Merry Christmas!

We had a fabulous Christmas with our family!  It started with leaving cookies out for Santa--and C was beside herself with exhaustion by the time we got home from Pop and JuJu's, so she was in bed and missed the Kodak moment with the cookies.

Then Santa came!!!  Their stashes may look meager, but between both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends, my kids get more for Christmas than any of us knows what to do with.  You can read about my Christmas guidelines that I implemented for the first time this year that made my life SO much easier when it came to shopping for them this year.

Then it was time to go to bed with the excitement of  knowing you get to watch your kids get their gifts in the morning.  Since becoming a parents, I am pretty sure that Christmas is just as much fun for mommies and daddies as it is for the kiddos!!  And this Christmas was a blast!

Then we opened our stockings.

 B modeling his new Angry Birds slippers.

Grandma and Grandpa showed up around nine, and then it was time to open gifts from them and Aunt H.

 

 

Then we sat down to a fairly scrumptious brunch if I do say so myself.  More on that tomorrow.  The rest of the day was spent playing with new toys, watching A Christmas Story (my favorite Christmas movie), grazing on left overs, putting the last ornament on the Jesse Tree, and just lazing around.  It was fabulous.  I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is always the day that we spend with my family, and this year was no exception.  We left our house after the kids' naps and headed over to Pop and JuJu's house loaded down with squash casserole, pecan pie, and presents.  We started with a time of prayer and thanksgiving for the birth of Jesus, and I led us in singing "Joy to the World" then we ate a delicious meal that was mostly prepared by JuJu.  Then it was time to open gifts.  My parents have done a big Christmas for us and each other for as long as I can remember, and I have always enjoyed the Christmas Eve festivities.

For the past couple of years we have let the kids open their gifts first.  Then the rest of us could open our gifts while they were busy with their new toys.

B was super excited about the DreamLites light-up dog he got.  C got a "light up unicorn" from friends for her birthday, and he has wanted his own ever since!!

This Angry Birds set from Uncle J and Aunt A was a much-desired and happily-received gift!

C has had her eye on this Boo doll from Monsters Inc. for a couple of months and was ecstatic to pull it out of the box.

And she looks like a doll in her Minnie Mouse costume from Uncle J and Aunt A.

After the kids opened their gifts, C wanted her princess castle to play with, and let's just say 'some assembly required' was an understatement.  Haha.  So after waiting patiently for the Hubs to get it all together for her, the adults to tear into their gifts.

I managed to stay behind the camera all night, but was pleased to get several items on my wish list as well as a few surprise items that I love.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

I had such grand plans for a great birthday party for Jesus, but life happened, plans changed that were out of my control, and we had to spontaneously move the party up a day and I was unprepared.  So instead of the delicious BBQ sandwiches, yummy potato salad, chips and corn on the cob that I had planned, we had drive thru burgers.  Again, not what I had in mind, but it is about celebrating our Savior and that is exactly what we did.

I used some of the cupcakes and miniature brownie cups that were left over from the youth Christmas party we had hosted the night before.  I put a candle in one of the cupcakes, and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.  Then the kids got to blow out the candle.

B had wanted to invited Pop and JuJu over, so they joined us for the sweets.  It was very impromptu and not nearly and put together as I would have liked, but the kids loved celebrating Jesus's birthday.  Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Christmas Cookies

I try to make Christmas cookies with the kids every year, and this year was no exception.  However, it did take us several days to get it done, and we were so busy I was starting to wonder if it would actually happen!

I use the following basic sugar cookie recipe.  It is easy and tasty.

Basic Sugar Cookies

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla.  Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder and add to the butter mixture.  Divide into 3-4 discs, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.  Remove from fridge 20-30 minutes before rolling out and cutting.  (I put the baking sheets with the cutout cookies on them in the fridge for a few minutes before baking.)  Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are just brown.  Let cool and decorate as desired.

The kids love using the cookie cutters, so pulling them out is always fun.

Sadly, we were not able to frost and decorate the cookies until a couple of days after baking them.  I had picked up a can of Pillsbury frosting with the sprinkles in the little tub as the top.  I was surprised that the frosting was green since it was just labeled as vanilla, so I popped open a can of white frosting that I had gotten for frosting cupcakes.  With their own bowls of frosting and a butter knife these kids had a blast!

Some additional sprinkles and a handful of mini chocolate chips for the snowmen, and we were done.  They were yummy (although I would not invite anyone to eat any that C made since I caught her licking her fingers more than once!) and done just in time for Santa!

Journey to Bethlehem Week 2 and 3

I got a little behind with these updates, and I have been REALLY bad at taking pictures of where Mary and Joseph have traveled.  In fact, there have been two times when they didn't move at all.  (Oops!)  Fortunately, my kids understand that Mary needed rest.  :)

So here are a few of the places Mary and Joseph have been in the last couple of weeks:

They spent a night on the blade of a ceiling fan in the living room, then they hopped up on the entertainment center and the curtain rod.

They returned to the kitchen for a brief stint hanging out on the ceiling fan in there, on a shelf by the stove, and next to this basket over the pantry.

Then they moved to the kids' room where they spent a night on B's headboard (which he could not BELIEVE he slept all night without knowing they were there) and then they moved under C's tree.

Then they moved to the master bedroom where they have been on my jewelry armoir and in the Jesse Tree.

Maybe I will do better with picture taking for the next 4 days!

Evolution of Style Linky Party

After following the 12 Days of Christmas Tour of Homes over at the Evolution of Style, I linked up my own Christmas home tour.  Be sure to check out the linky party and link up your own home tour here.

Here are more of the Christmas traditions that I practice:

Bethlehem Breakfast

Jesse Tree

Keepsake Ornament

 

Hope you are getting all of your last minute holiday stuff done during this last weekend before Christmas!!!

Snowman Supper

Last night I jazzed up our holiday festivities with a Snowman Supper.  I saw this idea on Pinterest, and it was just too cute to pass up. 

I used blue construction paper for the place mats, baby blue plates, and snowflake napkins that I had in my stash.  I grabbed the white paper cups from Wal-Mart and used black and orange Sharpies to give them snowman faces.

The menu consisted of pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, and powdered donuts, but it was spiced up with a wintery theme.  I was quite pleased with how the pancakes turned out.  I used chocolate chips for the eyes, and M&M's for the nose and buttons.  Bacon made for a nice (and tasty) scarf.  I skewered the powdered donuts onto lollipop sticks left over from C's first birthday party.  The donuts kind of fell apart as I was putting them on the sticks, so I had to work fast to get them on the plate so they would stay together.  I used chocolate chips for the eyes, mini-chocolate chips for the mouth, and an orange gum drop for the nose.  I served white hot chocolate with snowman-shaped marshmallows.  You can find the original idea and the recipe for the white hot chocolate here.

The kids really enjoyed the meal, and B deemed it "the best meal EVER" as he was getting in the tub.  But my kids love breakfast for supper, so adding a bit of holiday flair was a win-win.  And I think the proof is in the powdered sugar on these sweet faces.

  

'Til next time!