Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve is always filled with lots of traditions...

my favorite thing!

First, we made cookies for Santa....

 Next, we had Children's Mass where the kids got to participate. This year, Abby was an angel and Nate was one of the 3 kings.

 This summer, we switched to the other Catholic church in town, St. Francis of Assisi, We love it! So this was our first time participating in the Christmas Eve mass. There were 50+ kids in it, so it was quite the production....

My little angel

The whole gang

While "We Three Kings" played, Nate and his buds brought up the gifts...

Giving the gifts to Father Tom

Kids in their Christmas best after mass

Abby and all the Osucha girls

One of my favorite traditions growing up was having a pizza picnic for dinner in front of the tree. The kids look forward to this every year too! #aldipizza

The kids fave tradition - sleepover in Nate's room!

Visiting Santa

Every year, we visit Santa at the mall and the kids ride the train. We keep wondering when they will get too old for this tradition. But, they willingly wrote their letters to give Santa and seemed excited about the train, so we headed to the mall last Sunday the 17th.

The line was *super* long, so the kids rode the train first. As always, they waited an extra turn just so they could be the first in line and grab the first car. With the bell. Apparently, this is their favorite part of the train!

The train takes 4 laps around the track, and Nate made sure he rang the bell for the first lap. (Abby usually hogs it the rest of the time!)

 The kids read their *very detailed* letters to Santa, and had to explain a few things too. (Mostly Nate, since everything on his list has to do with technology!)

Abby asked for:

1. Stilts

2. An ice cream truck (for her dolls)

3. Watch

Nate asked for:

1. Gaming laptop

2. iTunes cards

3. Roblox cards

#beltbuckleupgrade

Mailing their letters to the North Pole

(I honestly think Nate still believes in Santa. Greg thinks he's just playing along, for Abby's sake. Either way, I'll take it!)

Abby's Christmas Program & Class Party

The 2nd graders performed the "Frosty Hand Jive" for the Christmas program and it was the cutest!!! Abby was so excited to sing this song; she had been practicing non-stop. Click here to see the video. (It's a little fuzzy at the beginning, but stick with it!)

 After the program, it was straight to the classroom for a Christmas party!

Abby clearly enjoyed her green cupcake ;)

 They played a fun relay game, where you try to build a snowman out of 3 jumbo marshmallows, using only chopsticks! The girls team won :) And then they were goofing off afterwards, pretending to roast marshmallows over the fire (aka Erin).

 They made a reindeer ornament and then played a few games before it was time for dismissal at 12:30. Now it's officially Christmas break!!

Nate's Christmas Program & Class Party

The kids' last day of school was December 15th, and they always hold their Christmas program and parties on this day. I look forward to the kids' Christmas programs every year! Each grade (K-6) performs one song. Nate's grade was first up this year, and sang "Coming Up Christmas Time." Click here to hear the 4th grade sing.

After the program, we headed straight to the classrooms for Christmas parties! Nate's class had pizza, chips, cookies, and a hot chocolate bar. They painted snowflake ornaments and played Christmas Charades. I was able to hop back and forth between his & Abby's classes to participate in both.

Nate, Luke, Mason, Beau

Abby's Choir Concert

Abby recovered from strep just in time for her Choir Concert on the 12th. Thank goodness! She was really worried and sad she might miss it. They had been practicing for months!

Abby, Erin, Jonesy

The 1st-3rd grade choir was up first.

They sang 4 songs and did a great job!

 Click here to hear the choir sing "Cold Snap," my favorite performance.

Abby sang, sang, sang her heart out!!

Next, the 4th-6th grade choir sang four songs as well. They sounded beautiful and harmonized so well! Last, both choirs sang one song together; click here to hear them sing "Born, Born in Bethlehem."

Everyone did such a great job!

We are so thankful for Mrs. McClendon, our amazing music teacher & choir director, who goes above and beyond every year.

Annual Cookie Decorating & Christmas Party

On Saturday the 9th, our family had a busy day! Nate had not one but TWO basketball games, and we had the neighborhood annual cookie decorating party plus Christmas party. (Oh, and Nate attended a birthday/sleepover party that night too!)

Greg & Nate headed to Nate's first game early that morning, while Abby (clad in Christmas pajamas) went to the cookie party. This girl looooves to decorate a cookie, and even more so, lick all the sprinkles at the end :)

Abby & Loa Harper

This party has been a tradition for over 30 years, where the neighborhood kids decorate cookies the morning of the party. Then they are served that night at the party. Look how pretty!!

There were quite a few kids missing - at least 7 - but we still had a good turnout!

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It was *very* chilly that night at the party (think: 35 degrees and windy!) so we were grateful for warm food, hot chocolate, and multiple fire pits.

Evers, Nate, Jake

Evers gave this ridiculous light-up hat to Nate. He loved it!

Abby wasn't feeling great, so our family got in line early for the horse & carriage ride around the neighborhood. We sang Christmas carols and looked at the neighborhood luminaries. One of our fave nights of the year!

(The party was 5-7 pm, but I left with Abby around 6 pm. She wanted to come home & just cuddle on the couch. I knew something wasn't right with her, so we went to the doctor in the AM and sure enough, strep! Poor little thing. Luckily, she got on meds ASAP and only missed school that Monday.)

SNOW DAY!!!!!

On Friday the 8th, we had a *very* unexpected surprise...snow!

The night before, we had gotten the call that school was to be delayed by 2 hours. Then, around 8 am Friday morning, THIS started happening:

 And we got the call soon after that school was cancelled. SO FUN to have an unexpected snow day. In Alabama this is sooooooooooooo rare, and the kids could not contain their excitement. They were in & out of the house all day, running & playing with neighbors, drinking hot chocolate, and having a ball.

 I don't think I've *ever* seen my azaleas blooming AND snow on the ground at the same time. Ha!

 A neighbor a few houses down sent me this picture! Nate (and Evers, not pictured) were throwing snowballs to Louie the labradoodle. Nate loves this sweet, gentle dog!

This was the best kind of snow because it was pretty and didn't stick to the roads! There was no ice whatsoever since it was above freezing most of the day. It stopped coming down around 2 pm, and by the next day, 90% of it was gone. So fun while it lasted though! I think we got around 2 inches total. #blizzardof2017