December is always filled with lots of school activities and parties and then church parties, neighborhood parties, work parties, etc. Lots of parties and lots of fun!
Our first festive activity was our gingerbread house decorating. I decided to make the houses this year instead of using grahm crackers and it would have been great if the clock wasn't ticking and the kids weren't waiting. Next year I will make them a few days in advance. It was still fun though and the kids all enjoyed it and we had fun doing it.
Kiki ( Caroline) and Isabelle both had their winter dance performance which is always fun. I love seeing them develop their talents and then have the confidence to show them on the stage. It was a fun Christmas theme too, so that got us in the Christmas spirit. They both did a great job!
Our first party of the season was Brian's work party. It was downtown at a hotel in Denver on the coldest week of the year! It was sooooo cold! I had been trying to find something nice to wear and wanted a nice dress since I never dress up. I couldn't find anything modest that was pretty and I was getting frustrated! I had a black dress I'd worn before but it was knee length and then I didn't have any decent shoes to go with it and then I felt like it was "Mom" looking. I don't know. I was striking out everywhere. Then on the day before the party Brian said he wanted to go shopping with me. I had found a dress but it was straps and the jackets over it looked dumb so I was going to return it. We decided to run into Macy's but I was leery 'cause they're expensive. Brian was picking out all kinds of dresses and having me try them on. It was kind of fun and reminded me of a date we went on when we were in dental school and I just tried on all these prom dresses for fun. Some old guy came up to Brian and told him he was a lucky guy. Made my night! :) Anyway.... there was one we both liked and Brian said he wanted to buy it for me. He told me I couldn't look because that would make me not want to buy it and he wanted to buy it for me so that I felt pretty. It was a really sweet thing for him to do. I still had to buy a jacket to keep it modest, but I think it worked out pretty good. I loved the dress and I felt pretty all night. I got tons of compliments on it and really felt special that Brian cared enough to give me that kind of night.
We had a fun time eating and performing and socializing. Brian sang a couple of songs and I accompanied him and Chuck on one of them. They had a photo booth which was fun, and they had a cartoonist there who did a drawing of us. I'd never had that done but always thought it would be fun. It turned out so fun. There was also a parade going on outside the windows of the hotel and that was fun to see as well. It was a great night.
The next night was our ward party and we had a good time there. The decorations were fabulous and then we had some food and a little primary program where the kids sang a few songs and acted out the Christmas story. There were a few other songs in there as well where Brian sang one of them. After, there was the "special visitor" and he finished out the night. I volunteered to take the pictures for all the kids that came. That kept me a little busy, but it was fun. Good times.
After our Christmas parties, the kids had their school parties and then there were just various activities that led us up to Christmas day. To try and keep the spirit of Christ as our focus, we took a bunch of blankets that we had made and donated them to a homeless womens and childrens shelter. The kids had each picked out a fabric and we tied or sewed them. It was a great opportunity for us to work on serving together. Always feels wonderful to serve.
Christmas morning the kids were so excited and so were we. It's fun to watch them get excited and to enjoy the spirit of Christmas. We set up bells on the stairs so they have to ring them to wake us up so that we get to see their faces when they walk in the room. Apparently they woke up an hour before they rang the bells. They wanted to let us sleep in a little. How sweet is that?!
It was a lot of fun to watch all of them open their presents and to see the looks on their faces. Such a magical time, young and old. We were blessed to be able to give and receive gifts.
Later that day, we met up with our dental friends, the Skinners, Lopezes and Matthesons and enjoyed some food and playing games while the kids played around as well. We brought our chimes for everyone to try out a few songs and that was fun. Now that kids are getting older, we'll have to try them a little more to make it a real tradition.
Brian took off some time this year which made all the difference. We were able to enjoy fun as a family and relax as well. There was a house down the street that is totally decked out for Christmas! We had to go see it even though it was 2 days after Christmas. It was pretty amazing.
We also went to the Denver Museum and had fun checking out different things and seeing a fun 3D movie. We got rock band to go with the XBOX and got the Beatles games and it has been so much fun!!! Brian and the kids played for hours and then sometimes I'd catch just Brian playing by himself. It's a pretty fun game.
Of course on the Sunday after Christmas, we had to take some pictures of the kiddos in their new Christmas outfits, so we had our mini photo session and they kids did great. Glad we got a few shots of them looking all fancy.
The kids are in a great stage where they can find fun and not always need us so it's a little more relaxing. I'm sad to see them growing up but happy at the same time. We have some great kids and I love each of them so much!
December came and went and we finished up 2013 with a lot of fun!
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