It's been over a month since I visited this space. Not because life was so quiet and calm that there was nothing to write about - but precisely the opposite. December is a whirlwind of advent-celebrating, family-visiting, food-eating, gift-goodness that just doesn't stop. And this year was no exception.
Nearly every morning in December the boys took great delight in opening our advent envelopes. Inside they would find the activity or event of the day, and usually squeal with delight. From tree cutting to Christmas movie watching, the advent calender guided our fun and brought us a little magic every day. Favorite activities were visiting Santa (always at the downtown Macy's), reading Christmas stories by the fire, and decorating the house for Christmas. There were two new hits this year - making gingerbread houses (although we cheated and used graham crackers) and an indoor "snowball" fight with cotton balls. Our advent celebrations have been a lot of fun, and it has worked really well to switch the focus to activities rather than "stuff".
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| Our Advent Calendar |
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| Visiting Downtown |
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| Luke asking Santa for a kitten |
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| Max asked for a 3DS |
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| Gingerbread house construction |
Christmas itself brought a great deal of magic as well. This was our year to celebrate the holiday with my family. My sister's family came from Ottawa and we all went to my parents' house for the week of Christmas. While small by some standards, the 11 of us in one house (including kids ages 7, 5, 4, 2, and 6 months) felt busy, but our days were full of laughter and memories made. Watching the cousins play together is always fun, and it was amazing how well they all got along. There were ice skating and fort building adventures, baseball in the snow, stories with Mema, and lots of cuddling and wrestling. My sister and I had great fun dressing our families in matching pjs, which made Christmas day seem even a little crazier - red and green and white stripes everywhere. Santa was kind enough to bring just what each child hoped for, and we all felt very spoiled with the gifts surrounding us.
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| A snowy baseball game |
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| Listening to stories with Mema |
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| My adorable nephew |
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| The note Santa left for Luke with a gift of cat treats |
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| Such a happy kid! |
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| All five kiddos |
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| Right after Christmas Eve Mass |
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| My Canadian nephew just chillin' in the snow |
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| Bungee cords may have been his favorite gift this year! |
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| Lots of stripes. |
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| Horse rides with Papa |
It was a wonderful month. Lots of joy and love. All we could have asked.
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| One of my favorites |
It was a crazy wonderful Christmas I will always remember and cherish! Thank you for capturing it so beautifully in words and pictures Mugs. I love you.
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