An Explanation
Blogger and I had a falling out. Pictures are such a PAIN to load that I've had absolutely no desire to blog the past few months. I apologize to the 3 loyal people that still follow. It's not you, it's me.
I really need some coaching on how to make this whole blogging process faster. By the time I get the photos up, the writing part of my brain is totally blocked. HELP!
I feel that I should share a few of the highlights from the holidays, although Christmas seems like a
lifetime ago.
This post will include my favorite moments from December.
Decking Our Halls
We had a blast decorating the house this year. Emma inherited Grandma Saunders's lovely Christmas village, so we got to set it up on the ledge in our basement. It looked beautiful when it was all lit up! We also added a few more themed Christmas trees so that we could showcase my growing collection of Nativity ornaments and the kids' homemade ornaments from over the years.
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| Grandma's Village |
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| Our message board with a few wintery snapshots and some subway art from the Internet |
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| One of the cheesy decorations I made in Relief Society a million years ago that the kids won't let me pitch |
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| Our favorite mugs given to us from the Phelans in times past AND simmering potpurri (recipe from my Mom) |
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| A table cloth I picked up on clearance after Christmas last year |
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| A nod to my sister-in-law Toni...she used to wrap her wall art like presents. |
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| The Greg Olsen painting is a gift I bought myself this year for my birthday. I love it! |
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| Our living room tree (the one the kids don't like). |
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| A view of a few nativity displays |
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| My favorites |
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| More nativity displays |
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| My little nativity tree in the background |
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| The foyer with a nativity passed down from Grandma Saunders |
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| In the music room |
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| I like to switch out the pictures in my frames to go along with the season. We have some pretty funny Santa pics through the years. |
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| Emma and Chloe showing off the front porch |
Shelby's Trip to Bass Pro
Another tradition? We like to take Shelby to Bass Pro. We were hoping to get her picture taken with Santa, but the lines we sooooooo long. All the parents wanted their
children to see The Big Guy. Whatever.
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| Shelby wore her Santa Baby cosutme all month long. |
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| She kept licking the faux snow that littered the ground of the store. You can see it in her fur. |
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| Emma's bestie, Emily, joined us. |
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| You'll put your eye out kid! |
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| Shelby was a hit with the kiddies. We could have charged money... |
The Interfaith Nativity
It just wouldn't be Christmas in Perrysburg without the Interfaith Nativity hosted by our church. This year I had the pleasure of accompanying one of my favorite young women, Christy, as she performed in her very own concert. I was amazed by her poise and confidence. She's just 16 years old and she gave a beautiful 45 minute long performance all by herself. Wow!
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| Audrey, Christy, and Christy's mom Anita |
Fake Christmas
We celebrated Christmas Eve AND Christmas on December 23rd. That's right. Rick worked on Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning, so we had to make a few adjustments to our schedule. As is our tradition, we ate at Nagoya for dinner. Then, we made our way home for music, snuggling, and gift-giving.
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| Jake is good enough now to play all sorts of Kurt Bestor arrangements. He performed "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" for our ward's Christmas Sunday program. |
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| Chloe LOVED her first Christmas. She took particular interest in the trees and gift wrap. |
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| Shelby's expression strikes me as funny. I love her! |
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| "OK Kids. Let's take a sweet brother/sister photo by the tree". |
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| There we go! |
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| This one of the few "Christmas morning" pictures of me wearing makeup - ha! I can get used to this. |
The Holidays in A Nutshell
This was not to be a season spent with family. Instead, we put money away for savings. Rick was blessed with some wonderful and lucrative moonlighting opportunities, but we had to sacrifice our time together. I have to admit, it was hard. All of my siblings and families gathered with my folks for Christmas this year. I reeeeeeeally wanted to be a part of their fun. Family is truly an essential part of Christmas. Snow is too. We didn't have either. Next year will be different!
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| Thank goodness we had Chloe and Shelby to distract us from missing our family! |
What makes your Christmas a successs? How will you make things different next year?
