Holiday Cheer

So it continues.

Christmas is in full swing here and we are loving it!  The house just seems so cozy with all the twinkling lights and cinnamon candles.

The kids last day of school was on Friday, and I could not be happier about it! It's going to be Pj's every day. ha ha haa. Ok, if you know me you know that is not how I roll.  But maybe we will have a few PJ days :)

I finished off this last week with a few holiday projects I had been waiting to do.  I think they are my favorites.

Mason Jars: Used up some leftovers from my sisters wedding! Jars, burlap, twine, various scrap paper and ribbon. 

Our little snow was fun! We just purchased our very first snow shovel. woot! ha haaa.  So Daddy shoveled the driveway, and Damon was uber excited to do the sidewalks.  Shortly after he came in and said it was done...

ummm, not.

A few more crafts, because really you can never have too much. Right?

My kids get confused on whose stocking is whose, so this year I added letters.  A little antique paint, twine for the boys and lace for the girls!

Little by little I am trying to change my Christmas color scheme.  I want gold, bronze, teal and bright red.  So I did a quick cheap project!

They look awesome in daylight and by night light!

The school Chrstimas sing a long.  Seriuosly, why can't they do it so parents can sit and not just stand around?

 I'm sorry, but this event 2 years in a row is just proved to be complete torture!  My kids are always  blocked by older kids, their songs are 30 seconds mixed in over an hour of waiting for them.  While trying to keep the younger kids quiet and entertained.  TORTURE! Luckily I went and snapped this shot before the rest of the grades piled in front.

And since there was nothing else I could get pictures of...

The story of the head wound is down farther in this post :)

Braddock is now a crawler.  And it all happened way too fast.  One day he lept for my phone, and then he army crawled for a few days,  now he is up on his knees and just about has the coordination down. I am denying that he is 8 months old.

I asked James to keep him entertained so I could do a few things.   So what did James do? He sat him down in front of the tv.

He was completely mesmerized.  Then, while I was being sneaky with the camera, he suddenly burst out laughing at the tv.

And kept doing so for a good 5 minutes.  It was hilarious!

Thursday started off like every other day around here.  Running kids to school, taking care of my duties at home.

As the day was coming to a close, the typical happens.  We eat dinner and my kids hit hyper mode.  Running around and playing and being loud.

Until, a certain little someone slipped on the kitchen floor and bashed their tiny little head into the edge of the wall.

WARNING: GAFFIC PICTURES FOLLOW

I know, she is bleeding like crazy and still cheeses it for the camera!

I knew right away it was bad. so I packed up all the kiddos, picked daddy up from work and we went to the ER.

The doctor came in to take a look and right off said she would need stitches inside and out.

They prenumbed and cleaned the wound.

Then gave her the real numbing shots. The guy who gave them said he went around it twice and she shouldn't feel a thing.  I tell ya, pinning her down and watching her scream is miserable.  I wanted to just take it all away so she didn't have to go through it!

This is when it gets worse.

The doctor comes back in  and starts cutting the wound.  It was really deep, and really jagged. So they had to slice it wider to give it a smooth edge to make it heal properly.  I couldn't watch.  James did, I held Lillies hands down and looked down from her face.  Then she lost it started screaming.  The numbing didn't take on one side. Are you kidding me?! So they had to do more numbing. then more slicing.  At this point her and I had locked eyes and I couldn't look away.  She was staying pretty calm.  They gave her 3 stitches inside and 10 stitches on the outside.

 

She is such a little trooper.  She amazes me.  Now she asks me to take pictures of her owie so she can see them :)

I hope everyone is having an amazing holiday season! 

I have been spending a special time each night with kids to do a countdown tradition. Which I just started this year.

Each night I have them go on a scavenger hunt around our home for a specific holiday decoration.  Then we talk about it's symbol and what it means. 

Examples:

Wreath- eternal life

Red- Christs blood shed for us

Candles/lights- the North Star telling the world of Jesus' birth

Shepherd and sheep- He is the shepherd and we are his sheep

The Christmas Tree- green is the color of ever lasting light.  And the pine needles always point upward toward Heaven.

The countdown will keep going. The last 2 are my favorite. Santa- How he represents kindness, charity, love, giving.  And of course, baby Jesus.  The whole reason for the holiday.

The kids are enjoying this and it is great to see them understand that Christmas is so much more than just gifts and candy.

oh the candy/sweets....... AUGH