Lost Ginkgo Tree

 When I arrived home this afternoon I was shocked to see that my beloved Ginkgo tree was gone.  Well, I knew this might be coming due to some planned construction on our street this coming spring but I had no idea that our tree would be gone so soon.  This is the sight from my window.  All that is left of our tree is the stump.  So sad.  

I used to see this beautiful sight.  Wonderful fan shaped leaves that were a soft, warm green and then a brilliant yellow every fall.  

To be honest, I am deeply saddened by the loss of our tree.  Sure, the city plans to plant more trees after the construction project.  I wonder, can you really replace a beautiful, seasoned tree like this one?  I wish the city could have saved this tree. I wish the city thought more carefully about the use of this project and if it was really necessary.  I don't think it is necessary.  I think I want my tree back.  Now this might sound like a silly thing to blog about, but for someone like me who finds simple delight in nature and the beauty of creation is sad that the tree in my front yard is gone.  I hope our new tree grows quickly and adds great beauty to our front yard.  

Snow in STL

We had our first snow in STL yesterday morning.  I snapped this picture with my phone on my way to work yesterday morning.  While we didn't get much and it didn't last long it was lovely.  When I woke Preston up yesterday morning and told him there was snow on the ground he instantly said "can you dress me in my new snow coat and take me outside?"  I wish I had had the time.  I am looking forward to a REAL snow day this winter.  This, however, is a wonderful start.  

Peyton and Christmas

This was Peyton's first Christmas.  While she may not remember much, I will certainly remember this as a very special time with my little girl. I loved watching her look at all the beautiful lights, toys and interact with so many people.  She is a very sweet baby.  She loves to read books, play with her toys and also loves to be a part of  all that is going on.  I am looking forward to watching her experience many more Christmas holiday's in the future.  Here is a sampling of pictures I took of our little girl.  We started our holiday with a visit to the doctor for her 9 month check up.  Thankfully, she is healthy and growing well.  She is 19lbs 4oz and about 28 inches long.  She is in the 60th percentile for both weight and height.  Here is a picture of our little girl at the doctor office... not too exciting.  

Here we have Peyton with Mommy and Daddy at the shoe store.  We had to run out to grab a few last minute gifts and Peyton wanted to help Daddy pick out his Christmas gift :) 

Here is sweet Peyton with her new hat from Grossi and new baby doll from Grammie.  

I also took this sweet photo of Peyton with the Dalbey family.  

Here is a picture of Peyton enjoying some of the Christmas decorations at Grandad's house.  She loved the musical snowman :)  

 She also loved the musical tree.  Oh yes, she is wearing her 'Baby's First Christmas' sweater.   

 Even though Peyton is only 9 months old she wanted to be part of the fun with the new tunnel from Grandad.  She is also wearing her new outfit from Grossi.    

 Some other sweet gifts for Peyton were some new Pj's from Aunt Sherrie and a cool toy that has letters, music and other fun things to play with.  Thank you, everyone, for all your loving and thoughtful gifts.  

Finally, a picture with mommy :) 

Preston and Christmas

I want to take a few minutes and write a special post dedicated to Preston and his experience of Christmas this year.  (I am going to do the same for Peyton).  Preston is 3 years old and LOVES Christmas.  He loves looking at the Christmas lights, decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, opening gifts and spending time with family.  Here is just a sample of pictures I took this weekend of our little boy. First, we have Preston in the car heading to Grammie and Poppa's house.  He was SO excited to see Poppa and his Christmas lights.  

Next we have a picture of Preston helping Grammie make Christmas cookies.  He kept saying "I'll do it" when it came to rolling out the dough.  To be honest, he did a darn good job for a 3 year old.  He loves to help and always wants to be a part of things.  

We now have Preston checking out the Christmas tree...I think he wants to dive into the pile of gifts and open each and every one.  Thankfully, Peyton is not interested (not yet) and was very willing to let her big brother 'help'.  

I also wanted to add this picture of Preston reading with Grossi (Great Grandma) while we were at the Dalbey house.  I think this is so sweet.  

After a wonderful day and a half at the Dalbey house, we headed home so that we could wake up on Christmas Day in our own home and have Preston open his special gift from mom and dad.  Here is a picture of his special gift - a bike.

Daddy was very good and assembly and Preston was able to ride the bike in no time.  

Preston was very good to wait while daddy assembled his bike.  Thankfully, he loves the egg chair.  

Here is a picture of the little man riding his bike - not bad at all.  When did my little boy get so big?  

Preston also had a great time at Grandma and Grandad's house.  Not only does Grandad have the best ornament collection I have ever seen, but he does a great job of encouraging Preston's love for trains.  Here is Preston playing with his new Tidmouth Sheds that goes along with his Thomas the Train set collection.  

