12.18.2018

Full

IMG_20181214_104547_296

December is always a full month for us.  Usually in a good way.  This year unfortunately we added illness to the month.  Two illnesses actually, some sort of virus and then the stomach flu.  It wove it's way through our family and it seemed that for 3 weeks, one of us was sick with something.  But enough about that.  Better to focus on all the other things...

2018-12-10_10-43-24

We had our annual homeschool group presentations again this year.  I was so proud of their work!  Nora did Jane Goodall, Jackson did William Kamkwamba, and Grace did Oprah Winfrey.

2018-12-10_10-43-53

Grace and Jackson have had such a good experience volunteering at the new nature center behind our house (I think I've talked about it some) and for Christmas we all went to help decorate.  It was such a nice morning stringing gingerbread men, decorating wreaths, and making paper chains.

2018-12-10_10-44-54

My mom brought her gingerbread houses out to decorate with the kids as she does each year.  They get so into decorating them.

IMG_20181209_082319_424

We celebrated Christmas with the Futrells and all the cousins!

20181217_111453

The "elves" brought clay one morning and it made for the most peaceful afternoon of sculpting and gift making.

IMG_20181217_230552_918

The kids are working on a new fort!

20181218_200626

20181218_160326

20181218_162030

20181218_193402

And cookies!  We did our usual cookies this year- peanut butter ritz dipped in chocolate and gingerbread cookies.  The kids all love our gingerbread cookie recipe but it's not gingery enough for me (and I want a recipe with molasses).  Aimee recommended this recipe so maybe we will give that a try if they will let me.

I am enjoying this time so much with them.  The older they get the more fleeting I realize it all is.  It's these little moments and traditions that we will all look back on so fondly.

12.02.2018

In the Spirit

2018-12-02_09-25-17

On Friday after Grace got done with her homeschool classes I brought the (big) kids to my parent's house for the weekend.  They have a tradition every December of taking the kids for a weekend and doing Christmasy sorts of things.  When we got there, there were candles lit, the tree was up and glowing, and my mom was wearing a Christmas apron.  It was very magical.

2018-12-02_09-22-20

I brought Iyla back home for our weekend which wasn't so great on the front end.  We are in the process of night weaning her and Friday was a long night with her up a lot.  Saturday when we woke up I wasn't in the best of moods.  Ryan had to go the apartment to do some work so the little monkey and I stayed home while I tried to get some things done.  At one point I walked into the living room for a second and came back into the kitchen to find Iyla on the table shaking the salt like a rattle.  Shortly after that I decided this was pointless as I was getting nothing done, so we went to the knitting store in Stillwater.

2018-12-02_09-23-34

That was where the whole weekend shifted.  First it started to snow.  Then the knitting shop was bustling with crafty/maker energy and I found some beautiful yarn for the dress I'm making Iyla (which is suppose to be her Christmas present but I'll never be able to wait to give it to her).  Then I called Ryan and he met us for dinner at a restaurant next door to the knitting shop.  We sat by the window and the snow kept coming gently down.

2018-12-02_09-24-18

After that the rest of the weekend was blissful.  Knitting and hanging out with Ryan and planning Christmas presents.  I even got the art room all cleaned up so we have a spot to do our elving.

2018-12-02_10-01-51

The kids had the best weekend too, making Christmas cookies with my mom and sister, ornament making with my dad, and out to see the new Grinch movie, which got rave reviews from all of them!

I think we are all now officially in the spirit.  Let the making begin!