"A house does not have to be perfect to be a home of joy, a child does not have to behave perfectly to love and be loved, and every moment of life does not have to be perfect to be of value. Too often, I realize, we fail to see the glorious reality of the simple joy that abounds in the seemingly mundane routine of day-to-day living. Instead, we tend to idolize the past, idealize the future, and devalue the present.... What better way to show our appreciation to Heavenly Father for what we have than to embrace our lives, albeit 'ordinary' and 'unexciting,' with joy?"

--Winnie Dalley; Ensign, March 1998

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Morning

Santa came! I almost wonder if he wasn't really paying attention to how "naughty or nice" the kids had been this year... especially the naughty parts! All three kiddos got exactly what they asked Santa for. Chloe got a scooter, Cooper got a ladybug Pillow Pet, and Piper, well, she got a ride on giraffe that she didn't even know she wanted!

The adorable Baron kids!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve

We invited my parents to join us for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of Swedish meatballs. It was delicious and the company was wonderful!

Fun Swedish holiday decor:

Yum! (Cooper was hiding under the table and Piper was just out of frame in her high chair!)


Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas Lights

We love spending an evening right before Christmas driving around looking at lights. Through the wonders of the internet and our GPS, we're able to go see all sorts of "news worthy" displays! Here are a few favorites from this year:

And our house:


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

The Littlest Angel


Chloe was in our ward's Christmas Nativity this past Saturday. She looked adorable and sang very well. She chose to be an angel.

Somehow she ended up on the back row... behind everyone else who was much taller than her, but we were happy when she peeked out and we were able to see her!
Next year, she is hoping to be Mary. I like that idea- then she'd be in the manger and we'd be able to see her cute face the entire time!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Baby Godzilla

Piper loves to sit on/walk through/tear apart Cooper's train tracks. She is like a little Godzilla, destroying everything in her path.

She even decided to come attack me... aren't her little chicken legs funny? And by funny, I mean cute, of course!


Reindeer Food


One thing off my "to do" list! These are going to Cooper's preschool tomorrow.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Holiday Fun

A quick pic from our visit to see Santa:

Chloe asked Santa for a scooter, Cooper asked for a ladybug Pillow Pet, and Piper just tried not to cry!