Sporty

This Christmas as we simplified gift giving for the boys (and Irina), we settled on three packages for each of them. One package with some books, one package with an outfit and one package with a toy. I found these awesome sporty outfits at Marshall's for a great price and the boys love them. (It's hard to get Aaron's in the wash. He has a hiding spot he puts it in after he wears it for the day!)

Yes, we were playing basketball in the driveway in the dark!

He posed like this all on his own! Oh my goodness!!!

Deck the halls

About two weeks ago, we got busy decorating for Christmas. All the boys (young and old!) love the lights and decorations. This year we had help from Grandma & Grandpa AND Grammy & Poppy. Lots of hands make light work! So glad for all their help.

Notice 4 stockings... Luke, Ethan, Aaron and Irina!

We recently moved our television above the fireplace. We're not a big fan of having the tv out in the open so Darin is in the process of building doors to hide it. He added the shelf above the tv and the moldings to make it look like it was original. Can't wait to install the doors. 

And now there is the perfect spot for our nativity scene! 

I love the Willow Tree nativity because Mary is holding baby Jesus. 

For the past two years, we've prepared for Christmas by doing a Jesse Tree. This year, we're trying something new and doing an advent wreath and nightly readings. So far so good...

 Only 15 days until Christmas and SIX days until Irina arrives!

Sweet Snowman Treat

It's that time of year to give gifts to the boys teachers. This year, we stole our idea from a friend of a friend. As usual, I am not the originator of this idea. It's so cute, I couldn't resist.

I bought several large dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's and bought the matching quantity of Panera Gift cards. I taped the gift cards to the chocolate bars and wrapped them in printer paper. Then I let the boys add the hat, nose, mouth, buttons and last they stamped their fingerprints for eyes. I added the ribbon for the scarf. It didn't take much time and the boys were able to participate in the gift - which I love!

Now let's just hope that I don't lose any black buttons off MY clothes, because all my black buttons are being used by chocolate snowmen.

Nostalgic

Okay... so I know it is now January but I have one more Christmas post to share with you!

My husband is nostalgic. He enjoys the feelings and memories that are associated with Christmas. He is certain to watch the classic Christmas specials (Charlie Brown, Grinch, etc.) and every Christmas, we watch Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. Although he prefers to watch it with his brother-in-law, Michael, who shares a similar sense of humor and really laughs out loud. :) My husband starts playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving and enjoys looking at Christmas lights just as much or more then the kids. He is all about decorating and one year soon I'm going to have to give in and allow some more colored lights to grace our decorations.

As a kid, his parents had a table top ceramic tree that lit up. Last year, he decided we needed one and did some hunting. When he couldn't find one in stores or online, he asked if he could have his parents, but it was missing. So, I decided that this year it would be my mission to find one for him as a Christmas gift. I found one at Color Me Mine (a paint your own pottery store in the area). It turns out that his gift was a gift for me too. I arranged to go one evening after dinner and secretly work on my project. (I knew this would be too difficult of a task for the boys and it would drive me crazy trying to work on it with them!) A kind friend met me there while I painted, and she even helped me paint too. It was a delightful evening painting and chatting!

Here is the finished product and he loved it! 

Hard to tell from this photo, but I did 3 base coats of lighter green
and then added accents in a darker green in the shadows. 

Trimming and Sawing

When you don't have a truck and you don't have a wooded back yard, you have to get creative in how to get rid of your Christmas tree. I had a great helper snipping and sawing off all the branches and gathering them into a bag. Then together we sawed up the trunk into pieces with a hand saw. What great weather for this activity with my special guy! It was 60 degrees. Christmas decoration removal complete. Hooray!

Grandma and Grandpa's

On Wednesday mid-day we left for Grandma and Grandpa's house in Pennsylvania. That evening we gathered for a pot-luck dinner with Darin's sister's family, his cousins, and aunts and uncles. Some of these folks we only get to see once a year, so it's a special time of visiting and catching up.

Darin playing with the kiddos.

Enjoying the awesome fire in the fireplace on this chilly day. 

 The extended family gathering and annual gift exchange.

 The annual Christmas brunch (and my silly boys!)

Grandma was very patient and read LOTS of stories to the boys. :)

We had a good time visiting with both sides of our families, but this introvert was glad to get home Friday night! phew! Now who wants to come help fold laundry and un-decorate!?! :) 

So thankful for the boys being happy travelers and having minimal traffic on our return home.

Over the river and through the woods...

... to Grammy and Poppy's house we go!

We gathered at my parents house with my older brother and his family to celebrate Christmas from Monday through Wednesday. (Smooches and hugs to my little brother and his family in Canada!) It was bitter sweet since it will likely be the last Christmas in my childhood home.  Back in 1970, my parents bought an antique house (built in the 1800's) They have spent the last 40 years refurbishing and renovating it, mostly by themselves. It is really beautiful, but they are excited to move forward to owning a home that requires less maintenance. They are hoping to relocate to Virginia in 2012!

