December Days

January has come and gone, so naturally I am finally getting to my December blog post. :)

I spent the whole month of December on crutches and at my parents' house.  But, on those days when the crutches just weren't cutting it, my mom hooked me up with some wheels!

 The kiddos loved to come along for the ride, especially this little guy.

December is typically our busiest month of the year, but this year was a little different.  Cory had to work most of the month, so we spent most days kicked back watching movies, doing art projects and reading our Advent Book in preparation for the Celebration of Christ's Birth.  

But we did venture out a little here and there to get haircuts and such.

We had a play-date with some sweet cousins, and since we had just read The Gingerbread Man, we decorated gingerbread sugar cookie men.  Same thing, right?

I love how the boys usually go with the "less is more" approach, but the girls think, "the gaudier the better!" LOL

Purely random, but here is Woody the Cowboy made out of PawPaw's toe.  That's my Eli for you!

And when Daddy came home for a short couple of days, he made sure he brought treats with him!  Because, every kid needs a lollipop the size of a baseball, right?

During his few days off, we headed to Natchitoches where the Christmas Festival was in full swing.  Again, my injury prohibited us from participating too much in the festivities (Gah, I'm such a killjoy), but we did enjoy the parade and spending time with family.

After our wonderful weekend in Natchitoches, we returned to my parents' house and Cory returned to work.   Just when the kids were getting a little stir-crazy, my brother and his beautiful family showed up!!  Oh how I love these wonderful times when we are all under one roof.  Kids are running and squealing, and even sometimes crying.  Some might call it chaos, but there is so much life present, I can't help but smile.  The joy is so evident on their little faces.

But all that "life" makes it nearly impossible to get a decent picture of them all in their fancy Christmas clothes.  Oh well, the best pictures are those that capture true memories anyway.  In that case, these pictures are absolutely perfect!

Now, the best part about this December was when Cory got home on Christmas Eve.  He had been out of town the two weeks before Christmas, and it just wasn't the same celebrating without him.  He arrived home just in time to read, "The Night Before Christmas" to our babies before tucking them in for the night.

And of course, the next day, they erupted in excitement to find all the special gifts that had been left for them.

It was a beautiful day spent cooking and playing and giving thanks for the most important gift of all, Christ!

But wait, Christmas was not over just yet.  The awesome thing about our families living a few hours away from each other is that we get to celebrate for even longer!  And that same feeling I talked about when all the kids and grandkids are under my parents' roof, I get it at my in-laws' house as well :)

And finally, we ended our December by ringing in the New Year.....

      

.....because we are some PARTY ANIMALS!!!!