Christmas Eve
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Christmas Eve morning we played with new toys from the night before...
...and relaxed in Mama's bed before another big day!
Decked out in Santa for a visit with Gigi and Grommy!
We packed up our dishes, a little table decor and some Pappasitos fajitas to share lunch with Gigi and Grommy at their personal care home.
I know my mother in law is sad but I hope the Christmas touches that we brought from home made her day just a little more special. We had a nice lunch and the home was so sweet to give us the entire dining room to ourselves.
Best way to "cook!"
Present time for Gigi and Grommy
My parents gave each of the ladies new gowns. They were happy!
The kids with their gifts. Big smiles all around!
Tyler's reactions in all of these pictures are my favorite!
We visited for awhile, got the ladies set up in their new room (busy day!) and then raced home for 25 minutes before leaving again for church.
Hailey insisted on boots with her pretty dress. Pick your battles....
I absolutely adore this Nativity dress. It's so sweet.
My parents met us at church and an usher was taking pictures in the foyer. I loved the idea! Church was really sweet with children playing a large role in the service. Lots of touching parts and messages.
Christmas Eve night we spent at home with snuggles on the couch, leftovers and some downtime. It was great!
We finished our Story of Christmas book and then set out cookies for Santa!
We had another wonderful day!
Under Construction
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Please standby as I change the theme of my blog and figure out why my pictures are grainy. I thought I was pretty tech savvy until it came to this whole blog theme change.... I'm really hoping this works because I wanted a new look for 2018! I've had the same theme since 2008!
Christmas Eve Eve
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
The whirlwind of Christmas is over and that always makes me a little sad. How does one month go so fast?!
We had a wonderful Christmas!! Our traditional 1.5 days of craziness was spread over 3 full days this year and it was so much more enjoyable! We still did a lot of running but we had some home time in between each big event and it was so nice.
My prayer this year was for healthy children (family), focusing on being in the moment and most importantly, take time to remember and talk about why we are celebrating Christmas! I can say that all of those things came true and it was absolutely wonderful.
Christmas Eve Eve started early for me when my body didn't realize there was no work that day! Waking up an hour before the kids made for some awesome quiet time with tea that's still hot (!!) and twinkling Christmas lights!
Once the kids were up we made a cinnamon roll tree complete with sprinkles. It wasn't a pinterest masterpiece but the kids loved it!
We had some pre-Christmas fighting over the couch and ipad while I happily ignored them and colored with crayons at the table. HAHAHA- real life!
This day also marked a fun "girl mom" milestone- Hailey's first painted nails!! We both went red for Christmas. :)
Before we knew it, it was 11:30 and time to head to Oma's house! Much of the day felt like the picture below.....
The cousins had so much fun playing together!
Adelaide and Hailey were two peas in a pod. Precious girlies!
Two rough and tough boys enjoying some Lego time!
Sweet Sammy just wondering when we finally get to eat!
Cousin time is the best time!
Sammy (1), Adelaide (4), Hailey (2), Roman (6) and Tyler (8)
All the cousins with Oma and Opa
Gayle and Grommy joined us for lunch at Oma's house this year. Here they are with all of their grandchildren (great for Grommy)!
The gang's all here!
A few family pictures outside while we still have the kids' attention- hehe.
Auntie Anja planned a fun saran wrap game for the kids before presents. It was so much fun!
Present time!
We ended the evening trying out Tyler's space rocket experiment from Anja and Brian.
I like to call this the calm before the vinegar bath.....
This next picture is of Brian reading the instructions (again) 30 seconds after the experiment SOAKED Tyler and I with vinegar and baking soda. It.was.such.a.mess. (but also HILARIOUS!!)
A little wet clothing never stopped anyone! We must've tried it 5 more times.....
Tyler's face! (notice the crowd gathered around has decreased..haha)
Finally a launch!
The boys kept trying until they had used all of Oma's vinegar....
The rest of the evening was spent playing with new toys, new games, eating sweet treats and visiting. We had such a fun day!
