It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!!! It really is though, right? This month was full of all the Christmas cheer you could ask for and a little bit of stress as well. Next year I need to remember something...simplify. Instead of making 16 cookie plates, 4 cinnamon rolls plates etc. etc. I will spend less time in the kitchen and more time with my family. Although I must say, the cookies and the cinnamon rolls were pretty good.
As busy as the year was, we managed to keep up on all of our old traditions and made some new ones as well. The kids had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed every minute of it which makes me happy. But the best part of this holiday season was our focus on Christ. This year we made it a family goal to do things to serve others and remember Jesus everyday. We did this through our newest family tradition which is to lay a piece of hay in a manger each day we do something that would make Jesus happy. Once there is enough hay in the manger, we lay the baby Jesus inside. The boys loved doing this and worked really hard to put a piece of hay in the manger everyday. As a family, we put kits together for the homeless and then spent a Saturday distributing the bags to people in need. Each boy gave a homeless person a bag. I could tell they understood we were doing something good and helping Jesus by taking care of others. It was something I'll never forget.
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| Foster kept saying he wanted to go sit on Jesus' lap. Santa confusion. |
Temple Trip with Thompson's
We started a tradition a couple of years ago with our friends the Thompson's where we spend an evening looking at the lights at the San Diego Temple. Our kids play so well together and we love getting everyone together. It was a great night that made me thankful for Christmastime, a beautiful temple to visit and amazing friends to share it with.
Class Parties
It was a big month for class parties at both Painted Rock and Pomerado Christian. Foster was invited to attend Mrs. Greenan's gingerbread making party at Painted Rock. Dad came with us too! We had so much making mini gingerbread houses with James' class. Foster then celebrated at preschool with a special Christmas story and song with Pastor Evans. The parties were fun but both boys were very ready for a 2 week break from school. Mom was ready too.
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| Foster and Charlotte Warren, his best friend. |
Christmas Break Shenanigans
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| Canterbury Gardens |
We had so much fun spending our days with family and friends while the boys were out of school. We broke all our schedules, slept in and played. It made us eager for summer when we will have lazy days, everyday!
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| We spent the first day of Christmas break with the Thompson's at the Zoo. |
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| These four have known each other their entire lives. |
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| Grandma and Grandpa took us to Canterbury Gardens to look at the amazing Christmas decorations. Both boys could pick an ornament to bring home. It took a long time to decide on an ornament but the fun was in the looking. A great new tradition. |
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| The Candy Cane Room was my favorite. |
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| Foster pretending to be a reindeer. |
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| Candy Cane Lane Insanity! |
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| Craziest family selfie to date. |
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Christmas Eve was wonderful. The food was spectacular and so was the Christmas program to follow. Dad has been learning to play the keyboard and was able to learn a few Christmas songs. After dinner we gathered around the tree while dad played carols and we sang. It was a very festive night. Then of course, a bearded visitor came bearing gifts. James may have figured out that the visitor was grandpa but he played along and was very happy to open his gifts- a spinosaurus and parasaurolophus. And Foster could not have been happier with his piggy bank. Both boys scored!
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| Foster helped me make rolls and cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve. He's my kitchen helper. |
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| Every year I give the boys Christmas jammie's on Christmas Eve. |
Christmas morning was so fun to watch the boys find their gifts from Santa. They loved all of their presents and it was an exciting morning for the boys. Then it was off to church and then MiAni's for Christmas dinner. By the time my head hit the pillow that night I was exhausted. In much need of a week of R&R and it just so happened that the next morning we left for Santa Barbara for a week of R&R.
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| Calm Before the Storm! |
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| Happy Boys...Santa did good. |
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| Bella in her Christmas sweater. |
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| Ready for Church! |
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara was just what we needed. It was a great week spent going to the park, beach, on walks, skateboard rides, dinners out, dinners in, and most importantly, time with family.
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| Spent the afternoon at Turtle Park with Paul, Christine, Elliot and Issac. |
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| The boys had fun chasing the remote control car from Pop Pop. |
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| Rub-A-Dub Dub, Three Olsons in a tub! |
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| Gingerbread House made by their alter ego's Funky and Jordan. |
Photos by Foster
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| Spent New Year's Eve at the Clifford's with friends, dancing and dancing and even dancing. I'm pretty sure Scott did not dancing. But we all had fun! |
