Forst Family Christmas 2011

Last night we had Aaron's entire side of the fam over for our Christmas gift exchange and chow fest!  We had cheese and garlic tortellinis, green bean casserole, salad, sausage balls, angel pie, and key lime cake!  YUMMO!  This was Eli, my nephew's, second Christmas, but it was actually the first one he was able to run around and enjoy things!  He is growing so fast!  Every time I see him I get more excited about being a mommy some day.  It seems like everyone is pregnant and while I am happy for them at the same time I am so ready that it gets a little frustrating because it seems like it's never the right time.  Since I lost my job, I have been struggling to find some balance in what makes me happy and what I feel completes me and I keep coming back to being a mother and creating a life from Aaron and I's love.  I know that God has it already laid out for us but it is still hard relinquishing that control and trying to define myself as something other than a nurse.  I am so much more than that.  I have been reading all these different blogs lately and so many of them the authors don't ever post about work.  I love that!  But then i am so confused because people ask me about myself and that's the first thing I think of and I hate that.  I'm trying to do better so here is a start.

I am Adrienne, I am 28 and I am married to most incredible man.  I love, love, love being on the back of a motorcycle!  I love the feel of people gawking at us when we walk into a restaurant in leathers and a dew rag.  I love my friends, I have the best group of girlfriends i could ask for.  I have an amazing family.  I am smart, funny, crafty, artsy, and I love GOD.  I enjoy going to GUTS every Sunday and singing my heart out, then hearing the word and actually reading my bible and understanding it.  I love the summer but am crazy about the fall.  I love to plant, I like movies and enjoy getting lost in a good book.

So that's me in a nutshell, everything else will follow.  Your job is your resource in the human world, but God is your resource in the heavenly world. ~ Pastor Bill Scheer

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

It's Christmas Time!

Hey everyone!  This weekend has been a busy one!  To start my husband returned Friday after a long 3 day business trip just in time to nap before we split up again and I crossed the street for our Girly Christmas Gathering and Aaron hosted poker night for the boys.  We are so lucky to have such great friends!

We had a great night with friends and can't wait for many more!  Saturday we spent the day with Granny trying to find her Christmas tree, picking up her remaining gifts and taking her old washer to our church donation center.  After all that running around we met her and Frank, her fiance, at Red Lobster and watched Frank not eat much of his lobster!  Then 3 hours and 2 games of Phase 10, which Aaron and I won!  Frank gets the award for most skips again this year.  Midnight rolled around to bring Granny and I sipping wine coolers and us 4 sharing so many laughs.  It's great having family this close.  I am not used to that and it's a nice change.  Today we did our 2nd annual Tulsa Toy Run with our best friends Tina and John, aka our hillbilly neighbors.  Thousands of bikers get together and do a parade with toys on the back of their bikes and throw candy to kiddos on the curbs, or hit them like Tina.  We had a great time and it wasn't that cold this year!  Aaron and I also celebrated one year since we got engaged!  It's been a long, fun weekend.

This week is sure to bring some excitement, finding out if I got a job, or possibly in line for another one starting in January.  We also get the chance to see the Transiberian Orchestra on Friday, then we are having Aaron's side of the family over for dinner and presents Sunday!  I can't believe 2 weeks from today is Christmas and I will get finally get to be in Illinois after 10 years!!!  Hope we can avoid a white christmas!!!!

Happy Sunday!
Mrs. Forst

Christmas Tree Skirt

So I got this idea from Pinterest and anwjohnston.blogspot.com.  She did hers with linen and burlap while pretty wasn't really the style I wanted to I went with something more festive. 

First here is what you will need:

2 kinds of material or one whichever you chose but it needs to total 4 yds

Scissors

Your old tree skirt or I bought this one at Walmart for $4

Hot glue gun

Patience!

First start by cutting your fabric into 3 inch strips, you can use a fancy roll cutter and board but I just marked my fabric with a marker and cut it with scissors.  The length of the fabric doesn't matter but I would advise to cut them as long as you can.

Start with your first piece of fabric  about an inch up from the bottom of the skirt, hot glue  it so it is even with the opening of the skirt.  Fold the piece back to make a ruffle and then continue gluing and ruffling.  The Ruffles don't need to be the same size just close to it.

Alternate with your different fabric just barely covering the top of each layer so you don't see any cutting marks.

This is what mine looked like when I was done.  You can use small ribbon to tie the opening together.    This project cost me around $20.  I bought the fabric from Hobby Lobby when it was half off.  Most tree skirts I have seen this year are around $40-$50 which is crazy!  It's covered with presents most of the time!  Why not do something that you really love for less money!  This took me around 3 hours to complete.

Finished product under our new tree!  Merry Christmas!

My craftier side!!

Hi friends!  So I thought I would post some of the cute things I have done for my friends and for Christmas this year.  Some of it I will have to post after the holiday as I don't want people to see their gifts!  Enjoy!

This is baby Keyaira's christmas tutu!  (My best friend Kelly's little girl)

I hand sewed little candy canes to give it an extra personal touch!  She will be the candy cane princess!