5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

We got really busy the last few days before Christmas, but I still got all my photos taken. This project has been really fun for me and I think I want to make it a new tradition for my December.

Here are the final 5 days before Christmas -

5 days Before - we made these really cute button trees from my scrapbooking stash. They boys had a blast making them! They are all unique and individual just like each of our sons too.

4 days Before - Christmas deliveries make me HAPPY! These are the fabulous glitter cups I had made for Amy and Christie (and myself too) They finally arrived today and I am thrilled with how they turned out.

3 days Before - When Amy was here for Thanksgiving she bought a coffee table at this fun shop in Wichita and we needed to deliver it down to OK for them. I decided to make a quick trip of it with the boys and deliver the table and their Christmas gifts from our family. We took the opportunity to drive downtown in OKC to see this really cool Lego show. The boys and Rachel had so much fun seeing all the creations. This Capitol building piece was a favorite! 2 days Before - My sister Natalie and her husband, Mitch arrived to spend the Christmas weekend with us. The boys are ecstatic to have them at the house to play with as much as they want! 1 day Before - We spend Christmas Eve with my parents and I took the opportunity with so many able photographers to grab a quick family photo. These boys make my heart sing and I love spending time with our family! Christmas Morning - New jammies, fully stockings, and expectant little boys! It doesn't get much better than this!Now I get to choose just how to put this great little book together! I can't wait to dig through my Christmas stash and find some fun goodies to make these 13 photos shine. I have some additional journaling to add along with our Christmas/New Year's photo this year. I will definitely post when I am done.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year friends!

xo, Jen

6 and 7 days before Christmas

This weekend was filled with lots of Christmas preparations and traditions and I had a hard time choosing just one photo for each day, but here goes!

On Saturday evening we hopped in the van to go check out Christmas lights around town. We made our favorite stops but also found this great house out west here. The family has their lights set to music and it is a spectacular show. I hope to maybe see it again later this week too.

Today we decided to do a bit of Christmas grocery shopping. Ken and I got away for a short time and headed to Dillons. It was surprisingly not busy there and I was thankful for that for sure. A little Starbucks kept me company along the way too. A good start to our baking/cooking traditions this week.

Can you tell I am really having fun with this? See you tomorrow!

xo, Jen

8 days before Christmas

It has become our family tradition of decorating a gingerbread house the day the boys get out of school for their Christmas break. It really kicks off our time home together and they truly have a blast doing it. I keep my hands off and it is totally their creation! This year we did little mini cottages and ice cream cone trees. The coconut snow really adds to the theme, don't you think? ;)

I think this may have become my favorite activity/tradition of the entire season!
xo, Jen

9 days before Christmas

This little 12 days project has just been too perfect for me! I can't wait until each day because I am making a conscious effort to have some little celebration of Christmas every day. And in no ways are these BIG efforts, but just something to remind us of how close we are getting to one of my favorite holidays!

After we went to supper and ran to the grocery store I asked the big boys if they wanted to make these ornaments that I had seen last year and never got the chance to make. They were game (which is kind of a big deal to me since usually they say no) and we turned on the Incredibles for Kaden and got to work. I used Kenny as a guinea pig and since he didn't have too much trouble I let Jackson come make one too. I had to stop them because they wanted to keep making more and bedtime was fast approaching . I think we will make more this weekend and then tie them on Christmas gifts for our family.

It is fun to get crafty with them! This was a good reminder to me that we should do simple projects like this more often.

Happy Crafting! Please link up if you make some too!

xo, Jen

10 days before Christmas

I have to admit, I'm not feeling well today and Ken is out of town this week on business, but I got my photo nonetheless. I had a really rough night with Jackson last night... not getting to go to bed until after 2:00 am. If anyone ever wants to know what it's like at night to have a kid with diabetes, it's like having a newborn you have to fear for every night of your life! But I digress...

Until this weekend I didn't have any Christmas socks, but Amy and I saw these at Old Navy when we were on the hunt for $5 fleece jackets for our families. She picked up a few pairs and I have to admit they are really comfy and make me smile when I look down at my feet. So tonight we had planned to watch the Sing Off and I jumped at the chance to get in jammies early too. It's such a fun show that Kenny and I have been watching this December and I couldn't help but snap a picture of my fun socks while watching the show. Sometimes you gotta look for the Christmas in the small things! ;)
Here's hoping we have a quiet night and the antibiotics kick in soon!
xo, Jen

11 and 12 days before Christmas

So I decided that a Daily December was probably too much for me this year, but I love doing a little Christmas-y Book each year. I hadn't fully commited to any project this year until yesterday and there's still time to do this one if you are like me and wait til the last minute to create a project. I found this idea on Write. Click. Scrapbook. and decided it would be perfect for this year! Even I can handle the 12 days leading up to Christmas with a photo/story a day! I chose to begin yesterday and then I will have a page of Christmas day too in my book. For now, I plan to upload my photo and story each day and then create my book AFTER the holidays. I will be able to refer back here for my journaling when I sit down to put it together. Easy Peasy!

So here is my photo from yesterday -

Every year in preschool, Kaden's class goes on a trip to the North Pole on the "Polar Express" and today was the day! He got to wear his new Spongebob winter jammies to school and he thoroughly enjoyed his trip. He got in the car telling me all about it and showed me the jingle bell that Santa gave to him as a gift. He couldn't stop jingling it all day! This year he is really getting into the Christmas spirit and he even sat on Santa's lap with no tears. He told Santa he wants a "remote control monster truck" this year. It's so much fun to experience Christmas with a preschooler!

I am absolutely giddy about today's picture -

This is a picture of the boys' completely up to date ornament albums. Each year I give the boys a Christmas ornament for our family tree. I have always planned for these ornaments to be a gift to each of them and their brides-to-be when they get married and have trees of their own. I wanted to make a book to document each ornament, the year, and the reasons for choosing each ornament. I finally got the books ready to go, all the photos taken, AND the pages made up to the current year. I finished them up this morning and I love they way they look all lined up on the shelf! I hope they will be treasured gifts for my children in the years to come.

How easy is this??? I love it!

Won't you play along with me too?

xo, Jennifer