Christmas Eve

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is going to Christmas Eve service.  It is a magical moment that gets me every time.  I love to hear the story of Jesus' birth, and I am always wiping my tears before it is over.

At the end of the service, it started snowing in the sanctuary.  The boys loved it!

Ridley, not so much!

Before we could call it a night, the children sprinkled the reindeer food on the front grass, and we put out treats for Santa.

Christmas Cards

Love, love, love our Christmas cards.  I am so pleased at how well they came out.  What's even better? I have them early, and there is no stress with a photography delay.  I think this is the first year there hasn't been some sort of issue.

Tom

Our dear elf, Tom, came to visit, and he brought all kinds of fun goodies.  John Chris and I were thrilled to see him, in hopes of his presence relieving some brotherly stress.  The children couldn't wait to dig into the gingerbread house, candy, and new underpants.  Tom also brought a great book.  The Christmas Story illustrated with Legos, and it was perfect for the boys.

Thankful Tradition

This is my favorite fall tradition.  Every November 1, I place this frame on the counter in the kitchen.  Everyday our family selects one thing to write on the glass that we are thankful for.  I love the simplicity and honesty it brings.

Happy Mother's Day

We took a trip down memory lane today in honor of Mother's Day.  Seven years ago, I celebrated my first Mother's Day at Main Event in Grapevine.  Ryland was a tiny infant that slept peacefully in his carrier.  

This year was a bit different with my three sweethearts.  They all enjoyed the bowling and the atmosphere.  Ridley wore out a little early, so it made the end of the game a little difficult.  We all had fun and want to come back!

Mustaches are silly

More Christmas traditions.  Tonight we enjoyed the holiday crackers with a twist. They each had a stick on mustache with a personality name.  Everyone played along, even Ridley.    

Christmas Day

We continued the tradition of Christmas Day with the Brashers.  After dinner, our children opened gifts, and the dads took over their Legos.

Benton, Reed, and Ryland dressed up in their new hunting gear and played hunting for hours.  I love how these three play so well together.  

Santa is coming

We are getting ready for Santa to visit, and the boys wanted to leave the reindeer some food for their long trip.  The boys sprinkled food mixed with a little glitter in the front yard.   The glitter was to help the reindeer find a safe place to land.  

We left Santa a fancy glass full of milk and some homemade Christmas tree cookies.  Yummy!

John Chris and I had a sneak peak at all the goodies Santa brought. They must have been good this year.

Pictures with Santa

I love these precious pictures of my sweethearts with Santa. LOVE!

He's back

Our elf, Tom, showed up today with treats for the children.  He has a tradition of bringing Christmas pajamas and a chocolate advent calendar.  The boys love looking for him every morning, and I like that he tattles to Santa when they misbehave.  Welcome back, Tom!

Christmas Eve

Our family traditions continued with a full day of activities.  We decided that Santa would like chocolate chip cookies this year, so we baked a batch of cookies in the morning to start our day.  I have to admit that a little cookie dough is an excellent way to get your day going.  The boys got a bit silly as well.

The afternoon was pretty lazy, just a bit of playing toys and puzzles.  We put on our "handsome" clothes for Christmas Eve candlelight service at church.  This is what really gets John Chris and myself in the mood.  It was a beautiful service.  Ryland fell asleep on one side and slept through the entire service.  He was so comfortable, he kicked his feet up on the sweet lady sitting beside me.  She was a trouper and simply placed her hands on top of his legs to keep them in her lap.  Reed made it almost to the end of service before he fell asleep on the other side of me.  As I sat with both of my sweeties peacefully resting on either side, I was overcome with emotions.  Couple that with the pregnancy hormones and the beautiful music, and I quickly turned into an emotional mess.  

We came home for dinner and put out some reindeer food in the front yard.  The boys sprinkled the glittery food and laughed with sheer joy.  They picked out a few chewy cookies and a glass of chocolate milk for Santa to enjoy.

Santa brought a bunch of fun toys and goodies for the boys.  We can't wait to see how the boys react in the morning.  

Thankful

 

We have started a new tradition to celebrate thankfulness.  We talk about all the things we are thankful for each evening and chose one of them to write on the glass of the frame. The discussion with the boys is pretty funny, and they are thankful for the cutest things.  

Silly Tom

Our Elf on the Shelf must want to join the circus.  We were shocked to see Tom hanging upside down from the vent in the breakfast room.  He is so darn silly!  Every day he finds another spot to sit while he observes the boys.  The boys look for him every morning, and I think we will all be sad when he leaves with Santa on Christmas Eve.

 

Elf on the Shelf

We received The Elf on the Shelf from the Owens family this weekend. I was absolutely thrilled because I saw it on TV last year, and I thought it was just the cutest idea.

The elf, whom we named Tom, will arrive every year after Thanksgiving to observe for Santa. Every night he travels back to the North Pole to report what he has seen. Each day Tom will come back and be in a different place. He has started on the fireplace and who knows where he will be sitting in the morning. Ryland will have to find him. The only catch is, the elf can never be touched or played with. He is a great listener but has been told by Santa not to talk back. Everyone better be on their best behavior, so Tom can't report any naughty only nice!

Christmas cantana

Our church held their annual Christmas cantana service today, and we were so impressed. The church really goes all out and creates an amazing production. Lights, dancers, costumes, and more. The cantana is all about the birth of Jesus and is a truly special service. Hours of work and dedication are put in to make this an amazing and memorable service.