We went to a tree farm.
Where we got to pick out a tree and cut it down.
The kids love their new stockings
Daddy went to Florida & brought back gingerbread shingles for the kids from the Boardwalk.
We enjoyed three snowstorms already.
Mimi with her little princess in front of our decorated Christmas tree.
Santa skate at our local ice skating rink.
Little man got to check out the new ice skates he got for his birthday.
My hubby getting ready to take family photos, and you can see my quilted Christmas tree in the background.
The kids love their Christmas Eve PJs.
My big gift came a little early, and they made me open it early b/c no one could keep the secret.
This is my Mom who flew on an airplane in the snow to see us! She was here for Little Girls birthday, and she was here for Little Man's birthday too!
Christmas with the Hagood family...Mimi, Papa, and my older sis and fam.
My big sister, her daughter and her husband.
My Father :) Love how he is sporting his GT garb and Wide World of Sports hat.
Andrew got very spoiled by his friends at his birthday party.
My little girl (see our quilted stockings in the background?)
We like to be silly together!
Silly people
I know b/c my children have been singing that all month long. And that's about how the season went. Little girl was so excited about singing all the Christmas songs this year (sung into a real microphone she found in my husband's sound gear), but each phrase was just a little off causing much laughter around here.
Ahh...December. For us, it started at the beginning of November as we headed home (Lilburn, GA) for my littlest sister's wedding. All 4 of us were IN the wedding, and we all had a wonderful visit filled with family - no, I'm serious. It was a WONDERFUL time together. We also got to spend time with some very special friends.
Then, we got ready for Christmas when we got home. I had all kinds of crafty projects going on. My favorite was a quilted advent tree. I sewed 25 buttons onto the tree, and the plan was to hang past Christmas card pictures of our dearly loved friends across the states on the tree. Then we were going to pray for our precious friends each day leading up to Christmas. The quilting took a little longer than anticipated so we decided to start the advent next year. It is currently hanging in our living room looking beautiful if I do say so myself. I also quilted 7 stockings for our family and my sister's new family.
I did not even finish all of my projects, but I had to clean up the mess so I could make room for my parents who surprised us with a long weekend visit. They arrived just in time for Little Man's 9th birthday, and we all enjoyed their visit. My older sis and her family joined us, and we ended up celebrating Christmas together 2 weekends early. It also snowed that weekend pretty much causing us to be stuck indoors (except for my sister's fam who drove in the crazy storm - so glad they are safe).
The next week was filled with cleaning and party planning for my Little Man's birthday party. For the first time, we did a BIG birthday party at a local planetarium. It turned out to be a FREE event, and it was wonderful. We invited most of our homeschool friends, and we all got to learn more about space following the exact curriculum we have been studying in Classical Conversations. It was a lot of fun for the kids and adults alike. Following the show, there were at least 40 people who came back to our house for chaos - I mean a pizza party. Everyone thought I was nuts to invite all those people to our house, but it turned out loud but so much fun! I was impressed by all the children who left my house very organized and pretty clean. I also have some awesome friends who helped me keep the chaos organized. Pizza and paper plates led to an easy clean up.
The party was 6 days before Christmas. We spent the following days feverishly getting our last minute things finished in time for a family Christmas at our home. We enjoyed several church services in hopes to teach our children about the TRUE meaning of Christmas. We spend the day of Christmas in a low key fashion, and then we drove to Albany to spend time with my sister and her fam for the rest of the day.
December has been a roller coaster of emotions kind of month. We've had joy and sorrows, good news and bad news, and some of it has been a lot to handle. Through all of this, I am so very thankful and blessed to have a husband who loves me, supports me, encourages me and is a constant source of strength. I am also thankful for the people who are a constant source of encouragement. And finally, no matter what happens, I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and is in control of all things.
It's been a great month filled with wonderful memories and a great time of reflection on the good things in life.
You failed to mention what your big gift was! I'm on edge ... :)
ReplyDeleteI love this update, and can't believe how BUSY you all have been and that you managed to squeeze in 7 stockings, a fabulous advent tree, and a giant birthday party! Haha. Can't wait to see you and catch up.