Our Christmas 2012

We had such a wonderful and blessed Christmas! I really wanted to take a step back and relax, to enjoy the small things this season! We have in the last few years taken a major step back from presents. This year there was no Black Friday Shopping!! Instead, James and I had breakfast one morning while the kids were at school and did all our shopping in one day!

I love the fun things in this season. like all our kids Christmas programs.

 James Henry's preschool did the cutest Christmas program! They even memorized Luke 2:1-14! I couldn't believe it, preschoolers reciting 14 verses of the Christmas story!

Makayla's choir had an evening performance.

I loved that James Henry went on a caroling field trip to a nursing home.

Makayla had an ugly sweater party at church!

Christopher's class collected items and delivered them to the local Ronald McDonald House.

Then, there were the school Christmas parties...

 

Makayla's party

James Henry's party

Christopher's party
 

We also love to bake this time of year! This year instead of a gingerbread house, we did Christmas trees! It was so fun!

We also made chocolate covered oreos! Yummy!

One night, we purchased hot cocoa and spent about 3 hours looking at Christmas lights and singing Christmas carols. It was one of my favorite nights of the season!

We started a new tradition this year. I bought a cheap package of ornaments from the store and every night we took turns writing a name for God on the ornaments and placing it in the jar. It was our table centerpiece. The kids really got into it and always knew whose night it was. It was just a small moment in our day to take a time out and reflect on who Jesus was in our life that day and that Christmas is really about the Birth of our Savior.

Christmas Cards!! I love getting them and I love sending them out!!

We watched every Christmas movie we own and all we could find on TV and Netflix and enjoyed hot cocoa and movies together for weeks!!

I also started a new Christmas Eve tradition this year. We always open new PJ's on Christmas Eve but this year we opened "the box". It contained, a new Christmas movie, new pajamas, new hot cocoa cups, popcorn bags and a new book. This years box included "Arthur Christmas" and "Twas' The Night Before Christmas in Texas".

James always reads Twas The Night Before Christmas to us and all our kiddos get to pile up in our room and sleep!

Christmas morning we woke up to our 2nd white Christmas in a row!

                                        Even Bayou got into the Christmas spirit in her sweater!

Opening presents... We are blessed!

My boys are really into this show called, Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet. They loved their hats!

My sweet hubby got me this book (yay!!) along with a new Fossil watch and slippers! He's the best!

Our gift to my dad...pretty cool!

We picked up my Father in Law from the airport this morning and we are ready to enjoy the rest of our Christmas vacation hanging out, watching movies, reading books, and building Lego's!