Decorating the Tree

After we got our tree, we waited until Finley went to bed so we could decorate. It is amazing how fast 3 kids can put ornaments on a tree!!! They did a good job spreading them out and they had fun climbing the ladder to get to the top part. We had lots of fun with them and they finished in like 30 minutes. And of course we had to end the evening with some fresh baked cookies - their favorite part!!!

Working very hard
Showcasing their ornaments

Carly loves to pose - every picture lately is with her in some sort of pose!

Chloe and Harper - they are so sweet

Finley's First Haircut

We took Finley to get her first haircut, finally, on November 30th! She did very good. We went to Doolittle's and she sat in a little red fire truck. She was so cute!

Her before shot - Daddy had to make sure it looked exactly how we see it daily.
The first few snips!

She had some goldfish near the end to keep her entertained - she shoved them all in at one time!

Relaxing day at the salon!

Final product - nothing different just fresh!

Christmas Tree Time

Last week we did our annual Christmas tree purchasing. We went to the good ole' Simpson tree stand. The kids loved running through all the lines of trees. I will say that I think it is time to go artificial. I can't believe that is coming out of my mouth, but whenever we move and know where we want our tree, we will probably get a fake one. So, maybe this will be our last year getting one at a lot. But we had fun!

Our sweet girl
Getting all 4 of them to look at the camera is so fun - especially in the wind!

Here is our tree!

Ok - this looks a little weird because I was standing funny, but we had to get the baby in a picture.

Our oldest kids - crazy how big they are getting!!

Great Conversation

I was in the living room folding laundry, and the girls are just sitting in the playroom doing their babies hair having a hilarious conversation. They sounded like 2 women just discussing life in there. Background: We don't celebrate Christmas with Santa, but they know who he is and love to point him out - let's face it, he is a fun decoration!! I even have Santas around the house, but I just have never explained what he does. They also go and see him every year at the mall.

The conversation (after listening to the song Santa Clause is coming to town):
Carly: I know what town is, do you?
Chloe: No.
Carly: That is where we go and see Santa (the fun little Santa area at the mall).
Chloe: Oh.
Carly: And he flies. Do you know what he does at town?
Chloe: No
Carly: He plays in snow with reindeer and Frosty.

There, they solved that mystery for me. I wanted to know what they thought about Santa and what he does, but they just think he lives at the mall, "town," and plays with his reindeer. They have made up a perfectly wonderful explanation to Santa and they are happy with that. I just thought the conversation was super cute and I had to document it before I forgot it :)

Happy as a Clam

The other night, the kids were getting ready for bed. Harper was in his room changing, while the rest of us were squeezed (yes all 5 of us) into the kids bathroom brushing teeth and getting all bodies ready. Suddenly Harper jumps into the door way with arms and feet stretched way out and announces on the top of his lungs, "I'm happy as a clam!!" We look and the kid has squeezed his body into a pair of 2T feet pjs (he wears a 4T) and they looked v-necked because they were so tight and small. I know his toes were curled in those things! We all burst out laughing at the sight of this kid with these teeny tiny pjs on!

What do you want?

We actually talked about this in Sunday School today, but it has been on my mind a lot lately. I absolutely love Christmas time. I love to wrap presents in pretty paper and watch people unwrap them. I get excited about thinking of the perfect gift for someone. So how do I get that pleasure instilled into my children? I want them to enjoy giving the gifts rather than wanting gifts. One thing that I do NOT ask them is, "what do you want?" I do not want them to set an expectation for Christmas that I have to give them something to be happy and then if I don't get it, they will be let down. I really enjoy not getting a list from them. They don't ask for things. Now, the other night while getting ready for bed, they were out of feet pajamas and they did say they wanted some new ones so they can be snuggly warm. (Their bedroom is like negative 20 degrees at all times - I seriously think they did not insulate that room). I am glad we don't do Santa and have to deal with a letter. I feel that good behavior is expected and they shouldn't think they deserve a gift for being good - let's face it, if that was the case not a single person deserves a gift - we are all SINNERS!!!! We do it everyday and the gift that was given to us is one that was given to us on Christmas Day long, long ago. So, going back to a letter (which by the way writing a letter is a great skill for children) - we will not do Santa letters asking for things, but we will be doing Dear Jesus letters - thanking Him for all that we have, all that we are given, all the needs that are met, and our loving family. I know my thoughts on everything are different, but we just feel led to do things this way with our kids.

Christmas Traditions

Having children means that we have to be creative in trying to make their childhood memorable. It seems like each year we add onto our Christmas traditions and we have a full month jam packed full of fun things! Here is a list of all the things that we do in the month of December that make it so wonderful:
1) Advent box - we have an advent box with doors on it and every morning they wake up and get to open the door to find a treat in it (marshmellows, gingerbread men, pencils, etc.).
2) Advent - We do advent with my family each weekend (it is supposed to be on Sundays, but schedules prevent us from doing it then). This is one of my all time favorite Christmas traditions. We have a wreath, light a candle each week, sing Christmas songs, eat cookies and read stories. It is a wonderful way to bring your focus weekly onto the true meaning of Christmas.
3) Tree decorating - we love decorating our tree at night together and then having fresh baked cookies afterwards - they are required to be hot!!!
4) Christmas campout - we started this last year and it was a hit. We set up a tent in the living room, I read them Christmas stories, and then they get to fall asleep next to the beautiful Christmas tree.
5) Santa - No, we do not tell them Santa brings them presents, but we do take them to the mall to get their picture every year. Nichole and I actually started this tradition with Connor when he was a baby, so we always go together to see Santa. The girls love watching home videos of when they were all little and they screamed their heads off! We now go to Concord Mills and see that Santa so that we can ride the train afterwards.
6) The house with singing lights - there is a house in Lakepark that has the lights syncronized with music, so we always go and sit in the car and snuggle and watch the lights dance. (We do this one a couple of times)
7) Shoe boxes - our favorite way to kick off the holiday season.
8) Gifts for others - We make sure to go shopping for others (sometimes we have a family we buy for with our Sunday School class or we will donate to toys for tots). I want them to know that there are so many people that don't have much and they can make a difference.
9) Dollar Tree Shopping - We take the kids to the Dollar Tree a couple days before Christmas and let them shop for everyone in our family. I love watching them pick out what they think each other will want. (Especially the year that the girls bought each other the exact same thing in the exact same color). Then they come home and wrap everyone's gifts. Those are always the first ones they want to distribute and open.
10) Family Celebrations - we get together with my family Christmas Eve Night and with Matt's family on Christmas morning.
11) Jesus's Birthday Party - Christmas Day night we have cupcakes and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. I like to end the season with this, so that is the last thing they remember from all the events and the day's focus is off the presents for a while and solely on Jesus.

I am sure I am forgetting something! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and take time to remember the true reason for the season!