Here is Preston helping Grandad assemble the electric train.  While this train is a little more advanced for a 3 year old, Preston still had a blast watching the train go round and round.  

Oh yes, we did spend some extra time reading the Christmas story to Preston this year.  When I asked him what types of gifts the wise men gave to baby Jesus, he said food and trains.  I guess we can see what is really important in the life of a 3 year old - very sweet.  

Christmas with the Dalbey's

We spend Friday and Saturday morning with Steven's family celebrating Christmas. While I need to upload from photos from my phone, please enjoy this picture of the Dalbey family (minus Peyton who was taking a nap) and I look forward to sharing more Christmas memories and pictures.  

Cookie's with Friends

Last night I had some friends over to make cookies.  Here are my dear friends.  Thees are former students from the Youth Ministry at Central who are now scattered across the country in College.  I have known these girls since they were in 6th grade and I am so honored to be a part of their lives.  

Here are those cookies in process: 

Here is the final product and his is not my photograph.  

Here are the yummy cookies we made.  You can find the recipe here

Thank you, Pinterest.  

Christmas Tree

A few weeks ago the Dalbey family purchased its first REAL Christmas tree.  Simply, we were tired of the fake tree and needed the house to feel and smell a bit more like Christmas this year.  We found a great Christmas tree for only $18.49 (I'm not kidding) at Home Depot and brought it home to love and decorate.  Preston was SO excited to decorate the tree. We even let him stay up till 9:30pm that night so that we could hang up all the ornaments.  Here is a picture of our tree!

Christmas Party

The Dalbey's hosted a Christmas party with some friend yesterday afternoon.  While I have no pictures to document this event, I do have a picture of Peyton in a sweater I should have had her wear yesterday and not today.  What was I thinking?  Oh, I wasn't thinking about Peyton. I was thinking about cleaning my entire house!  Anyway, we had a wonderful time and I am so glad that I ended up with the lavender lotion and not the Christmas plate in the white elephant gift exchange.  

Iphone gift

Last week I received one of the coolest gifts ever - my very first Iphone!  This was a gift from work and I am super excited!  I have always had a 'simple' phone that could call, text and most recently, check my email.  Internet browsing didn't happen and I never played games or had any cool 'apps'.  Now, I have a phone that does all that and more. I can even take really good photos with my phone.  For those that know me know that this is awesome.  I think most of my photos on the go will be from this phone.  I look forward to exploring my new phone and staying 'connected' with many friends and family.  

Powell Symphony

I had the great honor of attending the Powell Symphony Hall the other night for their Christmas Concert.  It was lovely!  I am so thankful for my dear friend, Carolyn, for inviting me to attend with her.  

Oh yes, that IS Santa on stage :) 

I'm back and Peyton is 9 months old

I am going to spend the next couple days updating our blog from the past few weeks in the Dalbey family.  I needed a short break to get through a couple busy weeks in our family.  I thought, however, that it would be appropriate to begin our updates with our little Peyton as she is 9 months old today!  Here are a couple pictures of our happy little girl.

Some things that Peyton has accomplished this month are: Crawling, eating more different types of foods, taking a few steps on her own and pushing out her first tooth.  Yes, her first tooth is breaking through the gum today...hence all the drool the past few weeks.  She also loves to say 'da da', 'doggie', 'ma', and 'hi'.  She also loves her big brother and watching him constantly to learn new things and play his toys. Sometimes Preston is ok with this....sometimes he is not.  Overall, she is a happy little girl with the biggest smile. We love her so much!  

I'm still here

Dear friends, I wanted to let you all know that I am still here.  I have been meaning to blog with family updates and photos but have not had the energy or time.  A lot is going on in the Dalbey family and I will update very soon.  Thank you for your love and patience.

Pintrest Projects

I've been working on a few Pinterest inspired projects the past few weeks.  Some will be Christmas gifts, some are just simple ways to organize and/or decorate my home.  No matter the project, Pinterest has inspired me in many ways.  My creative side of life has blossomed and I am deeply thankful.  

Here is the Pinterest inspired frame project:  

Here is my frame with Preston's picture:   

Here is my Pinterest inspired office chair: 

Here is my chair: 

Oh yes, I made this recipe for Mexican Chicken last week and it received some positive feedback :) 

Some future projects include this button bracelet: 

I am also looking to work on this canvas project: 

I'll keep you updated on my work :)  If you haven't checked out Pinterest yet, do it now!  

Video of Peyton Crawling

Here is the video of Peyton crawling :)