Getting ready for Christmas

We got back from our Thanksgiving trips and felt a little behind on the Christmas season.  So, the next few weeks we played catch up.  The kids spent an evening checking out the Toys R Us catalogue, so they knew what to ask Santa for.

 

The last week in November we did our best to get our lights up outside.  We ran across a few strands of lights that were partly out. We spent time trying to figure out if we could fix the strands.  While checking the bulbs, Noah was standing over his brothers bossing them around (normal occurance).  John told him that if he would stop bossing people around and get to doing something we would go faster.  Ian chimes in “That’s the power of doing.” (from the Home Depot slogan). 


We got the tree on a Wednesday but waited till Sunday to decorate it.  Have to let the branches fall and put on the lights.  Then since we were doing other things too, it kept getting put off.  But after church on Sunday we took out the ornaments and got the tree done.  We are still going with the family Christmas photo album theme, instead of some designer looking tree.  I got a few pictures of the our family ornaments over the years.  I hadn’t planned on getting one this year, but saw the cart at the mall and couldn’t help myself.  John of course didn’t try and stop me.  I’m thinking next year I might have to go back and get one for 2006 when it was just four of us, then I will at least have one for every year we added to our family.  I guess I wasn’t thinking that year!

 

This year I noticed at the bottom of the tree we had a cluster of ornaments. I guess that is what happens when you have little kids, especially ones that are not willing to waiting for Mom or Dad to lift them up. I, of course, moved some of the ornaments around. We had a few falling off the tree before we even finished; just because they hadn’t put them on the branches very well. The kids enjoyed it until I tried to get a picture of them.

 

 

Throughout the weekdays I worked on getting the decorating done inside the house.  I have to admit that it took me a while.  I think I finally just gave up trying to put some stuff out.  We got rid of some of our furniture this year and so we didn’t have very many places to put things.  Still looks festive.

 

 

 

Makaela and John put the lights on the little ceramic tree.  It was sweet to watch the daddy and daughter time.

 

 

 

Every night after the tree skirt was laid out Lady decided to take skirt out from under the tree and use it as a bed.  I finally decided to get some of the empty boxes and put them under the tree until we got a few presents wrapped. 

 

 

 

Putting out the Santa hats the little kids decided to put one on Elmo, so we took pictures.

 

 

This year every thing was out by the first full week in December, so only a little later than years before.  Note to self: Next year don’t fight John so much about getting things out in November, life can get really crazy, really fast!