Christmas 2014

Trying to cherish every single moment with these sweet kiddos God has blessed us with. We are so happy with the way they have learned to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. 

Shopping online, I was able to get a great deal on everyone's Christmas outfit. I paid less than $15 for each outfit with the exception of daddy and Kaderick. Why are men's clothes more expensive than women's? Maybe because we buy more on average? :)

Kayla, Kalli and my skirts/ dresses were $7 shipped! Kammy and Kaite's were closer to $15, but still pretty amazing deals. 

I loved having girls in the kitchen with me this Christmas. In fact, sometimes they were out there alone. They are very quickly learning my love of cooking and baking and do an amazing job! We made more than one batch of these White Chocolate Cranberry Bliss Bars.

We ended up with either 4 or 5 batches of these Gingerbread Cookies. Plates went to work, church, piano recital, the neighbors houses and even the mailman. There were also daddy's favorite Coffee and Cream Brownies, several batches of Cathedral Windows and a couple of Pumpkin Rolls.

I still love the sign hubby and I made a few years ago, and I love having such a meaningful scripture verse displayed this time of year! 

We had to "UN-light" our pre-lit tree this year, so after hubby, with his great dose of patience, completed that unpleasant task, I gave it a light coat of "snow" in the form of craft paint. I used 2 parts water to 1 part of white craft paint in a spray bottle. It was quick, easy and looks professional! We love it!

A new item this year is the table centerpiece that hubby made for me out of wood scrapes. It's filled with snow, pinecones and candles for this season, but I can see it adapting easy for many times of year.

We did most of our shopping online this year, from the germ-free comfort of my easy chair. Shopping just almost gives me hives, so I'm just fine with this arrangement.  

A friend of mine admitted to being a plastic bow snob, I'm not sure I'm ready to admit to it myself, but I'm teetering on a fine edge. I do love wrapping in coordinating papers and using twine, yarn, or tulle. Not only is it prettier, it's a money saver too. We've also been using tags over from year to year. Even when you limit gifts to about 5/person, tags can get spendy for a family our size.

One fun craft we did this year was the huge Popsicle stick snowflake. We saved sticks throughout the summer for this one. 

The girls did an amazing job on their recital pieces this year. They also played their songs for the Christmas program at church. 

Along with the piano pieces, they had special reading parts relating to the songs and to the author finding PEACE. Peace was the theme of our program this year, Below are some excerpts from the pastors notes.

I'm not a writer, but I dabble in it a bit, so I wrote new words to a verse of "Wonderful Peace" to fit with the program theme. 

Far away in a manger, lay a baby one night

Peace on Earth, wrapped in swaddling clothes

So sufficient, this gift, for my sin to atone

In my heart, now this peace, is my own.

Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace! Coming down from the Father above!

Sweep over my spirit, forever, I pray

In fathomless billows of love!

Christmas Eve found us arriving in Greenleaf, Idaho at my parents house, just as our white Christmas snows began to fall. I love this picture of Kade. He seems to be saying with that wink, "Haha! I made the nice list!"

Tradition has us driving by this sweet little church every Christmas Eve and snapping a photo. This is where we were married almost 18 years ago. God has been so good to us, and we'd happily do it all over again!

Cocoa at Grandma's table on Christmas Eve. Making memories.

Kaderick watching the snow fall gently to the ground.

Christmas Day was a fun day with the family. The kids dug into their stockings early, anxious for their new toothbrushes, lol and a few other small items. Next was breakfast! Homemade donuts and daddy's scrambled eggs and sausage. 

Finally it was time to open presents. While we were spoiled with plenty, our blessings are many more, and much more important than the items wrapped and placed under a tree. Dinner later included little smokies, a yummy Neiman Marcus dip, bacon roasted brussel sprouts, plates of fruit and chips and dip. 

Kaderick and daddy love playing with the boy toys. They are really good at fixing things!

We are still enjoying having daddy home, gathering around the tree in the evenings, and just being together without the pressure of work and school. I'm not in a rush to take the decorations down. We are expecting more snow tonight, so it's all staying right where it is for a while. 

I even got a new rug (60% off) when we ran to get groceries today. It looks great with the "Bambie" wreath I made many years ago! 

Hope your Christmas was amazing, dear friends and family!