It is Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Today was bound to be filled with a lot of jolly Christmas preparations, 

so I sported one of my ugly Christmas sweaters!

Along with the constant hum of people putting the final touches (and stitches) on presents...

First, we made our very first "gingerbread houses" at the library today.

T was sad that they were just graham crackers and cereal, pretty much.

But, she and all the kiddos managed to have a great time.

After lunch we cut up all of the dough balls for making our Belgian cookies this weekend.

Everyone participated, and even R and E were actually quite good at it!

That got us really in the Christmas spirit, so we decided to be a bit adventurous.

We grabbed our wagon, a hand saw, and a sheet (for hiding the evidence on the walk home).

We found the perfect little tree in the back woods.

And we decided to give it some extra special love inside with us over Christmas!

We are SO EXCITED!

Love, Us.

EV Being Big and Lighting the House

Yesterday Evangeline requested her own turn doing 

one of the regular daily "chores" around here.

She was very adamant that she could do it herself.

I must admit, I think she did a better job than my boys do sometimes!

Friday was the Feast of St. Lucy, and this was our second year of using her Feast as the day on which we put up our tree(s) and "Light the House". 

I sprung a further clarifying detail at T in the morning, though.

Last year we put up the tree with all the lights and decorations on St. Lucy's day.

I decided this year to keep the anticipation growing by only putting up the tree with the lights.

All of the ornaments will wait until Christmas Eve.

That was a hard pill for her to swallow, but she grew to appreciate the intent.

Hector met his first Christmas tree after his nap.

He was a bit interested, but not enamored with it.

Love, Us.

Bubble Sink and Gifts for the Giving Tree

T and I had discussed that Hector was the perfect age to have his first bubble sink.

We were planning to give him one in a few days.

But then, this happened...

So he got it earlier than expected!

T and D really enjoyed purchasing gifts for kids on the church's "Giving Tree" this year.

We spent an afternoon this week wrapping up their gifts.

So proud of these kids and the joy they find in bringing joy to others.

Love, Us.

Protecting our Wild Ones and Prepping for Christmas

Hector is suddenly VERY mobile.

He stands on everything and tries to either pull or push it wherever it may go. 

Because of this, we created a bit of a cage for him one morning.

He loved walking up and down the row of chairs.

And this little lady got her shots in her chubby butt!

We have attended a couple holiday-themed events on post, 

which have supplied us with the necessary goods for 

filling a few afternoons with in-home crafts.

First, we spent an afternoon painting the clay sculptures, ornaments, 

and what-have-you that we made at the Arts and Crafts center.

Some of these will be presents within the family.

The kids are trying to figure out between themselves what is for whom.

The following afternoon we spent some time making pipe cleaner and bead ornaments.

They turned out very fun!

Our manger is starting to fill up with good deeds!

And finally, I found this tree decoration at the bag sale last weekend.

It is absolutely perfect for our Jesse tree! 

I am SO excited about it!

Love, Us.

Cuddle Times and St. Nick

To start off today, here are some snuggle time glimpses for you:

St. Nick came and, for the first time, put his presents in our stockings! 

I thought it would be a simple and nice way to very slowly 

get out some of the Christmas decorations. 

Now our stockings come out on St. Nick day.

They were filled with candy, books, and other small doo-dads this year...

including a rubber ducky!

Love, Us.

The Results of Showing Their Covers

With Joe not home for a bit, I have spent my evenings listening to

the Read Aloud Revival podcast.

One of them really intrigued me.

It suggested that if you simply set books "cover out" around the house, 

you will be amazed by how much more time the kids 

spend looking through and reading them.

So... I tried it. 

I grabbed some baskets and organizers and put random books off of our picture book shelves in them.

In the morning I just watched to see what would happen.

And I took some pictures.

Pretty cool!

Try it.

Love, Us.

Some of the Advent in our Home

As I've said: I. Love. Advent.

I truly do.

Well, here are some of the details of what Advent looks like in our home this year.

Lots of Nativity sets to play with.

This year's Advent wreath is a wreath set on top of a 

metal candle stand I snagged at a bag sale last summer!

There is a lot more "Advent" spread around the house, 

specifically in picture book and Jesus Tree form.

 But, I failed to take more pictures.

Love, Us.

Thanksgiving in Salem

We headed down to Adam and Hayli's place the evening before Thanksgiving.

For the first time ever, we didn't hit horrible traffic on the way, which was amazing!

Our Thanksgiving consisted of lots of delicious food...

Lot of fun and silly games...

This year's favorite game: homemade "Headbands"!

Unfortunately, some hours spent staring at a Wii...

Even some Black Friday shopping for the kids that T and D selected off of the parish's "Angel Tree".

Yes...T, D, and I even braved Wal-Mart at 6pm on Thanksgiving!

It was a beautiful Thanksgiving!

We even had good traffic on the way home.

What a blessing!

Love, Us.