Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Merry Christmas 2010!

So I know you can currently see this as the header of my blog, but I wanted to make a post about the Christmas card I had made this year! It turned out beautifully thanks to the help of my WONDERFUL sister-in-law Meghan. Yes, she took the pictures. Yes, she made the layout. Yes, she got them ordered and delivered asap. Yes, she IS amazing. Thanks for asking! :) Anyway, more to come about Christmas as the festivities begin, but until then, MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE SHIPPS!

(And hopefully it will be a White Christmas for you, as I'm hoping it is for me!)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Finally! Seems like I was just a little bit behind on everything this year... shopping, sending, decorating, enjoying! :) But guess what! I got it done!! :)

I just wanted to share with you some of my Christmas decorations. They may not be big or fancy, but they fit my little apartment perfectly. And I love them!

Especially this nativity scene, which I think I've had since I was born. I'll have to get my Mom to tell me the story on it. For the longest time I always thought it was a Precious Moments set, but upon further inspection this year... I'm realizing that it might not be! And if it is, then it's an ancient/retro Precious Moments set that must have been made before they had the signature "Precious Moments" eyes... Regardless, I just LOVE this nativity:And my little snowman and Christmas tree countdown calendar that sits on top of my TV:
And a fun little doorknob hanger snowman jingle bell thingy. I got this last year from Trevor's grandparents, I believe:
And this I know I got from Trev's grandparents Kayle and Deanna... it's a fun little winter rug. Cute little penguins all wrapped up in hats and scarves:
Here's my typical Christmas tree shot. You might be able to see some of my Precious Moments ornaments. These are for SURE legitimate Precious Moments items. I guess my Mom made me into a collector (it started with my "Baby's First Christmas" ornament and I get a new one almost every year!), and I'm grateful. I think they are such sweet, darling little figurines! Anyway,this is honestly my favorite corner of the house this time of year. Sometimes I just turn off the lights and let the tree just glow. It's such a peaceful and yet exciting feeling to sit by the glow of the lights on the tree! One of life's little pleasures, I guess:
I just LOVE Christmastime, and most of all because the whole world seems to turn their thoughts to peace, love, happiness, and, most of all, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful gift He gave all of us by laying down His life so that we might also overcome death and live again and have the opportunity to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven. No other gift given was greater than this gift that Christ gave so willingly to every man that would ever walk the earth. It's amazing that such a gift can be so universal, but so personal all at the same time.

I hope you take time to enjoy the true meaning of Christmas this year. Read the Christmas story in Luke. Listen to Christ-filled songs! Just enjoy every single minute of it and try not to get too caught up in the "busy" and the "buying" of this season.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Temple Square - November 27, 2010

On Friday November 27th, during the long Thanksgiving weekend while Mical and her family were in town, we all went up to Temple Square to see the lights. It was gorgeous, but it was also SO cold! Below is the whole crew less Meghan (taking the pictures) and Kelan, her youngest, who was sitting bundled up in the stroller next to her.For this next picture, everyone had been getting pictures of their families, so I asked if we could get one of our little "family": Me and Trevor .... :)
Like I said before, it was SO cold - almost too cold to enjoy our visit. Almost. It was still great. And the best part is that they were selling cups of hot chocolate to help warm us up! Good news! The hot chocolate worked... I felt much warmer after drinking it. That is, everything except my VERY cold/numb toesies. Poor little digits. I can still remember how much they hurt! :( But, at least that was the only really cold part of me, thanks to hot chocolate and awesome earmuffs: And, finally, a bit of family history for all of you... apparently this next picture is one of the first pictures the "original" Shipp family has taken (just them) and all together in a long time! From L to R: Mical, Meghan, Trevor, Jill, Troy, Russell, and Trent. Oddly enough, I just noticed all the "kids" are standing in order of age from Mical down to Trent! Such a good lookin' family I married into!! :) Hope you enjoyed these AWESOME pictures, courtesy of Meghan. Thanks Meg! Also, please forgive me for taking forever to post. More fun posts to come in the next few days and weeks!

And an early Merry Christmas!!! :)