Traditions

I know most people dread their spouse's company Christmas party, but I actually looked forward to Victor's this year! I love the people Victor works with (well most of them anyway-hee hee). They are so much fun and just some of the nicest people. I even met a few new people that I just love as well! Yes Noel, you would be one of them!!! This year they did a casino theme and it was fun to get dressed up and have a night out with no kids!

Doesn't Victor look so handsome for his Christmas party? At the end of the night I had a million pictures, but none of us together!

As mentioned in an earlier post, I would be sharing a few of our holiday family traditions that everyone around my house loves. Starting on December 1st Conner's first words when he wakes up are, "Can I move the calendar now Mom?" For years I looked all over for a Christmas calendar. I have found soooo many adorable ones! Cute little Santa ones, fun reindeer ones, and cute snowman ones. So what is the problem? I REALLY wanted a Christmas calendar that had Christ in it! With so much going on around the holidays, and especially for a kid, much of the focus falls on Santa and what they will be getting. I wanted something to remind my kids the true meaning of Christmas.

I searched all over. I even got family and friends on board for my search. After about 3 years, I still never found one. I had one of Mary and Joseph growing up. They started out in Jerusalem and every day you moved them on their journey to Bethlehem and on December 25th we would put the baby in the manger. Just like Conner, I looked forward to moving it every day! I talked with my Mom and she had already given the calendar to my older sister but said she would help make me one. I reminded my Mom of my crafting abilities (which are nonexistent, Victor sews and irons at our house!) but she insisted that I do most of it. The calendar isn't the cutest dang one around, but we love it none the less.

Our Christmas Calendar

My crafty thoughtful Mom also put a little story book together for us. Every night in December is a different Christmas story for us to read. I swear I cry in every story. My favorite story is the Littlest Angel. The story had a new meaning to me this year. Over the summer our best friends lost their little boy. I think about our friends every day. So, when Conner read the first sentence to the story I immediately started to cry. I know that Ty is in heaven watching his family and has pieces of them to remember them by until they can be together as a family again. I will try and post a copy of the story later. I just love that dang story!!! And of course, the story book ends on December 25th with the Bible version of baby Jesus's birth.

Next up is family shopping! Conner has been saying all week that he wished it was Friday so we could have our family shopping day. We went to dinner and took the kids to pick out presents for each other and something for Victor and I. They had fun and were so cute. We told Zack to pick something out for Conner and he would point to something and say, "Ca Ca (that is what he calls Conner) dis." Then he would point to something else and keep saying the same thing. We told him he had to pick one thing and he says, "No, all." He did the same thing with Mason. So, we threw it all in the cart and left a trail of toys on the shelves as we made our way out of the store.

The boys before heading to dinner for family shop night

It was cold that night and even snowed so we had the kids all bundled up. Doesn't Mace look so cute in his little hat?

I left Zack and Mason with Vic while I took Conner to pick out something for his Dad. He was funny suggesting things. He kept asking, "Are you sure he will like this one? I just really want Dad to like it." What a sweetie!

Last up for the week is gingerbread houses! My Mom started making gingerbread houses with us when I was Conner's age and I loved it! It was a tradition I wanted to do with my family. I am so grateful for Costco! They make my life so much easier. They had gingerbread houses all packaged up with icing and candy, pretty much everything I needed in one box!

Conner went to town decorating his. He worked on it forever. Zack was thrilled to get some candy! As Victor put the houses together Zack was chowing piece after piece! I was worried he wasn't going to stop. I put him on my lap and started to put some frosting on his house and he had been watching Conner so he knew just what to do. He start sticking his pieces of candy on the house and if I wasn't moving fast enough he would hold a piece up for me to put icing on it and tell me, "Moe!" (which means more!).

One happy kid to be getting some candy!

The boys making their houses all pretty

All done!

Later that night when I was getting the kids in the tub and ready for bed Zack had disappeared. I found him downstairs with a chair pushed up to his house that he was picking candy off of! I am just so happy the boys had fun!

Yum Yum!