Tis' the Season

Since I'm playing catch up, this post is all things Christmas!  Now that life is slowing down a bit I'm catching up on things and starting to get my blog posts scheduled again!  It seems like Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye this year. 

We had so much fun making ornaments this year, we decided it was glitter all the way!  I think I'm still vacuuming glitter!  We made new wreaths, decorated, and carried out family traditions.

We spent Christmas morning with my family, and had so much fun watching the kids tear into their gifts!  It always cracks me up...they can.not wait until we tell them they can start opening their gifts!  Every year we do 3 gift exchanges.  The adults each draw a name and buy for that person, then we buy a $5 dollar gift and then we make a handmade gift.  The $5 gift and the handmade gift are done as a white elephant exchange where we can steal the gift!  This year the 3 kiddos decided they wanted to do a handmade gift too!  It was really cute to see what they came up with.

Of course we have to have several trees, that's what you get with 2 girls who love to decorate!  We have the one in the living room, Caroline's, the guest bathroom and then the puppies have one {which sits on top of their kennel}!

 

My bestie {from Dallas, who I never get to see} came down for her son's football game at Baylor's Football Stadium, so we got to spend the day with them!  Yay!  We both needed that!  We had such a great time cheering her son's team on, and having our girls play!  We ended with a yummy dinner, hugs and tears!

 

We've had baking parties, friends over, gone to friends and families homes...not a dull moment!  This is also the 1st year that I've been home with Caroline during the Christmas break, unless you count when she was like 4 or 5, but that just seemed so different since she was only in preschool then.  This year was Caroline's 1st year to bake at Baking Day!  She had 2 of her friends come over and we had 3 little bakers this year! 

I've done photo shoots, school parties, Elf on the Shelf duties, cooked and wrapped till I was blue in the face.  But, in the end it's always worth it.  There's more than one reason why...You can go with the whole Holiday spirit, enjoying family and the amazement on your child's face on Christmas morning, or you can go with the birth of our Savior.  Personally, I do both.  Who doesn't love the holidays?  Well, I know there are those people out there who don't, but work with me here, most of us love it!  And I have to admit that this year, even though I was so, so stressed, was one of the best years yet with Caroline.

We weren't so sure the whole Santa thing was gonna stick this year.  She's at the age where her friends are talking about it and she's asking some questions.  We decided we would buy into the whole Elf on the Shelf thing this year in hopes of getting a little more time of Christmas Magic.  Let me tell you, it totally worked!  Hubby and I had so much fun hiding "Sweetie" and watching her little face light up each morning!  

But more than anything, I love what Christmas means.  The birth of Christ!  One of the most precious gifts God has given us!  More than all the holiday fun, it truly is about celebrating that precious little baby that was sent to save us all!  I just can't imagine what Christmas would be without that.