Can you believe it's over? It went by in a flash, and now I'm seeing people on Pinterest going nuts planning New Years Eve celebrations and pinning Valentine's Day ideas... It's insane, I tell you. I have taken down my tree, but everything else is still up. I'm not in a huge rush. I want to get some good ideas of how I want to redecorate once I do take everything down.
But here's one holiday decoration that will not be making it to storage.
Yep. THE wreath. It was destroyed in a tragic snowball accident. I guess it just was not meant to be. Sigh.
Oh well, at least I didn't spend any money on the thing.
So, our Christmas celebration was good. It was minimally documented since the batteries in the camera were low, and it was difficult to get the right setting to take decent pictures. I really need to learn how to use my camera better, or get a more sophisticated camera.
Here are a few shots that I did get that I figured were good enough to make it on here:
We had delish Cafe Rio inspired dinner at my sister's house on Christmas Eve. Meg was in heaven. We all were...
Christmas eve we traditionally get together with my family and exchange gifts and reenact the Nativity. This year we mixed it up a little and revived a tradition from our childhood and added a talent show. It was so, so cute! I will have to track down some better pictures. Megan sang a song in french, Max showed off his mad basketball dribbling skills (which was all the more impressive on carpet), and Sophie did her sweet jump rope routine. Most of the kids participated, and I'm sure we'll get even more of them next year.
Quite a crowd, right? So glad my little sis built a house that makes this event much more comfortable!
After the talent show, we got the kids dressed up in the amazing costumes that my sister-in-law's dad made. Max was a wise man. Sophie was Mary. Megan narrated. And Bryson had to pinch hit as a shepherd when some of the younger boys rebelled. {side note, I am beyond grateful that he was willing to do that! So many teenagers would be totally unwilling to participate with all of those little kids!}
I am sad I didn't get any pictures of the entire cast of the Nativity. Again, I will have to track some down.
Here we are bright and early Christmas Morning... Megan and Sophie had been up since 3a.m.! They couldn't get back to sleep. The rest of us got up at 6:45 and put them out of their agony.
They were all excited about their gifts. Especially Max. He wanted an iPod touch so bad, but I had convinced him that it wasn't going to happen. He was beyond happy when he opened it up... Sophie was my only one who was disappointed. She wanted a kid tablet called a Meep. Didn't get it. Oh well. 3 out of 4 isn't too bad.
So, I've been wanting some antlers for a while now. I have seen them in some home decorating pictures that I love, and if you are friends with me on Facebook, you know I've sent out a plea or two to find some.
My cute husband got some for me! I was super excited. They were a little bigger than I anticipated, so I'm still figuring out where they will be permanently, but here they are for now:
This was definitely an unforgettable Christmas season - for a variety of reasons. But I definitely felt the spirit of it, and am so grateful for some of the lessons that I have learned. As I look forward towards 2013, I feel certain that big changes are in the air. Hopefully for the good. But no matter what the new year brings, as long as I have my family, friends and faith, I know it will be a good one.
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xoxo