Christmas Cookies

Our Christmas cookie decorating day was almost ruined by a stomach bug, but we were able to make the best of it. In spite of a whole cup of sprinkles, a knife loaded with icing and a cup of hot chocolate all being dumped (and splattered) all over the floor, the boys had fun and we were left with some pretty tasty cookies for ourselves and Santa.

Christmas Programs

Malachi and Elliott both sang in church the Sunday before Christmas. Elliott did a great job dancing along and Malachi sang very well on his solo. After church that Sunday we had lunch at Grammy Litter's with about 2/3 of the family, about 50 people! The kiddos acted out the Christmas story for the program which was very entertaining to watch. I am so thankful for these special activities and memories and I hope the boys will always remember special times like these.

More Pre-Christmas Fun

We made a trip to Columbus to visit WildLights at the zoo. That's the first time we've ever been to see the Christmas lights and it will definitely be a new tradition! Jonas, Elliott and I joined Malachi at school for his class party. I enjoy seeing Malachi with his school friends and the other boys love going to school and feeling big. We celebrated with the Lloyd side of the family, which is always chaotic and even more so when GranMols give all eight grandchildren foam swords and prank supplies! 

Santa in the Park

 I just realized I haven't blogged for a long while and have left out all of our pre-Christmas activities! We've had such a busy month and have made lots of fun memories together. Our first was Santa in the Park with our church family. The weather was not ideal at all, but the boys did get a visit in with Santa and were able to make some cookies to enjoy too. We were also able to connect with 40 people from the community around our church and offer them free pictures with Santa, story time and cookie decorating. It was a fun morning.

Christmas Tree Time

 One of my favorite traditions - tree decorating night! We start out with the boys getting new jammies. I thought last year would be the end of them matching, but Malachi and Elliott both started asking about their matching zipper jammies right after Halloween. So, of course, I obliged! Then we decorate the tree, which consist of me and Erik sitting back and watching the boys, hoping no ornaments get broken and no one falls into the tree. (Jonas has broken 7 bulbs, or balls as he calls them, to date.) Then we turn off the lights, admire our tree and watch How The Grinch Stole Christmas with popcorn and hot chocolate. We had to deviate from the plan a bit this year (long story) and watch Charlie Brown instead of the Grinch, but it was still a very fun evening together!

Snow Days!

 It seems like this is all we've seen lately! Since thanksgiving we have had three snow days and lots of 2-hour delays from school...I think the "turn your pajamas inside out" snow dance works! We haven't done much more than try to keep warm and start celebrating Christmas. Elliott enjoyed a week at Yaya and 'Buelo's in TN and Jonas loved having all of my attention during the days. He was even a big help with some of the decorating! Our tree is up, Buddy the elf is back, our advent calendar (complete with daily Bible reading instead of candy this year) is full and packages are arriving every day. Excitement is mounting for sure!

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving break started a day early with our first snow day of the school year. We spent the day cleaning and preparing for some special visitors, Yaya and 'Buelo. Part of the preparations included taking down the crib and rearranging the boys' rooms. Jonas and Elliott will now be together in one room and Malachi has moved to the other, which will double as our guest room when we have visitors. It was bittersweet to see this chapter of our lives closing and I'll probably shed a tear or two when we get rid of the furniture completely.

 Thanksgiving morning started with our favorite 5k of the year, the Chillicothe Turkey Trot. Erik had some great running partners and finished 4th, winning a pie for our dinner that evening. I beat my goal of running in the 28 minute mark with a time of 28:25, a whole minute faster than last year! I didn't take many pictures the rest of the weekend. I guess we were too busy having fun, eating, baking, shopping, etc. My sisters, mom and I did make our annual midnight shopping trip which was lots of fun but I think I'm still trying to catch up on my missed sleep! We loved having Kevin and Becky with us and we sent Elliott back to Tennessee with them for the week.