Where are you Christmas?

Is Christmas over.... really?
How did it fly by soooooooooo fast?!

Nutter Butter Santa's

First official day off school and my kids are already bored. I whipped out the melting chocolates & some goodies and we did these little cuties today to keep them busy! It was pretty fun getting covered with chocolate.

Tradition

Just wanted to think about the traditions that my mom and dad shared with me and my older brothers at Christmas all during my childhood...
*Driving around looking at Christmas lights wrapped in blankets, singing Christmas carols minus any male voices who usually protested, then returning home to have egg nog and pretending I liked it because everyone else did.
*Making cookies while the classic Christmas songs blasted on our old record player.
*Hanging Christmas cards on the back of our front door.
*Christmas Eve at my Grandma's house with all my cousins.
*Christmas morning ritual... wake up mom and dad, wait at the top of the stairs while mom and dad "check" to see if Santa came (they turn on tree lights).

Now I am grown and married and creating traditions for my own children, some new, some recycled...
*Decorate a gingerbread house (my son gets to shoot it up with his paintball gun on New Years Eve, his favorite part).
*Mattress Surfing (no snow here for sledding).
*Hang our Christmas cards on the back of the front door.
*Christmas Eve... we eat a Steak dinner by candlelight/Christmas light. We drive around town wrapped in blankets looking at Christmas lights and listening to music (returning home for hot chocolate). Watch "Scrooge" and "It's a Wonderful Life" while baking and decorating cookies.
*Christmas Day... up before the sun with excited kids (tree lights on a handy timer). Open gifts, eat lot's of candy. Watch A Christmas Story then go out for our Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra Chinese Christmas dinner. Read the story of Christs birth from the book of Luke.

It's almost here!

Merry Christmas...

I love this plaque. Any idea's on how I could get my kids to agree with it?

Words of Wisdom...

Just to share a great quote I heard
from the movie KUNG FU PANDA as my kids were watching it in the car the other day....

Yesterday was the past, tomorrow will be the future, today is a GIFT and that's why it is called the PRESENT.

Holy Holidays Batman!

Christmas because its so jam packed with activities! Holy cow. There is a love hate relationship there for me. Occasionally it gets a bit too busy but this year I am determined to find a balance.

Chloe's Christmas Choir concert is over (pictures). So fun, very cute group of kids 3-5 grades in that and one was the most fantastically unusual Scrooge. Good laugh and lots of holiday spirit. I am so grateful that its still ok here to bring up the birth of our Savior, our last school district forbid any mention of it.

It is most definitely December and busy busy busy! I am so excited and overwhelmed at this time of year but trying really hard to be jolly with a cold. I am trying hard to remember the real reason for the season and to make wonderful memories for the kids. Another memorable part of this season will be that we mark my father in laws 90th Christmas! Today is his 90th birthday, a pretty fantastic milestone.

Missing my parents this time of year! I am going to work on having them here next Christmas for all the festivities, I don't think I can go another year without my Mom and Dad!

Let the Thanksgiving recovery begin....

..

Thanksgiving was....well it is almost over, still have a few out of town stragglers for the next couple of days. I'm exhausted! I had to find my happy place a couple of times and went on a few hikes. Yes, there were paintball wars, irritating relatives, both serious and happy conversations, tears, singing, food maximus, puking, and pretty much nonstop chaos. Saw New Moon FINALLY!!!! So excited, I wanna go again!