Our 1st Christmas Tree

Mr. Wonderful and I have never purchased a Christmas tree in our 5 years of marriage. This was due to always going home for the holidays when we lived in southern California and because we lived with the in-laws when we initially moved home to northern California.

With all that said it was a very special day yesterday . We went to go pick up our 1st Christmas Tree, to be placed in our 1st House.

My Husband  is a busy and hard working man. He did not want the hassle of purchasing a real one and disposing of it later. I chose to pick my battle on the Christmas tree choice( real or fake). I came to realization what really mattered was that we were getting one. I was determined to make it a special experience for us & the kids as we celebrate the reason for the season!

We woke up yesterday morning and I told the kids that we were going to pick out our tree. They were so thrilled. The Boy kept on asking if we really were going to pick out a Christmas tree until he actually seen it!

The Tree Story:

We packed up in our SUV and I brought along my camera to capture this very memorable experience. Mr. Wonderful and I picked out our perfect tree from a picture on the outside of a box, the kids eyes lit up, and Mr. Wonderful used his strong muscles to place it in our Walmart basket!

The day before I purchased all our bulbs from the 99cents Store. We just needed was ribbon and a Star to complete our tree shopping list.

Mr. Wonderful picked a great star and explained to the kids that we were going to place it on top of the tree. The Boy volunteered to be the special one to place the Star.

We decided to put the tree up in the Den Room instead of the Family Room. This way we can see it from the outside window, it will be next to the fireplace, and we can enjoy it as we eat in the kitchen!

When we arrived home and the kids could not keep their eyes off Daddy and the tree box. They kept on saying ,"Daddy making a Christmas Tree!".

We even had to let Daddy have some room because the kids were smothering him, as he tried to put the tree together.

Lunch time approached and Mr. Wonderful was still doing a good job of putting up the mighty fake tree!

The kids sat down in the kitchen to eat their baked pizza, apple sauce, and juice!

It was such sweet moments as we listened to a Christmas station on Pandora and waited in suspense.

It was then showtime and it was also time for the Girl to go down for her nap. We decided to light up the tree before the Girl went down.

This was the kids faces for the " Bells 1st Annual Christmas Lighting Ceremony"!

This was my face because it was time for Momma to take over and decorate!

I did not know that I was going to have a Helper, but he was so sweet!

The Boy knew that once the tree was up he would be able to Star it! At times he got a little impatient but he pushed through.

The special moment came and our first born attempted to Star our 1st tree.

Daddy straightened it out for the Boy...

and our tree was complete! I will never forget this day and the smile on my heart, even if the tree is fake. What we experienced as a family was so real!

A Warm House

I think that this is longest gap I have had in blogging for a long time. I guess that's what happens when you buy a house and are busy moving in it. On top of that Mr. Wonderful and I chose to have a House Warming party 6 days after we moved into our house!!!!

I am so glad that we had one and so quick! It gave us motivation to setup shop a.s.a.p and get all those brown boxes out of the house.

Definition of a HouseWarming Party: Is a party held within 120 days of moving into a new residence. It is an occasion for the hosts to present their new home to friends & family, and to receive gifts to furnish the new home. Housewarming parties are generally informal; usually there are no plammed activities besides a possible tour.

Our family & friends filled up our rooms and their cars filled up our Court!

Their presence also filled our hearts

, including the kids.

Our home became theirs for Dinner. Menu: Spaghetti, Lasagna, Raviolis, Garlic Bread, and Salad.

We also had Neighbor presence at the House Warming! Yay for living next to kind & sweet people.

The guys broke in our new sectional as they watched the football game.

My Dear friend took over my camera to capture moments as I played the Tour Guide.

We were overwhelmed by house warming gifts, even apparel to keep the kids warm.

Aunt Kit brought holiday cheer with a couple of her gifts.

We witnessed smiles on our family and friends faces,

as they visited our home for the first time.

The Appetizers were a hit, even the Boy thought so!

The Man and Lady of the house were not only hug-ready but camera-ready!

My Best Friend aka the kids GodMomma was in town to share our joy too!

My sweet siblings enjoyed the sweet dessert table!

Girlfriends broke in the house

with laughter, jokes, and poses!

Eventually the night had to come to an end.

The Girl waved goodbye!

We thanked everyone for coming and for all the gifts!

Engineer Print Success for under $20

My last post was all about us finally owning our 1st house! This means it's time to decorate each room. One of my favorite rooms I am starting with is the Master-bedroom. This is the only room Mr. Wonderful and I do not have to share with the Boy and Girl. I wanted to make it specially tailored for us.

One of our favorite pictures with each other was taken in a photo booth at his brother's wedding. I wanted this picture to be one of the focal points in the room. I had seen on pinterest the amazing Engineering prints for only $4.99 at kinkos. I decided to give it a try!

What I used:

Our favorite Picture

24x36 Engineer Print(of favorite picture)$4.99

24x36 Underlayment Wood from Home Depot $5.00

Hanging hooks and Wire from Home Depot $4.00

Modge Podge (already had it from JoAnns)

Color Pencil

Paint (left over from other projects)

Paint Brushes and Rolling Brush

How I did It:

1. I went to Kinkos with this picture and ordered a 24x36 engineering print.

2. I wanted to add some color because the $4.99 engineer prints only come in black & white.

I chose to color my flower with a red coloring pencil.

3. I went to Home Depot and asked for a 24x36 piece of Underlayment Wood. Engineer prints are super thin so I wanted to place it on top of something sturdy.

4. I painted the wood. I did not want the brown wood color to overtake the picture.

I mixed yellow, white, brown, and black because that's all I had and I did not have enough of one color.

It worked!

5. After I let the paint dry on the wood I got my Mod Podge out. I rolled a single layer on the wood and on back of the print.

6. I placed the engineer print on the wood.

7. I rolled a layer of Modge Podge on top of the print.

I loved the way it turned out. I even love the wrinkle effect it has!

*if you want a no wrinkle look use Adhesive Spray instead of Modge Podge

8. The hanging material that was purchased at Home Depot was placed on the back of the wood.

9. I hung the picture under a decal saying in our Masterbedroom.

10. Mr. Wonderful loved it!