Christmas Eve Night!

I had seen this idea on Pinterest repinned over and over again and while I liked the idea, I didn't repin it because I wasn't sure I wanted to add another thing to my already busy Christmas holiday to do list. The idea was to wrap Christmas pajamas, a Christmas movie and Christmas snacks for your kids to open and enjoy the night before Christmas.

 At the last minute, however, I decided to do it and I'm glad I did.

 Daniel showed Morgan a picture that one of his friends posted on facebook. The friend was a firefighter who had actually seen Santa and his reindeer!

 Before the girls went to bed, we set out cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer.

Morgan had been adamant about the carrots this year. For days she had been reminding me to go to the store and get "fresh" carrots for the reindeer. She kept talking about how we couldn't give rotten carrots to the reindeer. I accidentally forgot to read The Night Before Christmas and the story of Jesus' birth before their bedtime. Oops! Thank goodness for next year!

Maggie kept "guard" over Santa's cookies. I'm sure she was just hoping one of us would look away long enough so she could snatch them. She's so not above stealing food within her reach. Oddly enough though she left the cookies alone. It's as if she understood their significance and decided to not risk it.

 My teenage nephew Chase is all about cash right now because he's trying to save up for his first car.

 While cash is our go-to gift for him, I try to come up with creative ways to give it. 

 The below is our beautiful tree and presents!

 What's funny is that we all cut back this year yet the amount of presents still seemed excessive.

Santa got Morgan twinkle toe shoes just like she asked for and got Charlotte a horse nearly the size of her!

Christmas Eve night, Daniel made us popcorn and we all sat down and watched It's A Wonderful Life! Well, actually, Dusty and I only sat down for a minute before we got up and starting prepping food for Christmas Day. We had a good visit while cooking together though.

Did I mention that Nana and Papa and Dusty and Chase stayed with us at our house to celebrate Christmas? I'm so thankful to be able to celebrate with family. That's what's most important to me. The older I get, the less I care about gifts. I think that's true for everyone.

Celebrating Christmas!

The Monday before Christmas was nice. I fortunately got it off from work and was happy to spend the day home with my family.

Poor Morgan had been running a fever for 3 days so I was happy to just let her veg.

I think we watched 4 Christmas movies back to back. A channel was having a movie marathon that we definitely enjoyed. The house was calm and peaceful and warm. We snuggled together under the glow of Christmas Tree lights to enjoy the Christmas movies and each other. 

 Love that sweet angelic face.

While watching one of the movies, we made sugar cookies for Santa. I appreciate the layout of our living room, dining room and kitchen because it allows you to still be a part of everything thanks to the open layout. 

Santa Visit!

The Sunday before Christmas, our family went to visit Santa!

 The girls didn't do too bad waiting in line. 

 I like going to Riverpark (a shopping, entertainment area) the best to visit Santa because they allow you to go into a private room to see him and spend one on one time with him without crowds and without rushing you. It really allows the kids to get a quiet moment with Santa which is well worth waiting in line. 

I'll have to post the picture the professional photographer took of the girls with Santa. Morgan is smiling and Charlotte was frowning with a super grumpy look on her face. 

The visit meant a lot to the girls. I love Christmas time!

December Life!

Daniel and I made the best dinner the other night. I marinated some chicken and put it on skewers. Daniel grilled the chicken skewers and some veggies on the grill. We put it with some mashed potatoes and smashed seasoned avocado with a little blue cheese sprinkled on top. Sounds odd but it was delicious! 

And while I'm talking about food, the deli at Von's right down the street from us makes the best sandwiches! Daniel stops by occasionally and grabs us some. Y-u-m-m-y!

 I so appreciate all the great experiences the girls get to have through school and daycare. Charlotte came home in reindeer antlers and a Christmas shirt from daycare. She of course had goodie bags and presents too. People's love and generosity this time of year makes me feel great!

 I made (assembled) some reindeer cookies for her to take for their party. 

 Love the way Charlotte is looking at her big sis in the below picture. 

 They were playing with Charlotte's new birthday toys. 

 I need to buy myself some leggings and boots. Love this look!

 Charlotte had to make a family tree for daycare last week. 

 It was a last minute deal and wasn't easy fitting it into our already busy schedule but we managed and she was proud of it.

 I attended my first ugly Christmas sweater party this year. I, of course, forgot all about it until two days before the party so I had to improvise.

 We had a blast! It was on a Wednesday night, I didn't get home until midnight and had to be at work the next morning BUT it was worth it. Hey, at least I'm living life to the fullest.