of places; Wights, Pottery Barn (in DC), Nordstrom, Crate and Barrel, Macys (in NYC), and Liberty in Canada. 

Pier 1, Peridot in Canada, Michaels, and Ben Franklin. Finding the star for the top of our tree was a total accident, we absolutely love it and got at a store that is no longer in business.

We started a tradition for Ellie this year, where we are going to get her an ornament every year to put on the tree and then when she is older and moves out on her own, has a collection of ornaments for her tree there.

This is Ellies first ornament this year. I didn't want to get her one of those babies first Christmas ornaments because honestly, I think they're kind of cheesy. I still need to get a paint pen and write her name on this cute little deer but I absolutely love it and it goes so well with our decor.

What's your favorite thing about your tree?

-Ashley