It's hard to believe Christmas has already come and gone, and now a new year is upon us. There are so many things I've wanted to blog about lately, but I've had a hard time finding the time and free hands to type...I guess that's a good problem to have.
This was our first Christmas in our married life that we have not spent with some extended family. That definitely made it feel different, but it was sweet nonetheless. In some ways, it felt a little like a "normal" weekend...with presents. However, we did get to spend Christmas Eve and the afternoon of Christmas day with some special friends that made the time even more fun.
The other aspect that made the time more fun was the fact both of the big kids were old enough to open presents and get excited. Oh to experience Christmas again as a child, but not we get to see Christmas through the eyes of our children...what a blessing. Kev and I talk a lot about traditions (especially around the holidays), and what type of traditions we want to have for our family. With that comes discussion on how we want our Christmas to look like, especially how we can take the focus on receiving gifts and focus on the birth of Jesus and our anticipation for His return. No easy task.
This year, I really appreciated insight from this blog, and we tried to institute some of her suggestions. I really liked the idea of getting each child a want, need, and a surprise along with something to read and something to wear (pjs) so we generally tried to follow these principles. I also loved the idea of each child having their gifts wrapped in 1 type of paper and a piece of that paper being at the bottom of the stocking so they would know which presents were their's. This worked out particularly well with small kids as well since they can't read. She has several other good ideas that I think would be fun when the kids get a little older (slumber party under the tree, money to get each other gifts, etc).
So what did our Christmas day look like? It was pretty chaotic...excitement and joy, mixed with tears for a variety of reasons. I was trying to feed Miss Campbell so Kev was in charge of documenting the event with video and photos as well as trying to help get toys out of boxes. Lots going on but so much fun. I think Miss E's favorite gift was a reusable Hello Kitty bag that I got from the dollar bin at Target and Mason loved a little battery-powered drill. We had some friends over for dinner last night and they asked E what she got for Christmas. She excitedly said, "I got sockies...with kitty cats on them AND candy santas." Such a reminder to me that kids are so happy with simple gifts. They don't need extravagant toys and they don't care how much things cost. Hopefully I can remember this next year as well.
Mason was big enough to open presents!
Lots and lots of trash. :)
Sweet Campbell's first Christmas.
Brave dress from Aunt Erin was a big hit!
Or course we didn't get a family pic or even a picture of all 3 kids together but at least we got some documentation the event happened. Story of our lives.
I am sure you missed being with your families for Christmas, but it is sweet to have some family time. We are also learning that simple gifts are just as fun and exciting as expensive ones.
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