Self Portrait...sort of...and a collage of Christmas cheer!

I was playing around with my webcam when the boy pushed this button and took my picture. So, it was a sort of self portrait! The boy told me I looked "pretty...for a mom." Too funny! Here is a collage of Christmas pics I took this year. It is a collection of my favorites, though no where near all of the pictures we took! Hope everyone's holiday was Merry and Bright!

Christmas day

Christmas was wonderful. The kids enjoyed every minute of it. Baby girl was just excited to be a part of all of it, and big brother was VERY excited to ride his big boy bike from Santa. He did not want any help, he literally just got on and went! It was amazing. I am so thankful to be able to share these moments with my family.

Baby girl's first Christmas Eve

Baby girl got to open up her first pair of Christmas Eve jammies tonight. She seems more interested in the wrapped packages, she actually gets a little perturbed when we open them. She doesn't want to rip the paper, she just wants to look at it. She did like the jammies though, she kept waving them around and shrieking. Both hers and the boy's jammies have monkeys on them, so they match but they are not "matchy." We opened jammies, then put our special ornaments on the tree, put out cookies for Santa, read "The Night Before Christmas" and the story of Jesus' birth from Luke, checked Norad for Santa's progress, and put the kids to bed. It was a GREAT evening.

Cookies for friends

For FHE we made cookies and decorated them for friends. We delivered all but one, and we had a lot of fun doing it. The boy took it very seriously. I had written "Love, the ....'s" on all of them, before the boy told me that he wanted to "put them on the doorstep and run away. Like elves." So he was in charge of delivering each plate. He got to take the first plate to his best little buddy (and future wife...according to them) and her family, including their new little baby who is one week old. We also took some to the missionaries, to our family's best buds, and to Nana. We have one more plate for another family but they weren't home tonight. The boy and I will finish frosting and delivering the rest tomorrow. What a fun way to spend the evening!

Family Christmas Portraits

We took these before church today, in front of our tree, and then in front of the church. We got all spiffied up today for Christmas, though we probably will next week too! I love to be matchy matchy for church. I know it's a sickness, really, but my poor long suffering husband puts up with it and participates.

Shop Party

Some friends of ours have a Christmas party every year in their shop/garage. They decorate redneck style, and put up tables and chairs, and we eat, visit, and do a white elephant exchange. It is a lot of fun, and we are really glad they invite us every year, even though they have parred down the guest list by half since last year!

Santa's little helper

Santa Daddy made an appearance at the ward Christmas party tonight. The boy was excited to be his helper. He was in charge of giving out the candy and toys after the kids visited Santa. The boy took this very seriously. He NEVER told anyone who Santa was, even when the big kids were trying to get it out of him, he handed everyone a candy cane and a toy, and told them "Merry Christmas." He was a great helper.

RS dinner

I am the 2nd counselor in the RS (formerly known as the "enrichment counselor,") and we don't have an enrichment leader, so all of the planning and carryout for the RS Christmas dinner fell to me. I had a couple of really wonderful helpers, and it went perfectly. Dinner was good, and filling (especially with a limited budget!) decorating dessert gingerbread house cakes was fun and original, the program was beautiful and spiritual, and my mother in law came for the party, which was a pleasant surprise. Over all, I was very pleased with the way it went.

Collection in the making...

I have decided that I want to start collecting Nativities. I like all of them, wood, paper, toys, whatever. I think this one is way cute. I love it, and I love that it is different than most. It is amazing to me that something so cute, and fun, and special can come from plain old paper.

Portrait session

I took these today in our living room. My kids are such good sports. They have just come to accept that they will have to smile and sit up for the treat/ toy/ candy/ tv show they want!!

Hung by the chimney with care...

We desperately needed new stockings, and I was NOT going to pay $15 apiece for them, so I bought some fleece and made them myself. I made them a bit longer than regular stockings, so they can hold all our goodies better. They came from a panel with stripes, so I have enough left to make 4 more stockings...should the need ever arise. I think they turned out pretty good, and I'm glad that we have cute and matching stockings for our whole family.

Gingerbread houses...take 2

Ok, so last year, our gingerbread houses were a DISASTER. They fell apart, the frosting didn't spread, Mommy had a melt down (Well, I was pregnant so I blame hormones!) So this year we decided we were only going to buy pre-assembled houses. I didn't realize when I bought the mini village that they were not put together. We tried in a big hurry to put them together on Monday for FHE, but when it didn't work (and Mommy had a mini meltdown,) we put them in the closet. Today, Mommy took her time and got them assembled, and voila! A gingerbread village! (But next year....we will double check that they are pre-assembled cuz I'm not doing that again!)

O Christmas tree

The kids were fascinated by decorating the tree. The boy took it very seriously, hanging all the blue bulbs on one side, and all the pink on another, only about 2 feet off the ground all the way around. Daddy "helped" him get them distributed more evenly. Baby girl LOVED the shiny and sparkly bulbs. She just stared at them the entire time. It was so fun to watch them together sharing this tradition.

Sweet singer boy

Today the boy was lying stretched out on the couch, singing his little heart out. He was singing "Frosty the Snowman" and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." When I told him Christmas was over this year, he said "I'm getting ready for next year!" What a sweet heart!