Taylor

Christmas Preparation

We have our new number system to help Ty count down.  I made it for partially selfish reasons.  Every day Ty wakes up and asks how many days until Christmas.  Then again at breakfast, snack, second breakfast, lunch, snack....your catching on.

Now we just point upstairs and he runs and counts himself.  

Bliss.

We give the kids their own tree, to decorate and redecorate and to put all the lovely sweet ornaments they make, and even a few my my younger years.  They love having their own tree.  By seasons end the ornaments are strewn and chewed and broken... I suppose I love that they have a tree they can enjoy which invariably means destroy, and it doesn't break my heart to see it tipped over or sat upon.  If that's how you enjoy your tree, rock that.  I personally prefer to sit on the couch and look at mine but adults are boring and predictable.  

 Part of our Christmas was our last order of long term food storage.  Oh happy day!  If the world ends tomorrow we can feed our family for a good deal of time. . . hopefully they are right and it equates to one year.  As of right now we will enjoy a bounteous feast of oats, black beans, rice, and wheat pearls.  Yum.

We tried out our new advents calendar this year.  It was lovely watching them get excited to open the activity/craft/lesson/nativity person each day.  We did have a little treat in each stocking until a certain day when some certain friends realized their were treats and enjoyed an early Christmas feast.  Their favorite stockings were our RACKed activities.  Random Acts of Christmas Kindness.  A lovely woman does this each year and we decided to adopt her tradition.  We had a ball taping quarters to vending machines and parking meters.  We loved getting up early to run to Starbucks to get the boys teachers hot cocoa and a goodie.  Once our kids got over the hump of "well can't I have this quarter" "what do I get for doing this" and "I want a hot cocoa too" it was pure magic.  My sweet mother's hands will forever be sore for helping me make all of these little stockings and hats.

 Christmas Dance Party