Sweet and sassy, that is our Maddox Ren....

Sweet.  One evening last week she took my cheeks in her hands and pulled my face closer to hers and proclaimed, "Mommy, I wish God had a little camera so you could see inside my heart!"  I said, "Well, what would I see inside your heart?"  To which she replied, "You would see Jesus waving to you!"

Sassy.  Tonight we had been out and about.  Maddox fell asleep in the car and was furious upon our arrival home when she opened her eyes to see Ryan getting her out of her carseat.  She cried big tears over this.  When we told her she would have to go to her room if she continued to cry, she went to work making a little something.  She worked feverishly and then ran to me and said, "Now, this is to Santa so he will know how mean Daddy has been to me!"

And a funny for MK....

She is obsessed with cursive writing but she always has trouble reading it....she will say, "Mom, I can't read 'curse'!"

Merry Christmas 2013

As tradition would have it, the Gingerbread houses were constructed and decorated accordingly....

 concentration was our top priority as we iced the houses for the candies to stick appropriately.

 The boys, being ages 11 and 13, were done in a snap and off to sipping on their peppermint milkshakes as they watched the girls work feverishly on their house....

for the record, the boys did their traditional smile on one side, frown on the other side.

 Matthew, our elf, was up to his usual antics just days before Christmas as he went snooping in the girls' tights collection and decided he wanted to perch on our mantel with the stockings.  Silly Matthew.

 Christmas Eve arrived on time, the children and I all dashed out of the door to get our pedicures....such a fun time for all, the boys enjoy the massage chairs best, the girls enjoy getting their nails painted with designs....me, well, I personally enjoy taking in all of their laughter while trying to figure out what the nail salon workers are saying to one another!  Maddox looked at me at one point and said, "Mom, they are speaking Spanish!" to which she was quickly told by the nice lady that they were actually speaking Vietnamese.    

 We then took off for our annual dash through Target - we love the hustle and bustle, and then it was off for a special lunch treat with Mrs. Duncan.  Mrs. Duncan was MK's kindergarten teacher and we adore her, all of us!  

 Ryan stayed behind at home to do his daddy duties to prepare for Christmas Eve....

 At last, Gran and Pop arrived to make the day complete and it wasn't long before we were all dressed and ready to go to church.  I am so thankful we worship on Christmas Eve - it is the reminder we all need to keep us grounded on the true meaning of Christmas, Jesus's birth.  

 I have mentioned before that I grew up going to my grandparent's house every Christmas Eve for a party with family and friends.  It was something I looked forward to each and every year.  We have kept this tradition and invite friends over for dinner following our church service....this makes my heart warm to know that I am carrying on something my grandmother began many years ago and to know that my children look forward to it just as I did as a child.  

 With the evening coming to an end, the children opened up a gift from Gran and Pop - Christmas pjs and books!

 And then it was time to sprinkle the reindeer food and place the cookies out for Santa....

 even Colin jumped in to add a dose of magic....

 Pop read the annual Twas the Night Before Christmas and then the children, surprisingly, nestled down into their beds and sleeping bags for the long night - they always sleep in one room together on Christmas Eve.

 Before we could close our eyes tight, we heard excited voices shouting, "Mom, Dad, it's 6:00!  Get up!  Get up!!!"  To which I rolled over and replied, "Really?!  Did you set an alarm?  Can we hit snooze and wait 15 minutes?"

And then we met on the stairs for the morning photo.....

 And Christmas Day and all of its joy began!  

 Colin stayed pretty much wrapped in his new Snuggie drinking his favorite drink to date, La Croix.  He thanked Finley many times for bringing him his very on 12 pack of this sensation.

 Pryce rummaged through gifts looking for the one thing he was sure he would find, a Lego airplane/airport set....

 Mason-Kate was all smiles with the many Lego sets she acquired.  She is a girl who LOVES a good Lego set!

 Maddox Ren was all giggles and surprise as she opened up her gifts....she played and played the entire day.

 Another special treat this year was having my sister and her family over on Christmas Day!  The children were all so excited to be together!

 More gifts were opened, we feasted on a fabulous steak dinner followed by indulging ourselves in Red Velvet cake and Lemon Meringue pie - yumm!  

And after all of the fun and excitement was gone, it was time for a long winter nap.....

