Christmas cards!!

It is so much fun going to the mailbox during the Christmas season!  Bills, bills, and junk mail are replaced with (ahem, covered up by) colorful, decorative cards from human beings.  Human beings that we KNOW.  I love it!

I am also all about my own Christmas cards.  It's a goal of mine to get them ordered and addressed by Thanksgiving break... otherwise, let's face it, I probably would never get them out in time.  This year, I watched for the deals on Christmas cards again.  They'll have deals where they're "order 20 and just pay shipping!"  So, I got several different styles this year, like I did a few years ago.  Here are some of the ones we mailed out!

I liked this one! 

this one turned out to be my favorite!  This is the front...

...and this is the back.

eek.  Color scheme of the pics didn't go so well with the card.

Color scheme was better, but this was probably my least fave.  

Here's a section of our house where I enjoy looking!

Perhaps we should all send out other holiday cards... Valentine's Day?  Easter?  Columbus Day?  I'm game.

Christmas 'round the house

Every year, I always get so excited to break out the Christmas decorations.  I always try to wait until Thanksgiving break, but seem to manage to do it before then.  Every.  Year.  This year it was more like November 15th, though we did add some decorations along the way.

Here are some pics from around (and outside) the house!

Latest pics

Here are a bunch of random pics taken recently.  Each will tell a little about what we've been up to during this holiday season!

She was sick one day, but still cleaned up the (horribly messy) arts and crafts room!

Uno is the thing in our house!

Bathing suits in December... sure, why not?

poor P had croup!  Entertaining himself at the doctor with my necklace.

Tacky sweater day.

Cheesin'.

Typical week night when Stephen's gone!

Reading before school.

Dancing to Christmas tunes.

Sydney's KG Christmas performance.

Again... Uno.  It's all the rage.

Sydney was an angel in the live nativity scene at church.

Watching one of my favorites... Elf!

Sydney's artwork displayed in the hallway at her school.

Can't get enough of these sweet shots!

After the Christmas program.  I don't think she was feeling well. :(  She wouldn't let me go, wouldn't smile... it was sad!

Since I took a half-day off, I went and and joined her for lunch, too!

Parker got another haircut!

Gingerbread Fun

Today was a perfect day to build a gingerbread house!  It's cold/dreary outside, Stephen is out of town, we have the little car so it's not comfortable to go anywhere with 3 kiddos... so, a day inside it is!  We have all our Christmas lights on in the house, we have all our cinnamon-y candles lit, and Christmas music is ringing.  Trying to enjoy this season before it's over!

Here are pictures of our 5th annual gingerbread house:

the finished product.

Here are pictures from years' past.  Except for our very first one in 2010- I apparently didn't take any pictures.  Shame on me, right?

2011:

the house wouldn't stay together so we did a little village. :)

2012:

2013:

Busy weekend!

This was a really fun weekend, but I can tell you something... I'm going to sleep good tonight!

Friday night, I took Taylor and Sydney to a birthday party at one of those indoor playground places.  It was really Taylor's friend's party, but the mom had said that Sydney was welcome.  The bad part was that the party was from 7:15-9:15 PM in Dacula.  The girls had a blast at the party but leaving was tough- they were crying (part sad to leave/part exhausted) and then we didn't get home until 10.  (and the girls were up by 5:45 the next morning!!  More on that in a bit.)

Another small friend of Taylor's.  They are 13 days apart!

Including her own, this is Taylor's 5th Frozen-themed party in 6 weeks.  Let it go...

The moment the costumed Minnie Mouse came out.  Poor Taylor- she flipped out!

Saturday morning, after waking up so early, we hung around the house until it was time to go to Stephen's work for the annual Cookies with Santa.  It's always a fun time of making crafts, decorating cookies, playing corn hole, and, of course, seeing the big guy himself.  This year, no one wanted to sit on his lap, so I had Taylor and Parker and Stephen had Sydney.  Parker wouldn't even look at the camera- he kept looking back at Santa, like Santa was going to snatch him up or something.  That picture will be great when we get a copy of it, I'm sure!  Anyways, it was still a lot of fun.

Crazy rays!

Telling Santa she wants a Barbie Jeep.

Telling Santa she wants a drum. ;)

That afternoon, I was SO TIRED.  Taylor and I ended up taking over a 2 hour nap together (along with Parker) while Stephen and Sydney played outside.  When the three of us woke up, we joined them.  We went on a walk/bike ride around the neighborhood.  The weather was very nice- it wasn't too cold, and the sky was perfect!

The girls did a sleepover that night, and Stephen and I rented a movie.  It was a nice, low-key day!

Sunday, we went to church and were honored to be asked to light the Advent wreath.  Thankfully, the kids behaved!  After we came home and ate lunch, Stephen and Sydney went back to church to set up/practice for the Live Nativity play they were doing.  Sydney was an angel.  I kept the other two kiddos, and balanced hanging out with them with lesson planning, washing clothes, cleaning the house, and cooking dinner.  We bundled up and went to church at 6 PM to see the Live Nativity in action.  It was great!  Sydney did a great job. :)

In the car, after church.  Sweet things.

I was trying to cook dinner, and I heard a noise and then laughter... yeah... nice try, buddy.

My fashionista!

We are home, showered, in PJs, warm, and sleepy.  Here's to one more week of school... then Christmas break!!