"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'

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Finding New Traditions

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving we all loaded up in my SUV and headed out to a Christmas Tree Farm in Snohomish to find the perfect tree. I have always wanted to do this- we just never have.

It was a blast! The boys ran and ran, getting muddy and hiding from each other amongst the rows of trees as Matt and I took our task of finding the perfect tree very seriously.

We were excited because our rental house has a pitched ceiling and a huge front window in the family room. Perfect place for a really BIG tree! Also, this farm only charges $25 for ANY tree- no matter how big. Not to mention it was run by the sweetest couple ever.

What we didn't consider is that a much larger tree would require more trimmings than we keep on hand. So I gathered up some craft supplies(and bought a little to augment with) and we got to work making ornaments to fill our tree. I think it worked out ok in the end. When I post Christmas morning pics you'll see how it turned out.

It really is huge by the way. But Beautiful for sure! And I think we will stick with the tree farm as a tradition. Definitely an experience worth repeating.

What I woke up to this morning...

First I heard something hitting the window, then shouts of "mommy!" and "Elizabeth!" from outside...

Apparently my boys got up and bundled up to play in the snow first thing this morning, leaving me blissfully snoozing under the warm covers. The "something" hitting the window was snowballs of course. As I raised the shade I was greeted by 4 smiling faces. My Matt and my 2 sweet little boys had built for me a big cheerful snowman. Most of you who know me know that I adore Snowmen.

What a wonderful start to a chilly day of staying inside and loving on my family!

P.S. Bear with me as I slowly make adjustments to our blog. The goal is to keep it interesting (always has been) but of course I have struggled with this. Documenting the raising of my family has taken a backseat to actually raising them. I am working on my time management skills these days so lets see how this goes...

For now: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you who still actually check the blog for new posts!