The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is surely the BEST. And, as a parent, it has certainly gotten all the more sweet. And, as a mother, I can't even begin to wrap my head around Mary and how she must have felt holding sweet baby Jesus - knowing how His life would end on the world, and how hard that would be - and how fierce her love for him must have been.

We have really tried to teach Will (even at 2), that Christmas is about the celebration of Jesus - and I really think he gets that. He enjoyed his Jesse Tree devotion each night and placing the ornaments on the tree that correspond with devotion. But, we also do Santa - and there was a lot of excitement regarding presents/toys - and there was no shortage of those.

Here's some of what we did in photos - they say it better than I could!

First, the last day of school included a party. Ain't no party like a preschool party. Will volunteered to bring fruit. We discovered he really likes Cheese Doodles. And, he had two mini cupcakes. #living

Then, a little Christmas Eve Eve Gingerbread House Building and cookies for Santa decorating. (we baked them the day before) 

Then, on Christmas Eve, we had dinner with my family (my brother is a fireman and had to work on Christmas). My memory card was full - so I only got a few snaps. But, you can see our boy was SUPER patient with waiting for gifts. He sat so calmly and just waited to be told to open them. This was not the case the next day. Ha! The highlights were the leaf blower and Magna-Tiles. They are seriously the most awesome things to play with. 

Then - Santa came! He brought a bounce house, a kid table and chairs, a Hulk Smash mask, Avenger characters, 'Inside Out' on DVD, candy, coloring books and more. Someone was really excited. Especially for the bounce house. But, he also was still partial to the Christmas Eve gifts. They made an appearance not long after breakfast. 

Later that afternoon we had dinner with Greg's family which also included gifts and great food. Will loved passing out everyone's presents. Highlights, a go fishing game (where the fish spin and open their mouths and you catch them) and lots of Jake and the Neverland Pirates toys - including a sword, bandanna and map. 

In addition to these wonderful days - we saw many Christmas lights, we did a lot of baking, we participated in a live nativity, we saw Disney on Ice, we watched Christmas movies, we found Chase (our Elf on the Shelf) each morning and attended a wonderful Christmas program at our church. 

We hope you had a great December - and a wonderful Christmas!