Gingerbread House Fun

A December tradition is making a gingerbread house.  We spent an afternoon building and creating!  

A perfect afternoon with these kids!

The first Christmas celebration

Brian's family would come first to celebrate Christmas with us.  It was nice it was earlier in the month and everyone was still excited for all the festivities.  

Andy took a little time out to relax with his grandparents during the Bronco game!

Miss Lexi, at three, was the star of the show with all her little wonders and excitement!

A boy and a puppy

We got to take a little break from Christmas preparations and Andy had his first paying job.  He would take care of this little pup for awhile. There is no better job for Andy.  The rest of us kind of or not really like animals but this boy LOVES them.

This little guy is young and on the go.  A perfect match for Andy.  At the end of the day after many  adventures both of these boys were tired and crawled into their beds happy and content.

Even the teenager in our house received a few loves!  I had, for a second or two, a thought that Andy needed a puppy to add to our household. He has Po and loves him dearly but there is something about puppies.  That moment did not last and I think he may get a few more of these jobs in the future!

Decorating

Once the tree was home it was time to decorate. I am not sure any of us here would get this done in a timely manner but Brianna is our Mrs. Clause. She was on us daily about what needed to be done and this was a big item on her list.  

It seems all of these kids have a nice number of tree decorations that will one day be for their own homes. They love to look through and talk about the people or places they have come from.

 I try to encourage that they spread them out so the front of our tree does not become overwhelmed with ornaments.  Mr. Andrew did not have a hard time figuring out how he would spread his with a little help from Dad. 

A Tree

Many photos were taken this month and now I am going to try and catch them up on our blog.  A trip to find a tree was rather fast this year. Seems like we hiked in a little and the tree was sitting right in front of us. That left time to play in what little snow there was.

Each kid has his or her job on tree hunting day. Some approve of the tree, some cut it down, and others just sit and play like eight year olds do.

This boy has taken over his Dad's job of cutting the tree and dragging it to the car.  Guess that happens when you are almost as tall as your Mom.  

Looking up that day there was just a little bit of beauty and light!  It was a day that started our Christmas traditions. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!  Another year gone so quickly.  The kids are getting bigger and changing everyday.  The morning of gifts is over, Santa made his way to our house,  and mass last night reminded us the reason for the season.  I am sitting listening to the sounds of Legos being built and looking at the day of the year that we try to make as simple as we can.  

Lots of changes for this family have come over the past year.  Our hearts ache for a little boy that is not with us this year, but praying I get to see him open his stocking next year.  So many days in my life I look and wonder how did I get so lucky with the life I am given.  I feel a responsibility to do better and help more and to give back.

Wishing you all a beautiful day and a Merry Christmas!