All of the many adventures of December….

December is always a bit of a crazy month, but it is also such a magical time of year!  We had the opportunity to go and see Santa TWICE this year!  The first time was at the local grocery store, and the kids got candy canes and balloons!

The 2nd time was at the Orthodontist, and he brought Mrs. Claus with him this time!!  Lily and Jared had made letters about what they wanted and they were so cute giving them to him.  He tried to give them back to me, but Lily was having none of that!  They were for Santa, and he had to keep them!  All month long she was very concerned about Santa getting a present from her.  She is such a sweet caring little girl!

One of my absolutely favorite things that we did this year, was tweak our advent calendar just a bit.  I made one from a muffin tin several years ago, and this year, instead of a little treat for each day, we turned it into our “Service Advent Calendar”.  It was so much fun!  The kids really got into doing little acts of service for family and friends!  Some of my favorites were when Daddy got backrubs and kisses, call a family member to tell them you love them, and go caroling-which we went to quite a few of our families homes to do, and it was so darling!!!  I think this little reminder each day was just what our little family needed to help bring the Christmas spirit.  We also had a nightly Christmas scripture, song and story.  The first few nights, when nobody listened, I got quite frustrated, but near the middle of the month, the stories started to stick.  The day that Lily told me that “Christmas wasn’t about presents, it was about Love” was a sweet, sweet day, and let me know that I was {hopefully} doing something right!

It can’t be Christmastime without going downtown to see the lights!  We always look forward to our Temple Square outing.  Jared got pretty tired pretty fast and kept asking to go home, but the girls all loved the lights and could have stayed for much much longer!  Hopefully next year, we can spend a little bit more time!

We went with my parents and Dave to the Christmas sing-along at the ESA {aka Delta Center-as I will forever call it!}  It was a fun night out!  My kids loved the free donut and the fun singing!!  I loved that Colin Raye was the guest artist!  He is one of my favorite artists, and it was so fun to hear him!

The girls sang at their school Christmas program.  They did a great job!  It was very long, and Jared and Lily did AWESOME sitting there for almost 3 hours!  They are such troopers!

The girls had their dance recital.  They are all loving dance so much, and I enjoy watching them do what they love!

The also all loved our outing for ice cream after!  I don’t know why ice cream sounded good to them, since it was FREEZING, but it was fun, and grandma and grandpa were able to tag along with us too.

Another tradition that can’t be missed is the Garner Village Elves!  My dad had made copies of the little scavenger hunt, and the kids all loved finding the different elves.  They REALLY liked the cookie and cocoa they got at the end of our hunt!

Last, but not least, I had a wonderful time putting together their cute Christmas outfits, and the girls did a wonderful job singing in church! 

We had such a fun time during the Christmas season.  It’s always sad that it is over so soon, but I am glad for all of the memories we make together!!