We rang in the new year with our crazy dance party. It’s a tradition we started in 2008, but last year didn’t happen because we were stuck in Texas due to bad weather conditions. There was one year we kept things cozy, and there was another year where we weren’t in the mood to dance because we had a fight. I just asked him what we were fighting about that year, and neither of us remember. We love this tradition, and it would be fun to keep doing this as the girls get older, but we will see how their NYE plans change later.

For our meal, we make black-eyed peas and spicy shrimp (it’s the same NYE meal we’ve been making the past few years), and after we let our food settle in our tummies a bit, it was time to get the dance party started.

This was the first year Glow really got into the dancing. She was entranced by the strobe light and kept dancing in front of it. Oh yes, we really do have a strobe light and fog machine and we bust it out every New Year’s Eve! Everyone puts on their craziest outfit, and this year we bought lots of glow sticks to add to the outrageous outfits. We blast music by The Black Eyes Peas, the lights go out, the strobe light and fog machine comes on, and then we all dance! We all had so much fun being silly and boogying down, and at the strike of midnight (Texas Time), we welcomed in the new year.

Do you have any New Year’s Eve traditions?

See years past… 2008-2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 (due to bad weather on the road we weren’t able to have our party).

The striped shirt is from Everlane, and since I got it a month ago, I’ve been wearing it about 3 times a week. And when I wear it, I pair it with this sweater that my sister gave me for Christmas. She asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I jokingly said, “I want the shaggy sweater you picked up from the estate sale.” She said her husband would be happy if she gave it to me because he didn’t like it. HA! I got her another vintage sweater for Christmas, so we did a little swap-a-roo. I love that I am not the proud owner of this one. Thanks sissy!  

By the way, my talented sister and her husband are giving away a portrait session… get more details here. I love their dreamy photographs and video, and I think you would too.

on me: striped top, everlane. sweater, vintage (vintage here, new there). levi’s 501, thrifted (vintage here, new there). clogs, lotta from stockholm. bag, handmade (see here).

We really got to savor the Christmas season more this year. There was a lot of time spent talking about the reason for Christmas, plenty of family cuddle/movie sessions, and preparing for celebrations together. This was the first year we were able to have our own Christmas Eve, and it was nice to not be rushed that day. We took the girls to see Star Wars in the morning, and then the girls spent the rest of the day finishing their handmade gifts for each other. Our evening consisted of a family picnic in the family room with one of our favorite dishes, langostino sopes, and then we let the girls open the presents we had for them (Ben and I exchanged gifts too; vintage shirt for him and ice cream for me.).

Christmas morning the girls were eager to see what Santa left for them. Santa always brings them a community gift to share, and this year it was play dough. The next couple hours were spent opening the presents the girls made. They make so many presents for everyone! I love seeing the creative things they come up with, but what I really take delight in is seeing their enthusiasm as they give their gift, then the excitement of the recipient, and then the “thank you” hug that happens after each gift. It’s really so sweet. I’d like to think I’m raising grateful kids.

The rest of the day was spent hopping from my family to Ben’s, and back to my family (my mom and dad’s side of the family all get together for Christmas!). It was definitely merry and bright!

We were blessed to celebrate the second day of Christmas with my immediate family (my siblings and parents) at our house. We set up the table similar to our Thanksgiving decor, and this celebration is what all our tamales were for. We were all serenaded with a couple Christmas songs by my grandma (she’s been doing a lot of singing for us lately), Brave read a passage in the Bible to us, and then we all indulged in all the delicious food. We had chicken, pork, and shrimp tamales. I also made pozole, my sister brought lots of fresh fruit, and another sister made a delicious Mexican chocolate cake. Oh boy … we were stuffed!

After dinner, we all moved near the Christmas tree for present time! Just before we started, Papi Claus made an appearance and handed out all the presents. Papi Claus is quite a character; he had us laughing all night long.

After three days of celebrating, we were exhausted, but in a good way. Hearts full, tummies stuffed, and lots of memories treasured.