From our family to yours, we hope you had a very Merry Christmas!  

Nutcracker night and the girls were all dressed and ready to go for our special treat...

 a second annual evening on the town with ballet friends and their sweet mamas!

 Late nights coupled with very few naps....

 tripled with lots of excitement and playing....all of these combined lead to kiddos falling asleep wherever their heads land.

 China adoption friends cookie decorating 2013....

 so sweet to see the children dive into their little creations....

 some worked so hard to perfectly spread on the icing.....

 and before we knew it, the goodies were all in their tummies and the littles were lined up for their evening photo!

 Every Christmas season, we welcome Matthew, our elf.  He is quite the silly little thing.  This year, MK decided he was "creepy" and asked if she could write him a letter to tell him not to land in her room.  Her letter was written and I thought that was that.  Then, I found this.  MK had gone in after a few days and written, "I love you Matthew" at the top of the note....I guess even creepy elves need to feel love!

 Zoo lights with Emma and Jay....

 and this would have been the perfect photo....alas, some little person has learned how to cross her eyes and she thinks it is hilarious, no doubt.  

 And our biggest has decided he is too cool to ride the carousel so he opted to ride while standing up.

 Emma and Jay....how fast they are growing up!  

 And today, on this December 22, my girls came home from church, went upstairs and....

 returned with short sleeve dresses on and ran outside to play!  It was 75ish degrees today.....craZY!

It's been awhile....

we have been thoroughly enjoying our break.....lower amounts of school work, more time to just be together and enjoy some of our favorite seasonal traditions....

watching Elf, sipping on hot chocolate, listening and singing our favorite Christmas tunes, taking in the Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol at our local theatres, indulging in our morning dose of candies, going through our Jesse Tree....

attending Christmas parties for littles, bigs, and adults.....wrapping gifts, painting Christmas canvases in art class, Christmas Lights of the South, decorating gingerbread houses with some of our favorite friends....

decorating Christmas cookies with our China friends, watching miracles unfold as some of our dear friends traveled to Ethiopia and held their little boy for the first time ever, seeking our dear little Elf Matthew each day - he is up to some crazy antics again this year.....

photos with Santa, letters to Santa, taking part in our church Share the Light program and giving to little ones in our community, extended family parties, SHopPiNG - crazy to do with four people of various ages:)

We also finally fixed our stove - sort of; we took my van in for an oil change and left with the maintenance man calling after us, "Do you REALLY want to keep money into that car????" - I love my little van but its time is nearing an end:(

All this and thankfully we are comforted by the fact that this season is to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will not forget the true meaning of Christmas despite the distractions that surround us.  

Though we delight in the distractions, the busy-ness, the laughter, the joy, we remain steadfast in remembering the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas To All!

Clarks Hill Christmas Tree Farm 2013

Our Day At The Christmas Tree Farm - 2013

Maddox was the first to find the perfect tree, just her size and her father was pleased by its price:)

 We were some of the first to arrive and we took full advantage of a longer hayride through the back of the farm.  So peaceful.  The weather was perfect and the only sound we heard was the humming tractor leading our way.

 The children soon decided to tromp through the gallery of trees....their giggles and laughter were aplenty.  Simple music to my ears.

 Alas, a tree was found, debated over, and the decision was made.....

 and as tradition goes, the tree hugging picture was taken prior to hearing the word, "TIMBER!"

 MK chose to make a school day out of the adventure and added up the lines to calculate the age of our tree.

 But enough was had with the serious stuff and she quickly went silly on us grabbing two sticks and claiming to be a reindeer.

 Unbelievable.  These two allowed for a rare photo op amongst the trees sans goofy facemaking.  We are so thankful for these two.

 Maddox found the perfect seat as we waited for the hayride.

 A little corn hole was played.....

 and the snacks were eaten....

 our family favorite hide-n-seek in the trees was played.....

 a bit of football throwing occurred.....

 and then it was time for the annual "how tall am I?" picture.....seriously, can they grow up any faster???

Our day was done and I, keeping with tradition, said, "Ok, no movie watching on the way home.  We are going to listen to Christmas music."  To my surprise, all four said, "YES!!!"  

So following an afternoon of memories in the making, we all climbed into our van with the tree resting on top and we drove off with the radio blaring our favorite Christmas tunes....fabulous day!