Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas both Christmas Eve and Christmas because Chris left early(ish) on Christmas day to return home. We had a blast. The kids, of course, loved opening Christmas presents, leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, and playing with their new toys. My favorite part of Christmas this year was having my family around. It was such a beautiful present in and of itself to have Chris and my dad here, along with my mom. It was just wonderful. I tried really hard to minimize the amount of gifts the kids got, but I did a horrible job of it. Between the free sites, craigslist, and the mom's sale sites I'm on, I got some fantastic deals and started looking in the summer= too much stuff! Come Christmas time, I had a stack. Next year I am going to limit the amount they get. This year, we just gave them what we purchased and sold and gave away some old toys they don't play with anymore. It worked out pretty well.

Here are some pictures of us opening presents!

 

 

My favorite gift for the kids- a nice size doll-house that doubles as a bookcase. I love it and so do the kids! 

Advent: Day 24!

Advent Activity #24: (for day 23, we just had a family day!)
Christmas Eve celebration with Ben's side of the family. We ate lunch and enjoyed some family time.

And, we took family pictures... coming soon to the blog!! :)

Advent: Day 22!

Advent Activity #22: We celebrated my mom's 51st birthday! We had a little party for her at my house. She had a blast and was so happy that we celebrated with her and gave her a party! A few friends came over and my brother and dad were in town, so she had a blast with the gathering. Chris and our family gave her a nook, which she has wanted for a long time and she was so surprised. I also painted her a tree with a Bible verse on it, to duplicate as part party decoration and for her to take home as a gift. We were so glad we got to celebrate with her this year in a unique and fun way.