A day of Utter Nothing-ness

Today I did nothing.  Well outside of the regular referee jobs and tidy up.  But I stayed in my pjs until past noon, and watched netflix for a good long part of my day!  Played new games with the kids.  But that sums up the day really!

Thankful for a cozy home.

Christmas Day

The best part of my day and my most cherished gifts....

A part of me wishes that I too was still a kid, Christmas was my most favourite times of year.  I do catch glimpses of those magical moments, you know, the ones where you get all warm and fuzzy inside, with a little bit of giddy.  I'm just so thankful that I can still feel that way and experience it now through these 3 precious darlings!

Merry Christmas!

The Children are Nestled, All Snug in their Bed

It's been a wonderful day with my family!  I love being with them!  That's was my favourite part of the day, and this....seeing my 3 precious babes, sound asleep, on Christmas Eve.  (Couldn't get one of Caleb, too afraid of waking him up)

Final Preparations!

As we draw down to the last day before the Christmas celebrations begin, I begin to over think and worry that I didn't get everything done that I wanted to.  Does anyone else have pictures in their mind what Christmas should look like? High expectations?  I sure do, and every year, after it's all over and done with, I wonder to myself, why did I pack it so full?  Why did we need this or that?  I also put a lot of pressure on myself for wanting to create perfect memories for my kids.  My heart knows that what is important is being with the ones you love, not with what the house looks like, how much food is prepared, what kind of cookies are made, but who I'm with and how our time TOGETHER is spent.  So today, I lay aside the clean floors, the organized kitchen, and I let the kids help bake and decorate cookies.  Memories made!

Unexpected Plans

The kids asked what we were going to do today, I told them we'd have a lazy day at home.  But that is not what happened at all!  We ended up having a day with the neighbourhood!  We met up with some at the arena and did almost 2 hours of skating!  Then we were invited back to a friend's house for lunch.  After that we headed back outdoors for a game of road hockey!  We left home at 9:50am and didn't come home until 4:30pm!!!  So much for the lazy day---it was the complete opposite, which was super!!

Christmas in our Community

Today was the Alma Parade.  We haven't been around previous years to see it, so this was our first experience.  We had family and friends over to share it with, and we had a great time.  It was a great little parade! Definitely added to that Christmas feeling!

A Yearly Tradition, on a Different Day

Year after year, my mom's family gathers together for Christmas on Christmas Eve.    This year, due to schedules, and availability, we moved it to today in hopes it will suit for most.  It was a great turn out and I love catching up with my cousins and their kids.  Everything was the same, the food, the games, the company, it was odd going home realizing that tomorrow is not Christmas.  But at the same time it stretches Christmas out for a little longer, which I think is great!

These would be all the great grandchildren of my Grandma and Papa.  (Missing a few, including Joel and Amberly who flat out refused to get in the picture)

Friday Night Wind Down

I love Friday nights!  A night where we can all unwind from our week and just relax and have fun!  I especially love seeing my husband kick back and have fun!  He's a big kid at heart!

Little Glimpses of Magic

A friend sent me a picture of Amberly and Joel meeting Santa at school.  She captured a precious expression on Amberly's face-which just brought a little of the magic into my heart!

Theme Days

This week, the school has had theme days leading up to Christmas holidays.  Monday was Red and Green day, Tuesday was Santa Hat day, today was Elf day, tomorrow is Christmas sweater day and Friday is a pajama day!  All the kids had matching elf hats to wear courtesy of my neighbour whose children I watch:)  They were all just so cute!  When I snapped this picture, they were all singing at the top of their lungs Christmas carols!

School Christmas Concerts

Our little school does an amazing job at pulling off a wonderful Christmas concert.  This was Joel's very first concert, and admittedly, I wasn't expecting much from him.  But to my complete surprise, he was quite the little performer.  He was loud, expressive and knew all the actions!  I was so proud of him!  He's the little one in red off to the right!  Pretty adorable!



Our other 2 did an awesome job as well.  We're so proud of them, and so grateful for all the work the teachers put into this to make it a very special show.

Normal Routines

After a busy weekend with late nights and excitement, returning to normal routines brings peace and happiness to our home!  Here we are winding down from our Monday, cozy with eachother passing the time until our heads hit the pillows.

Christmas Foiliage

Today I received an early Christmas gift from my mother-in-law.  It's a beautiful arrangement, given today so that I have time to enjoy it.  Love little surprises like this!

The Early Christmas Gift

On this day, 8 years ago, this little bundle of joy came into our lives, changing our lives forever.  I still can remember the experience very clear, and I find it hard to believe that it's been 8 years already.  But yes, he's become a handsome little gentleman.  He runs off to school without a hug goodbye anymore, he becomes shy if I volunteer in his class, but I do get my special moments I'll forever cherish at home, with snuggles on the couch, books being read to me, stories of his day told, kisses multiplied at bedtime.  Oh how I love him entirely.

Friends

Thankful for a couple of great friends who were eager to help us celebrate Caleb's 8th birthday party!  Also thankful to realize that a huge party is not always necessary to make it a special time!

Twinkling Little Lights

One of my favourite things about Christmas is being outside at night and seeing all the glitter and colour the twinkling lights bring.  But even better than this is the amazing sunset that happened.  I wish I had got it on my camera...

More Reminders of the True Meaning of Christmas.

Blessings

We have wonderful neighbours.  Yesterday they brought over a bag of clothes their daughter outgrew for Amberly.  And this was her most favourite thing, had to wear it today to school.  

Christmas Baking

One of my most favourite things about the Christmas season is home baked things!  I have many memories of my mom baking lots of cookies and squares.  Today I started my baking with one of my favourite cookies, whipped shortbread.  Hoping that my kids will one day look back and have the same sort of memories as I do.

Birthday Celebrations

Celebrating 2 most dearly loved children today.  Their birthdays aren't until next weekend, but due to the busyness of the season, and schedules, we celebrated them today.  We love them to bits!  And my adorable photo-bomb girl off to the side!