From Our Home to Yours

May you all feel the love of God this Christmas day and throughout the New Year!

Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Now THAT is good news!!

Merry Christmas!

Our Day

We have had the best week.  I do have to say that even though working full time does bring with it a lot of hustle and bustle and rough patches here and there, these breaks are so refreshing to simply enjoy the little things.  Getting to walk Cameron into school, being there at the bus stop, not rushing bed time and enjoying simply waking up and staying home has been so relaxing and fun.  We have done a little bit of everything...daycare(yes, mommy takes a day for herself to get things done--one of the perks of having an established daycare!), baking, playing, organizing, shopping, wrapping and family time just to name a few! Here is a snapshot of a day in the life of Christmas break.....

The first fun part of my day was waking up with these 2 handsome and oh so big boys!

(NOW they decide to sit nice to one another and both smile AFTER the Christmas cards have been mailed!)

We were going to go decorate cookies later in the day so I thought it would be fun to make some cookies and memories with the boys and make some to bring along!  Oh dear.  By the time we were done flour was all over them(and I only made them from a bag!), Haiden had way too many nibbles of dough and Cameron wanted to play with the dough.  Sweating mother?  Yes!

Yes, I know what you may be thinking!!  No, I do not have any cookie cutters so I had to improvise.  And after this escapade,  I will hold off putting them on my Christmas list!  Cameron did really well with cutting them out as long as Haiden did not bug him ;)

Showing me his taste test and being the ham he is!

Cameron at work while little man tries to sneak another little piece of the dough..can you see his little finger?!

Then we made a fun fort....over and over again ;)

We ran a few last minute errands and then went to meet Daddy for lunch at Logan's!

Going out to eat is finally starting to become more enjoyable and to the point where Tor and I can actually carry on a conversation(while still trying to hide the salt, pepper and knives from Haiden!)

Then it was off to our annual cookie decorating with the Vruggink cousins.

Concentrating very hard on his creation!  Not sure where the cookie is on his plate?  I think it might be the big white blob?!  I was too occupied with this one.....

Notice the trend in our cooking today?  More tasting then doing!  Oh this child keeps me busy!! 

We watched a Christmas movie before bed(where I actually sat down with them to watch instead of unpacking and packing bags or making lunches) and then I got to tackling wrapping!

Somehow the husband was with me but was doing this...

(I quick snapped this and he asked if I was going to put it on here..ha!) And please pay no attention to my messy house in the background...more on that to come!)

And 3 and a half hours later(while watching my own non-animated Christmas movie)....

And with 3 days to spare ;)

Oldies but Goodies

Life shall we say has been a little busy lately.  This time of year does add a sense of "extra busyness" and lately I have been trying to tell myself to slow down.  I have not enjoyed just being with my boys nor have I taken the time to meditate more on what the true meaning this season brings.  I live in THE blessing because of the miracle of Jesus and the sacrifice of a God who loves me beyond measure.  I have life in abundance, to the full, till it overflows.  It's this I have been trying to remind myself of instead of the to-do lists that never seems to end.

So, in this busyness that has tried to push out the enjoyment of everyday life, I have not taken many pictures of things!  But here are some oldies but goodies of life with my boys.

I took this picture of the finished masterpiece the day we put it up.  Cameron was very into putting ALL the ornaments in the tub up(which means some that should have been donated or disposed of a long time ago!)  He did a great job placing them all in one spot--ha!  I did manage to get a few up higher ;)   I love it.

This is a nightly adventure in our house--wrestling.  Have I posted this picture before?!  The boys LOVE to wrestle.  And yes, usually someone gets hurt and there are usually some tears but not for long.  Cameron tries to get me to wrestle and he says he'll go soft on me!  Wonder where he heard that from?!

The other weekend we went to Chucky Cheese for the first time.  The boys LOVED it!  I did not get many pictures.  I was working up a sweat trying to keep with with Haiden and stopping him from sticking the coins in the wrong slots.

Second attempt on a Christmas card photo.  This session actually went better and we did get a pretty good shot.  This one came in a close second but that obviously is not Cameron's natural smile ;)

  I hope you all are able to take more than one moment to just give presence this season and enjoy the abundance of blessings all around you everyday--are you looking for them?  I am trying to!