Santa

Lucas is a curious one. 

So it was no surprise when he started asking questions about Santa....

A few days before Christmas, we trecked out to the mall to visit the big guy.

Lucas carefully chose his "Jingle Bell Rocker" shirt to wear and was very excited to tell Santa what he wanted. 

Up until this moment, he had been set on requesting a Toy Story Christmas Ornament.

 Meredith refused photo taking....

 Once it was our turn to visit Santa, Lucas happily ran up to him and greeted him saying "Hi Santa Clause!"

Yet, he couldn't remember to tell him about the ornament! 

Meredith refused to go up to Santa at all, until he pulled out the candy canes.

I was unable to get anymore photos because the elves noticed me. 

Meredith did run up to Santa and thanked him for the candy cane. 

She also told Santa she wanted a Barbie doll. 

I hope that the kiddos were able to tell Santa their requests in time!  

Snow Dust

I am playing catch-up...

Last week, we had our first sight of snow for the winter season!

The snow was only a dusting, and gave us a tease of what was ahead. 

We still had leaves in our yard, and it was a strange sight to see the leaves and snow mix.

The kiddos were super excited....

The Tale of the Christmas Tree

The last time that we talked about my Christmas tree, I told you the lights were not working. 

We have since fixed the problem, decorated and filled the bottom with gifts! 
But let's rewind to show you a few photos of my little elves in action. 

The problem with elves is that they aren't typically tall enough....

But there are elves who ensure everything is properly fluffed before moving on.

So miraculously, the tree appears.

Santa must have a hand in it I suppose.

 But we use the elves again for decorating....



And somehow the glow of the tree makes the house a little warmer.

Nurture

I have been inspired to write from The PW's post Ten Important Things I've Learned from Blogging.

She encourages to write often, even if it is insignificant or short. 
I have forgotten to nurture the blog. 

Please forgive me.  I will try harder. 
I don't mean to neglect such a lovely means of communication. 

Yet, here recently, I have been falling asleep at 8:30 p.m. 
My kids have woken me with vomit, or high fevers, or the need for cuddles. 

There are 13 days until Christmas and I am uber stressed....like you wouldn't believe. 

I feel like I am drowning because I cannot get caught up on day to day things like dishes or laundry - much less worry about shopping and wrapping.

Thankfully, the recent illnesses have given me time to sit and write Christmas card addressess during Christmas movies, or shop online because of naptime.  (which never happens around here....the kiddos were feeling awful to both sleep in the afternoon.) 

And I promise to try to nurture the blog a little more....to share a little more...
but only before I clean up the kitchen....
because I like to leave that for last.

Christmas Gift Idea: Recordable Storybook

Last year, my mother purchased an incredibly special gift for my babies. 

The kids were a little young to understand the value of the gift, but they enjoyed it none the less.

My mom had purchased a Recordable Storybook from Hallmark, in the format of “The Night Before Christmas.”

The book has built-in technology to record and playback the voice of the reader's voice.  As each page is turned, the book recognizes the page and plays the story in the recorded voice. 


The book was read over and over last Christmas, then packed away in the attic after the holidays were over. 

When putting up our holiday decor, this gift was pulled out of the Christmas boxes as well.  The book survived the long summer in the attic without damage to the recording. 

I sat down and listened to my mother read "The Night Before Christmas" to me with tears streaming.

I cannot express how special this gift was and still is to our family.
I am unable to sit with the kids and listen to it without tearing up.  They still request it every night.
They both believe it is super cool to have Grammy's voice read to them even though she isn't with us any longer. 

I am grateful that my mom shared such a wonderful gift with us that will be held close to my heart for the rest of all my years.

This would be a great gift from any grandparent.

I think it would be especially wonderful from a parent who serves in the military.  With sporatic training schedules and consistent deployments, this would be a special treasure to the child who is missing their loved one.

Hallmark also has stories that are classics and not Christmas related, so it would be more appropriate to read all year!    Go here to browse their whole selection of storybooks.

I highly recommend the Recordable Storybook as a gift this Christmas! 

You won't regret your purchase!

photo source

Christmas Tree

Six Christmas' ago, we went shopping for a Christmas tree. 
None of that Christmas tree farm, fresh cut stuff.

We went to Lowe's for the real deal....artificial kind. 

I have my reasons for not wanting a REAL tree. 

The main one being I sneeze. 

But in leiu of offending those who do like the real thing, I will continue with my story. 

My husband said I could have any tree I wanted. 
I walked quickly around the aisle of trees elevated over my head and knew immediately which one I wanted. 
A standard GE pre-lit tree. 

Unfortunately, they were sold out.  So Rich asked if we could have the display.  His main goal was to make the wife happy after all. 

They agreed, and we have had the display on display each year since then. 

Last year, we encountered problems with the lights.  We had to cut the lights off of several rows of branches and restring. 

This year, something similar has happened.  And I fixed that problem after several days.

The lights work independently of one another.
But not when plugged in ON the actual tree.

I can't figure it out. 

But don't worry.  I won't cry about it. 

Christmas Cards

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, I have to switch gears to the most wonderful time of the year!
Christmas!

The Christmas decorating is slowly taking place, but more importantly I have to remember Christmas cards!!

Once my husband and I were married, I was super excited to send out Christmas cards.

There was something about handwriting names and addresses and a personal message inside each card that was thrilling to me. 

As the years passed, and children joined our family, in addition to the card, we started including photos. 
Christmas cards have become daunting.

Having two little ones have killed the quiet time I spent personalizing and addressing each person who was important to us. 

This year I discovered that there IS an easier way!

Shutterfly is an online photo company that offers photo prints and gifts.

But their product that I am most interested in is their PHOTO CARDS! 
All I have to do is upload a photo to one of their cards and my work is done! 

There are so many amazing options that I am having trouble choosing which ones to send out!

Should I do whimsical with lots of photo options?

Or classic with one large focal image?

Or Christmas colored with more photo options?

The decision is tough! 

But I promise that I will have the decision made and cards sent out before the 25th of December! 

In exchange for this post, I will be receiving 50 FREE holiday cards from Shutterfly! 

If you would like to receive the same deal, please click HERE!

Happy Holidays!