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

The girls are doing so well with fractions. You know math isn’t our favorite, but this week things seemed to be clicking. *happy dance*

These rainbow blocks (seen above) have been getting so much play! Building toys are a favorite in our home.

Eyeing this market basket, or this one; I love using baskets as purses.

What a genius pom pom tutorial?

Heart eyes for this pretty, striped, cotton dress (on sale!).

Such fun and simple party decor.

Chorizo and garlic shrimp burger, get in my belly!

I want to take the macrame plant hanging class.

Wish we had a large tree to hang the swurfer swing. I think my girls would really like this.

We spent yesterday in the snow, and now I’m ready to spend the rest of Sunday in bed watching the Spurs game and a movie with my family. Enjoy the rest of the weekend internet friends!

I’ve been working on some new projects with this cotton rope, and I’m pretty excited about how they’re turning out. I finished one (took me three days!), and I’m ready to start on some others. It feels good to see something that was swirling about in my head come to life. I haven’t taken proper pictures of it yet, but I will show you soon.

This week started off so bad. I was ready to quit mothering (again!) and I just felt discouraged. Monday was not a good day in the Bratcher household. On Tuesday, things turned around quite a bit. Ben was so helpful in encouraging my weary heart and steering the girls towards obedience. Then, we had two more good days on Wednesday and Thursday. I definitely was more intentional with them and we stuck to the routine and things got done. We even had time to go to the park to play! Those good days remind me why I homeschool and what I love about it.

Now, I know those bad days will come again, but I need to remember that every moment has a purpose. The good and the bad. I want to rejoice through all of it because my joy should not be based on my current circumstance, but what Jesus did for me on that cross.

As the girls grow, things change in their room. It’s not just a reflection of my likes and style, but also theirs, as it should be.

When I look back at my earliest memories of my own bedroom, I remember my mom had it decked out in Strawberry Shortcake with a canopy bed. I felt my bed was so magical with that canopy. My first memory of trying to insert my own personality into my room was putting together wooden animal puzzles and trying to give it a museum feel. I thought my one or two wooden puzzles were artifacts, and I totally thought I was nailing that museum vibe.

In late elementary school, I got hit by the Disney bug bad. I was Disney obsessed growing up and wanted to work as one of their animators one day. Lion King was one of my favorite movies and I had giant decals plastered all over the wall (this was during middle school to sophomore year in high school!). My canopy bed was gone, and I had a bunk bed shared with my sisters, and our bedding was all Lion King. In eighth grade, I even got a Mickey Mouse phone. It definitely looked like the Disney store in my room.

The day finally came for me to get my own room, and so I moved downstairs (that was a big deal). I decked my room out with my favorite movie posters, Titanic (yes, really), My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Mrs. Winterbourne (random, I know). At 16, I discovered this quaint antique shop, and my mom bought me my first vintage piece. It was an antique vanity set, perfectly shabby chic and sweet. Of course, IKEA also came along, and I had little things from there in my room too. In college, I came across an article of a home featured in Victoria Magazine, and I ripped that out and saved it as for inspiration for my future home (still have it and it has inspired my house today). I digress.

For Soul’s birthday, Ben and I got Soul this Luke Skywalker decal. We were deciding between a cardboard cut out, or the decal, and I think the decal was the best choice. The other day Brave was talking about how all the people in Star Wars are actors, and Soul said, “Not Luke. He’s real.”

Glow’s favorite, as you probably already know from her birthday request, is Yoda, but she says she loves R2-D2 just as much. So not only does she have one Yoda next to her, but 3, and then a string of Yoda lights (my sister got it for her for Christmas), and if you look at the window above her bed, there are more Yodas. These girls of mine are too funny with their love for that genius space soap opera.

This was their room just a couple months ago; there isn’t too much change. We changed out the rugs (brought in the one from True and Brave’s room), and obviously their love for Star Wars is now quite evident. I like watching how they bring their personalites into their rooms. If you’re wondering how we keep their room neat … the rule is they can make a mess and play as much as they like during the day, but before bed, everything needs to be cleaned back up and put in its place. #notnegotiable

How do you approach decorating your children’s rooms?