The Halls are Decked

This past week we have been very busy getting ready for Christmas. The halls are decked, and I've been adding a few new little things this year. One of my favorites is floating ornaments..I got the idea from someone else and thought it would be fun. So they are hanging over our island in the Kitchen. And I plan on changing it each season/holiday so check back to see what will be next.

I have also been busy making homemade candies. This is something my family does every year, we usually do it altogether but I had to work the day they did it so I just did it on my own. I had my nieces over last week and they had a great time helping with it. They also helped me make tags to go on the gifts. I added a new favorite this year called pretzel hugs. I posted it on the recipe blog you can check it out, I did Christmas M&M's this time. These are the little gifts boxes I filled with the homemade candy.

Not to mention the annual Christmas cards I send out. I know these probably aren't that important since most of the people we give them to we see quiet often. But I enjoy doing it and being able to look back each year and see what we did. This year I attempted to make digital cards (with the help of Gina) it was a lot harder than I thought. I'm not that savvy at photoshop yet, but I like how they turned out.

Well in the last week I was able to accomplish all the shopping, baking, mailing, and wrapping that I had to do and now I can just sit back and enjoy the season. I have also finished Birthday shopping for both my hubby and Tyler whose birthdays are the week after Christmas. Well I do still have to help my mom wrap, I am one of those weird people that really enjoys wrapping, and I don't have that much myself so I help her every year. I am also weird in the fact that I have to have matching wrapping paper and bows for that year. So this year you can see the colors below.

My sweet husband surprised me and bought tickets to The Forgotten Carols, which I am absolutely in love with. I have never seen it, but I could listen to the CD year round. It was so good and I loved it. We have attended two Christmas parties already and they both have been really fun. We had a big family party for my mom's side with games, and a pinata for the kids. And we had a surprise visit from Santa, which surprisingly Tyler was very upset about. He has been talking about Christmas and Santa for at least a month, but once he seen him forget it he wanted nothing to do with it. Oh well maybe next year. We also did a Sub for Santa and we brought all the gifts to the party. I took Tyler shopping with me and explained to him why we were buying gifts for other people. Hopefully he understood it somewhat. Then this past Friday we went to my Work Christmas party at the Little America. (pic below) I always love going to this because it's the one time a year we get to dress up nice and go to dinner, and the best part is we don't even have to pay for it, and the food is delicious. It's just a nice relaxing evening with no kids, and I always look forward to it.

Hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season as well.

Grateful for the SEASON!

I absolutely LOVE this time of year. It forces me to recognize all the things I have to be grateful for, I wish that I was aware of it more often. But these are just of few things I was thinking of today.

Thanksgiving..I know it usually gets skipped over. It seems we are all in a rush for Christmas to come. But I am glad we take the time to enjoy a day with our family. This year we were with Kevin's family, and we had so much fun.

Family...I don't know what I would do without them. It's like the old saying "You can't live with them, you can't live without them." It's so true, but I love them all. I'm glad they listen to me complain, and they are always willing to take care of my little man.

My Husband...He works so hard for us, and he hasn't had a lot of time over the past few years with every going on in his life. But he keeps going and for that I am grateful. I love him so much, and I can't imagine life without him.

My Little Boy...He is my everything I spend more time with him than anybody else, and although some days that makes me crazy. I am so grateful that I have all this one on one time with him, and I hope some day he will look back and remember it, and be glad. I know I'm not always the best at being a mom, but I'm glad I have the opportunity that I can improve.

My Savior...I know we tend to think of Christ more this time of year, but during this time in my life I need every reminder I can get to think of the wonderful blessings I have because of him. I have made it a goal lately that if ever I am down, I try to turn my mind and heart to the spirit. It doesn't usually take away the problem, but it helps me gain a different perspective and have peace. I am so blessed to know I have a Father in Heaven who is mindful of me, and that I have a wonderful brother who suffered for my sins so I would not have to.

The Temple...We went to temple square the other night to look at the lights, and I couldn't help but think how blessed we are to have all these beautiful temples so close by. I know I don't get there as often as I would like, but I love the spirit it brings just being on the temple grounds even when you can't make it inside.

Christmas...I love the music (I have been listening to it since before thanksgiving). The spirit of giving..my family does a sub for Santa every year, and this year Ty is old enough that we can actually explains to him that we are buying clothes for other little children that don't have as many as we do. And it makes me feel so good inside to know that we are helping others, and that I can show that to him so he understands. And especially the reason for the season..CHRIST, also this year we are trying to get Tyler to understand more why we celebrate Christmas, I figure if he can understand about Santa, he needs to know about the birth of our Savior.