December wrap up....

I can't believe I let December pass without a single post until yesterday....so here are all the thoughts I had for posting this month...just never took the time to post them...

Tree Decorating!

We normally do this the weekend after Thanksgiving...but instead took a school day to decorate this year...

A Day off from Winter...

We were invited to the Grand Opening of a new indoor water park at the Wilderness Lodge in Sevierville. They needed kids for the photo op, and well, everyone else was in school....so who got invited? Our homeschooling group! It was a fun morning for the kids, and for Mike who went down some really fun slides....

That same night....

I was crazy enough to host our Homeschool Mom's Night out, which is our annual Cookie Exchange...This was planned before the water park and was really a lot of fun. About 13 of us were there...Smaller than usual, but fun and intimate. We also exchange ornaments, and I got two black carolers, which I really love. My friend Sheila told me to name the girl Takina (is that right, Sheila?) because she (or Sarah...my memory is failing...) had a dream that she wanted to be called that name...and the boy she wanted me to name Caleb, after my Caleb because she had bought the girls ornaments last year, and wanted him to have one this year.

This....

is just a picture I love...Bekah is a Daddy's girl in very way....

Jesus celebrated Hanukkah...

Our church had a Hanukkah celebration on the 21st, the first night of Hanukkah. We learned about the celebration, and that Jesus celebrated it too. The girls and I got to take part by Hebrew Dancing. The little girls did the first dance with us, and I got to do two other dances...both of which are my favorite! It was a special night. Smallworld
made latkes and applesauce...very yummy!
My girls...

Halle and Elisa in their dancing dresses

Here we all are...very colorful and ready to dance...

Finally...

some pictures under the tree...

and getting our annual "kiss Caleb under the tree" pose

Our First Gingerbread House...

A little Christmas tour ....

I love decorating for Christmas, and this was our first one in our new home...here are a few of my favorite things...

Our tree...I love that the ornaments each have a story...one that someone made...someone gave us...our first Christmas ornaments...I love our tree! and my mom made the awesome tree skirt...which you can't really see...but it is really cute...

Our stockings...not traditional red and green, I know...another gift from my mom who is amazing at sewing. About four years ago, I wanted us all to have matching stockings, so I gave her our biggest one (we love stuffing them), and we went shopping. I decided to have the tops of the stockings be each of our favorite colors...Elisa was only one..so I took the liberty to choose hers...I was wrong! Mom also embroiders, so she put our names on them...not traditional, like I said...but very special to me...oh! and I like the greenery on the mantle...

Our nativity...again...a gift from my mom. It is called Fontanini, and I love the figures and the fact you can buy more than a village full of people and animals to go along with it. On the left side of the stable we have four "village people" who we picked out because their names are: Caleb, Rebekah, and Elisabeth...the other one's name is Gabriel. We actually bought him before we had kids, and it held a special meaning to me as I brought him out this year. Ironically, that was what we had named our baby who I miscarried earlier this year. Each person comes with a story of how they might have lived in Bethlehem....and they are beautiful....

I have this big picture in my entryway, which doesn't scream Christmas, and I knew I wanted this little tree on the table, so I wrapped it...the little tree has ornaments that are part of an advent calendar I did with the kids this year...each day of Advent had a little book that was an ornament and told a little bit of the Christmas story...we also put our Adorenament ornaments on it, which each have a different name for Jesus

And Christmas Eve...

We, and by that I mean, me, like to dress up for Christmas Eve service...I mean where else are my girls going to where their Christmas dresses..? Here are our Christmas Eve pictures....