Christmas Eve

Years ago my sister Alison invited our family to Christmas Eve brunch at her house, and we all loved her cooking so much, we asked if we could come back every year. This is always the perfect start to our Christmas Eve celebrations!

In the evening we usually do some caroling, although this year we did it the night before and had a yummy, fancy Christmas meal instead. We read the Christmas story from Luke 2--as it really happened. As we read the kids reenact the Nativity scene, complete with Mary riding in on a donkey. All the grandkids got to pick what they wanted to be--Steven kept going back and forth between a shepherd and a king (so Tyler had to fill in for him as Joseph), and Rebecca really wanted to be a princess, so she was a wisewoman. This is always the best part of the night, and I love how excited the kids are about Baby Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas.




To end the night with a bang, Santa comes to give all the kids new jammies! (Not exactly Rebeccas favorite part, haha.) Then we all go home and quickly fall asleep so that Santa can fill our stockings and bring a little more Christmas magic.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Everyone loves Christmas!!!





One of my favorite parts of Christmas is getting to do all the fun activities leading up to that special day! We get to eat dinner every day on Christmas tree dishes, make (and eat) treats with people we love, and even go see Santa at his house!

A Disneyland Christmas

Steven has been asking for quite a while to go to Disneyland. (I must admit that I have been pestering Adam for a while, too.) Adam and I decided a few months ago to save our money so we could take our kids to the Happiest Place on Earth at the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. We had a blast! A lot of people were there, but the lines were great. We went on Small World, Pirates, Dumgo, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland/caterpillar ride, ans we went 2-3 times on the Jungle Cruise, the carosel, and the Buzz Bite-year ride. The parade was awesome--Buzz and Woody waved right at Steven, and Rebecca LOVED seeing the princesses. We had the perfect day, and the best part was that we were all together.

Birthday Girlie

Happy birthday, Baby Anna! This sweet girl was central to our New Year celebrations last year,and my kids absolutely adore her. We love you, Babe!

5!

We have been married for 5 years! Holy cow, time flies! The pictures above show us in 5-year increments--pretty cool, huh? Here are a few landmarks we have had along our journey, so far:

-both graduating from college
-living in 5 different homes
-buying our first home
-having 3 amazing kids

Wow! I am super excited to see what the next 5 years will bring. I am so grateful to be married to such an incredible man--thank goodness we can be together and with our children forever!!!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

I love Christmas time--who doesn't? We have had such a fantastic December! It has been especially great, now that the kids are starting to get into the celebrations and understand what we are doing. From visiting the Festival of Trees, to going to Disneyland (more on that later, yay!), to trips to fun malls, we have been making the most of this glorious season. When we went to the Americana, they actually had it at 7pm--we all loved it! My family carols every Christmas, so we have been getting our kids ready and practicing some songs. They love it and sing Jingle Bells pretty much every time we get in the car.