Christmas Eve

This year was unique as we had the pleasure of having Nana in town for Christmas with the Hall side.  Anytime we get with family is considered a blessing and this will be a Christmas to remember for us all having all 3 Grandparents in one place.  For Christmas Eve, we woke up at our leisure and had breakfast tacos, fruit, and mimosas.  It was nice to relax and fix breakfast with coffee in our pajamas.  After breakfast, we opened one gift each as this was always the tradition with Christmas on the Hall side.  Cade and Caelin opened up gifts from Nana and were overjoyed to see the "bed tent" and Coszmo robot they wanted.  Man they are so spoiled!  We spent the day enjoying our gifts and then getting ready for the candlelight service at CFBC.  One of my favorite things is the candlelight serve each year.  It is a simple and beautiful reminder of why we are here and to share your light with others until the entire world shines.  Several times I was brought to tears thinking of Daddy, watching Gamee sing, smiling at Grampee listening, watching the kids with the candles, and holding Nana's hand.  In moments like this, I just wish time would pause and let me hold onto those memories a bit longer.  Unfortunately, I am well aware that time marches on and life doesn't wait.  We just have to take mental pictures and lock those memories in our hearts forever.  After the service, Gamee, Grampee and Corey all came over to our house for dinner.  After dinner, Charles read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" as our tradition, and the kids sprinkled reindeer food (oats and glitter) on the front lawn.  After the kids were snuggled into beds, all the adults helped Santa get ready for the morning.  What a perfect day!      

Jingle has been busy bringing laughter

Every morning we look forward to the laughter that Jingle brings.  Since our family loves jokes and pranks, she is an added bonus this time of year and we all have fun with her.  She has been busy bringing snowball fights, Elf Milk, Cookies to make for neighbors, putting streamers on the kids doors, wrapping herself in a spider web, reminding us to read the birth of Jesus in Luke 2, hiding in the silverware drawer, playing hopscotch in the hallway, sleeping in our tissue boxes, bringing kindness challenges, hiding candy canes around the house, and zip-lining.  We will be sad to see her go in 2 days.

Nana

This Christmas season has been extra blessed as Nana came into town over a week ago to help with Uncle Ray's surgery and then decided to stay through Christmas!  That is one hard thing about being married...splitting time during the holidays with 2 families you love.  So, when I realized this year I could have the best of both worlds in the same town, I cried.  If Daddy were here, he would be so proud of how strong Nana has been and even when she may feel like being alone, she chooses to be with us and enjoy this time of year.  There is a magic with kids during the holidays, but having both sets of parents in one place is like our own magic as adults.  We get the joys of doing simple things like movie nights, holiday baking, wrapping presents and more.  Today, I felt extra lucky as we were all together for church this morning.  I cannot wait for the next few days of celebration and memories!

Meeting Wolf

We had the best afternoon meeting our friend Sarah Fernandez' horse, Wolf.  It was the perfect sunshine weather for some outdoor fun.  Sarah was so kind and let us love on Wolf, brush him, ride him, see him jump and do tricks, and feeding him treats. The kids were so surprised and I love their faces when we pulled in to the Equestrian center. Cade's favorite parts were learning about his rescue and watching him bow. Caelin's favorite parts were kissing and hugging him.