My parents real Christmas Tree and the traditional Christmas village. As long as I can remember, my parents have had the tree platform and set up the village. It's really pretty!

Getting ready to enjoy a Christmas meal. 

On Tuesday we went to a nearby horse farm with my dad and got to visit Willy the horse. 

We all had a chance to give Willy a snack of some apple. Ethan was in heaven!
It was pouring rain outside so we couldn't do any riding. 

Aaron was not so sure. Notice his hands in his pockets! His expression is priceless!

Ethan found a new friend.

The littlest boys watching the fire together on Wednesday morning. 

Jumping cousins!

Next stop... Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

Christmas Day

Has it really been a week since Christmas day?! We enjoyed our day home celebrating as a family before we hit the road to visit with our extended family on Monday. We've been really mindful of trying to keep Jesus the focus of our celebrating... a tricky endeavor in this world we live in. I've been really conflicted about the materialism that tempts me and the boys this time of year, but that's a serious post for another time. :) We are very blessed and I'm thankful that we could give generously and thoughtfully. My prayer is that they learn the joy that comes from giving to others. And that the ultimate gift is Jesus dying for us on the cross!

On Christmas morning, the boys let us sleep until 7am. (a rare treat for me!) 

Our tradition is to give the boys each three gifts, just as the wise men brought three gifts to baby Jesus. Luke decided we should open the gifts youngest to oldest because he could be the most patient. ;) Here are a few of our favorite shots from the morning. 

Aaron was SOO thrilled to open his very own Virginia Tech football helmet and jersey. 

The jersey was a little big, so Ethan tried it on for him. 

He was quick to change into his football outfit. :) 

He and I spent time outside in the afternoon tossing his football. 

 Ethan received his first big Lego set... the Lego farm. Perfect for my little animal lover!

He was thrilled and I'm so proud of him for being to put it together all by himself. 

We also got him a microscope so he could study little creatures. (This will be fun for all of us.)

And for my Lego lover extraordinaire...a lego cargo train. 

We also found Electronic Snap Circuits in a catalog and it was a huge hit. 

His little brain loves building the projects and seeing the outcome. (a blowing fan, an AM radio, etc.) 

This is super cool if you have a kid who loves figuring out how things work and taking things apart!

We had a late breakfast of sausage/egg casserole and homemade "ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls" before heading off to church. The rest of the day zipped by as the boys enjoyed their new toys while Darin and I packed for our travels. I'm thankful for the memories we made as a family this Christmas. 

Happy Happy

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, 

because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21

The kids enjoyed singing to Jesus. (And yes, Aaron changed into jammies as soon as we got home from church!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Virginia Family Christmas

This Saturday we had our annual Virginia family Christmas get together with Darin's sister and family. It's a fun yearly tradition! The kids are all very close in age... (8, 7, 6, 5, 4, and 3 years old!) and enjoy running around and making noise together. :) Here are a few photos from our get together. 

I wish I thought to get an entire group shot! 

 The smiley grandparent shot!

 The silly photo. The girls were not interested in being silly. :)

 These two are so sweet together. Here they are having a running race. 

You'd think it was summer the way they are dressed. I guess all the running made them hot!

My niece is such a calm presence for Aaron's more competitive side. Adorable!

Painting Extravaganza

What do you do if your "to do" list keeps growing and the days keep getting fewer?

Of course, you decide to decorate your own wrapping paper!!!! Why make it easy and buy Christmas wrapping paper?? I was kicking myself as I scrambled to wrap all our extended family presents in brown packing paper, because I knew that once I wrapped them I was not done. This year, I've cut back on making lots of Christmas presents for extended family and I am going through some crafting withdrawal. [I am sewing one special gift which I'll share on here after the intended recipient receives it. :)]

Thankfully, decorating the packages today with the boys turned out to be a really enjoyable activity (as long as I remembered that it was going to be messy no matter what!) I have to add that I rarely have my own creative ideas, but I love to borrow ideas from friends and from online. I got this idea from my friend Carla a couple years ago.

Here is what we did:

1) After wrapping the gifts in brown packing paper, I cut a potato in half. Then I drew a picture of a holly leaf and carved it out to make a stamp. We then used a paintbrush to cover the stamp in green.

2) Then I put Luke to work stamping the holly leaves in groups of two or three on the brown packages. Occasionally,  I had to fill in the leaf if it didn't get covered adequately. 

3) Then Ethan dipped the eraser end of a pencil into red paint and dabbed on some red berries. 

4) Now we just need to add some raffia ribbon once it dries! I love how the boys did such a careful job. 

Since we already had the paint out and a big mess made, we decided to let the painting continue and paint the salt dough ornaments we made yesterday at a home school Christmas party. Aaron stuck with it for a while painting 2 stars, a gingerbread man and a bell. (And as you see, he had fun spreading the red paint on his plate!) Then he played so cooperatively while we finished the rest. This was a gift!

Above is our finished work. Now we'll add some ribbons and hang a few on the tree saving some special ornaments to add to the top of our packages. 

I was quite indulgent and had some fun painting and creating too! :)