Celebrating Christmas: Round 1

Now that we are nearly a week into the new year, it is time to catch up! We have truly enjoyed our holiday whether out & about or at home. I have enjoyed the mini unplanned blogging break as well. Our anniversary trip could not have been timed more perfectly leading up to the week of Christmas providing some rest on the front end of celebrations. 

We were thankful to have healthy kids & a quiet house on Christmas Eve....as quiet as can be expected with our bunch.  While the boys napped, Rob & the girls were out & about for some last minute shopping which provided time for me to bake cookies & prepare our breakfast for the following day. Chicken Noodle Soup was on the menu for dinner, baths for all then Robby & I got the kids to bed at the normal time.  Next order of business, we filled up some stockings & snuggled up with cheese, wine, crackers & Home Alone 2- Lost in New York. What a relaxing evening it was! 

We slept in a bit then hopped out of bed to get the coffee on & breakfast in the oven. We decided that we had over done sausage balls for holiday celebrations so we ventured out to not only one but TWO new recipes that turned out to be amazingly delicious. I made a southwestern quiche & these mini donut holes from scratch. Both were a big hit as we enjoyed a meal with Bob & Jeannine before opening gifts. 

We always love the warmth of the holiday decor & I am surprised to say that not one gift was tampered with by little hands (or teeth)! The Christmas tree almost hit the ground once though. 

Our two new additions to the decor this year are these....

My friend Brooke & I went to a craft night the first week of December. We paid $35, RSVP'd with what shape we would like to paint & showed up to oodles of supplies to make them cute. I love the stocking but was kicking myself when I realized it would hang on a glass window & I failed to paint the back. Nonetheless, I enjoyed looking at it every time I walked by & enjoyed our girls night crafting even more. The snowflake Christmas tree ornament was something we found in Wimberley & now holds a certain value in remembering special moments throughout our life as we decorate each year. 

We enjoyed our basket of Christmas books as we do every year. On Christmas Eve the girls picked Song of the Stars (my absolute favorite), Room for a Little One & Humphrey's First Christmas. Christmas morning Robby read to us from his bible before we got busy with guests & gifts. 

One attempt at getting a picture of this bunch with Grammy & Papa followed by us...

It's a tricky thing! We were delighted with how excited the girls were to give gifts & were impressed by their ability to keep lots of secrets ; ) Charlotte was dead set on what she wanted to get for Eloise even though Uncle Scott & Uncle Kyle had already purchased something similar. More on that later.

A favorite part of the gifts this year were the handwritten "To & From" tags.

We were glad to have Grammy there to read to these little bookworms. They were hooked on Cowboy Slim, a favorite book with western flair.

The girls got Rob a new vest & hat. They said Daddy always looks handsome & he would be handsome in his new digs too. They didn't actually say "digs" but I'm positive that's what they meant ; )

and a zooma, zoom,zoom on the tag....

The girls did some online shopping for their baby boas & decided on a construction book & hat for Chuckles. He was pretty excited. Mr. Buckles' dreams came true when he opened up a gift to find a whale with six buckles & a zipper! He was so busy he could not even smile...surprise, surprise ; )

Again, the tags...Eloise worked so hard to write different letters of both of their names on this one.

She picked out a new stamp set for her sissy but in hindsight we see that it was really for the buyer. It has caused more than a little frustration & now resides in the top of a closet until we are ready to try again.

O & A like all things on wheels so we thought a Choo Choo Train would be a fun addition to playtime & boy were we right!

The chitlins weren't the only ones receiving gifts. The boys got me a "Two Peas in a Pod" necklace that just about made me cry when I opened it up.  Eloise bought me a new chain to replace the one she broke when attempting to pull it over her head while clasped shut. Charlotte picked out an electric tea kettle & mugs for us three girls with our initials on them for our afternoon tea/school party.

Back to the oodles of similar gifts Eloise received. Scott & Kyle had already told me they bought Eloise a Vet costume & a mini pound puppy like cage with all the necessary items you would need at a vet office. Charlotte was set on a Doc McStuffins scrub set & kit. Let's just say all these shoppers know this little cupcake well ; ) She has played with every single part of those gifts EVERY single day.....and she couldn't be any cuter. We have laughed on more than one occasion when we peak into her room & she has every animal lined up in a row with about 6 syringes giving them shot after shot. Glad it's them & not me ; ) I set up a vet office in their closet with four "cages" a dog bed & all the kits. It's getting a lot of use! As Doc McStuffins says...."Time for your check up, time for your check up!"

When we were browsing on Amazon where we bought about 90% of our gifts this year I came across a book I had as a little girl called "My Book about Me" by Dr. Seuss. I distinctly remember filling it out & my mom still has it at her house. With Charlotte's love for books combined with writing/drawing we thought it would be just right for her. She has filled out about half & I love looking at what she has written. One other gift I have to mention when talking about Charlotte was this $12 "treasure box" which is a little pink & purple plastic box that is voice activated. Once inside there are six keys she can insert to verbally record memories that she can play back. Oh, I can't possibly forget to mention a secret compartment! We were not even shopping for that but it popped up in one of those "other customers also bought this" list. We could not stop laughing thinking about how that was the best money we spent on gifts this year! Robby recorded Charlotte saying "Charlotte" the way she says when opening the box. We tried pretty hard one evening to break in with our own voices or the recording. Robby got in once & then we got found out by the owner of the box who was not too happy we were attempting a break in. Great purchase though! Here she is coloring in her pretty greenish blue eyes. 

Owen & Anson were happy to sport their "HOWDY" shirts over their footed jammies....must be nice to be one & look cute in whatever you wear! They watched Daddy build with the girls' Magformers set then crushed all they could until they were escorted out of the playroom. Eloise was quite happy to build alone with her Daddy & show off their creations. These may be my most favorite "building" toy we have. Char got a mini set for her birthday & they have played with them a ton so we figured an additional set would be greatly appreciated by all...especially that grown man there...he was all for getting the big set ; )

It was nice to take it easy after opening gifts & just enjoy playing a bit before lunch & naps. New toys are fun, memories are better, Jesus is best being the most wonderful gift of all. Our minds were turned to the gift of Jesus as us two adults got into quite the disagreement soon after nap time started. I was so angry & kept thinking "Why? Why would we get into a fight? IT'S CHRISTMAS!"  As the afternoon went by, I was reminded of how we are still wrestling with sin & how easily it is to succumb to, how Jesus came to rescue sinners, how he always forgives & how through that, we can forgive each other. We did reconcile (thankfully) before heading over to the Valentines for Christmas Dinner. We were in good enough moods on the way there that I was able to laugh when Robby said that the only good thing that comes from me being angry is that I clean like a maniac. Ha! Guess that's why my house is often a mess until I freak out.

There is much to be thankful for in celebrating the birth of a king & we pray that with each passing year we would value Him more & more.