Project 365 | Week 52

Monday, December 21, 2009

Beth had her special Christmas program at Center Stage today. Joey and I got to watch her sing, dance, and we even got to see what they were learning in Karate. She had so fun and she did her part very well. They had a special visitor at the end of their performance and Santa came to visit!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

It was JJ’s last day of school today and we did the final preparations for Christmas. I started doing a bit of cleaning and then we got to babysit Baby Mallory while Uncle Cody and Aunt Becki did some shopping. The kids LOVED having a baby in the house!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

I didn’t get an advent calendar done/bought this year and I couldn’t figure out something to do to help the kids countdown the days. Then last week JJ brought home a countdown chain and it was perfect. Of course, we had to make one for Beth too. We got a little behind this week in taking a chain off because of all the activities, so the kids got to take 3 chains off tonight and that was just awesome.

I love our Christmas stockings. They were all made by my Aunt LaRae and it has been a family tradition. Mine of course is the oldest since I have had it for as long as I can remember and its so neat that Aunt LaRae has kept making them as our family has grown! My brothers and sisters still have theirs and have them for their children too!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Today I did a cleaning of the house and it took all day. The kids were just so excited that it was Christmas Eve! The day was just way too long for them. But finally I finished cleaning and it was evening. Dad came home and we started our evening by having Pancakes and eggs for dinner! Then the kids got to open up 1 gift – their new Pjs! They loved them and was so excited to get into them. They had baths and jumped into their pjs. We watched JOY TO THE WORLD – a little 1/2 hour film by the church that talked about Jesus and his birth with music from the Tabernacle Choir. It was then time for Bed. I was so surprised how fast they went to sleep!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Day finally arrived and it was truly a wonderful day. The kids let us sleep in until 8:30 and it was amazing! Santa found us and brought the kids a Leapster 2 and some games for each of them. We have only had 1 Leapster and now we have 2 so they each can play at the same time. So great! They also got candy, play dough, and new toothbrushes.

Before opening presents, we had some breakfast and watched A KING IS BORN – the classic animated film that I watched every Christmas Eve growing up. I think it was wonderful to help the kids remember what Christmas is about and it was nice to do that before opening presents. The kids loved all their gifts and it was so awesome to hear how grateful they were for every present. Beth just kept saying, “Oh, I love it so much – thank you mommy.” Beth got a My Little Pony House with a pony, long-sleeved shirts and pants, Disney Princess Sticker/Coloring Book, Snowglobe, puzzle, Snow Boots, Winter Coat, and 4 amazing Princess Dresses. JJ got a Thomas the Train Set, Spiderman Legos, Bubbles, new shoes, winter coat, and snow boots. And the most amazing surprise of all was our last present. Joey surprised us with a WII! I had no idea, but he had been doing some extra contract work so he could save up and buy us one. It is so awesome. I have really been wanting to have one and now we do!

We spent the rest of Christmas playing with all of our new toys and just enjoying each other. I had a ham in the crockpot cooking all night so by noon it was done and we had a Funeral potatoes with our ham. SO GOOD!

Saturday, December 26, 2009
We spent all day in our pajamas playing with our new toys today, especially the Wii. It was so fun to watch our kids enjoy it and its something we can do together as a family. Right now the only thing we have that the kids can do is bowling, and they love it. They each have it down pretty good and its so fun to see them play. Beth already has a classic move of rolling the ball and ending with her legs crossed and the remote in the air! So cute!

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Unfortunately, we ended the Christmas week having colds. All of us just didn’t feel too well today so we stayed home from church and just relaxed. For Family Movie Night we watched our new movie that Santa brought us – UP. We had seen it in the theater and loved it and now we have it in our movie collection!

And here is my weekly layout:
I used my Christmas Wrap & Digital 365 Kits to create this layout!