OH.... The Excitement!

This Christmas season has been one of much excitement at our house. The boys are VERY into it this year. And tonight, Christmas Eve, is the epitomy of excitement for them. We had dinner with Grandma Darlene and Papaw Bobby and then visited Daddy at the station. Daddy had presents for them to open! Their new pajamas and slippers!!! Our Christmas Eve tradition.

After we left the station we headed out to see some Christmas lights. Now that we are home, it's comical to listen to the excitement spilling from their room! At current count, Silas has been up 3 times to "see if Santa has come!" No matter what I tell him, he just refuses to believe that he has to sleep for Santa to arrive. He's a night owl anyway, so I may have a hard time outlasting him tonight! :)

Steve and I have had several conversations lately about how Christmas means so much when you have children. Of course this excitement is much of it. But I can also imagine the excitement that Mary and Joseph felt that first Christmas. Awaiting the birth of their baby boy, The Miracle Child from God! Despite the exhaustion from travelling to Bethlehem, the discomfort of staying in a stable because the inn was full, and all that goes along with being "with child," our Savior was born this night. And Christmas is special because Christ was born! WE ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO BE EXCITED ABOUT THIS CHRISTMAS EVE!

God bless you family and friends and Merry Christmas to you all!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!

I love the holidays! And sharing the holidays with children makes them incredibly more exciting! I mean, driving past a house with Christmas lights on it is like winning the lottery when you are 3 and 5! And to me, it's a great reminder that life is about living in the moment and making the best of what you have. What better moment is there than hearing your children say "oh wow! Look at that!" ?

We had a fun family day on Friday. We went and picked out our Christmas tree, ate out together at one of our favorite restaurants, and then came home to decorate the tree. The boys watched The Grinch and had hot chocolate while we got the lights on the tree. Then they helped decorate it. They did a great job. Here's a picture of our beautiful tree:

Another one of my favorite things to do this time of year is to watch the specials on television. Tonight a Charlie Brown Christmas is on. I love to watch these shows with the boys because I still remember the excitement in watching them myself when I was their age. It's so fun that the same classics stick around! And it's so cuddly to have the house all cozy with Christmas lights and decorations while you sit all cozy watching it together. Life seriously doesn't get any better than that!

Saturday, the boys and I had a day in at home. We stayed in our pajamas all day, enjoyed our Christmas decorations, and did some fun things together. Here the boys are decorating some cupcakes we made with sprinkles:


I told them not to use too many sprinkles, so our cupcakes instead of being covered in sprinkles, have 3 or 4 sprinkles each. Oh well! They were still delicious! After this, we made ornaments to hang on our tree. Take a look:

Avery's tree was very pretty. He hung his on the tree first! (that becomes useful here in a couple more pictures)

Silas hurried to color his after he saw Avery hang his on the tree. It's still just as special. Then Silas rushed to hang his on the tree. This is where it gets funny...

When I went to see where they hung them, this is how they looked. (sorry the picture is dark) I laughed and laughed. When Avery ran in to see Silas', Silas said to him "I made them friends Avery. They are friends now!" Oh, the sweet innocence of a three year old! This made my day, and the ornaments will be around for years as a reminder of this day and the fun we had!

And what makes Christmas even more special this year is that Avery and Silas understand very well that it is not about Santa or presents. They know we celebrate Christmas to honor the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and King! And to hear them remind me and each other is something that makes my heart jump for joy! Dear God, please don't let them ever lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas! They are such wonderful little boys!!!

I'll finish with a few pictures of my 10 month old! We cut his hair the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. You'll notice the difference in the pictures below. Notice also, what a happy boy he is!!!