'Tis the Season

I can hardly believe it is a new year.  I feel as if I'm still playing catch-up from before Thanksgiving.  I absolutely love this time of year though.  Thanksgiving brings feasts, family, and Fall.  Christmas brings feelings of joy, gatherings of family and friends, and gifts, whether they take physical form or they are actions, with the biggest gift being that of Jesus Christ's love--His coming to the earth as a baby to be the Savior of the world.  New Year is a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.  This whole season of celebrating is memory-making at it's finest.  

Of course, all this merry-making means I play a lot of catch-up this time of year.  Add to that one or both of the kids being sick for over three months and I felt at times as if I would never get ahead (I think this may be the year I finally buy stock in facial tissue brands so I can hopefully recoup some of my money one day).  Now, time for some catch-up:

Thanksgiving

Owen's classroom made Indian outfits out of pillow cases.  One of the teachers dyed all of the cases and each child was able to stamp shapes all over it.  The hat he is wearing has a blue feather in the back with his Indian name, Prowling Panther, on the front.  Yeah, he likes the Carolina Panthers.  They also made colored pasta necklaces.  When he brought the outfit home, he wanted to wear the costume everywhere.  He wore it to Target, the grocery store, and every place in between.  He tried to wear it to bed, but I stopped him there.

We went a couple of hours away where most of our family and friends live and stayed with my parents for Thanksgiving.  Owen wore his costume to a few of those feasts as well.  We met for breakfast with friends and enjoyed watching the first "snow" of the season.  Here in the south, snow is not very common during Winter so many people get excited about even the tiniest of flakes.  My husband is from Iowa and laughs at our snow saying we haven't really seen snow until you go up north.

{My little Indian at school}

   

{First taste of snow}

{My silly girl at Grandpa and Oma's house for Thanksgiving}

While at Grandpa and Oma's house for Thanksgiving, I looked all over the house in the afternoon for these two.  I found them out in the garage eating leftover turkey out of the fridge.  Busted!

Christmas

We always get a fresh Christmas tree each year.  You cannot beat the smell of a real tree, and the look of a real one is, in my opinion, far better and more unique than an artificial tree.   We always get our tree the day after Thanksgiving.  Our favorite place to go is a tree farm near my parents.  You can cut your own or purchase freshly cut trees.

{Shopping for a Christmas tree at the tree farm}

{Watching a Christmas movie}

I volunteered to help out at my son's class Christmas party.  If you bring food for the class, it must be store-bought food due to allergy issues of other students.  Last year, I did some fruit juice boxes I made to look like snowmen as well as some other snacks.  This year I only needed to bring the drinks, so I did the snowmen juice boxes again since the kids liked them so much last year.  They loved drinking from a snowman!  

{Class Christmas party}

{Drinks for the class party}

 This was Owen's first year to send a letter to Santa.  I made up the stationery and wrote what he said since he can't yet write.

{About to mail his first letter to Santa}

{Mailing his letter to Santa}

    With school being out, we had to figure out some more activities to stay busy.  We made pipe cleaner crowns one day.  They were really fun to make (okay, so I made them while they created hair bow pipe cleaners for me) and the kiddos got a few days out of them before they were destroyed.

{Pipe cleaner crown fun

We let Owen have a miniature tree in his room this year and he helped me decorate it.  He went to sleep every night with it lit.

{Decorating the tree in his room}

{One of many cups of hot cocoa}

 For his last day at school, I put the teachers' gifts together and made a little card to go with it.

With "Running Behind" being the theme of the season, I failed to get pictures and order Christmas cards until about two weeks before Christmas.  My husband set up the tripod, snapped a few pictures, and voila!

{I love this picture!  Such a ham with the camera}

{Date with Mommy to see Frozen}

 We started a new tradition this year of getting a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve and watching a Christmas movie.  We added that to the current tradition of driving around looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve.  So this year, the kiddos took early baths, opened their new pajamas, and then we hopped in the car to look at lights.  When we came home, we watched 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  The kiddos put out some cookies they had decorated and milk for Santa and then went to bed.

{Eating her Christmas morning sausage bread}

On Christmas day, we opened up presents in the morning, packed our bags, and drove to my sister's house where we had my more immediate family's Christmas party.  The next day we had the Christmas get-together with my husband's family, and the day after that was a Christmas party with my extended family.  The kids probably think now that every time we stay with my sister and her family then they will receive a lot of presents.

{"Playing" piano with the cousins}

{Having some fun with their cousin}

{This is what really happens to your new Christmas present.  Yeah, Travis isn't getting that one back}

As chaotic as this time feels, I would not trade it for the world.  The memories made this year are numerous and precious.  It was the first Christmas where both kids really got into all the festivities and where Owen really understood the reason for Christmas.  Sometimes, it pays to be running behind because the reason you are behind may be that you are busy making memories with your family.  Now that's priceless.