"Oh Christmas tree..."

This past Friday, we picked Ryder up from school and we went and picked out our tree...  Man did we have some fun!

Our tradition is to get some In N' Out so that we do the whole shopping and decorating on full stomaches:

A christmas tree lot always smells so good!

 Checking for holes.  Yep, this was the one!

 The sweet guy who was working at the lot goes to our church and Kit had baptized him...

I mean how special is that!  Thanks Bruno!

Trimming...

The kids have been dancing together and they were spinning eachother and having the best time.

Then it was time for Eden to nap and to get serious about getting this guy decorated!

 One of our favorite ornaments:
I cry every time I read this note from our family!

 Our tree is full of home made garlands of beads, buttons, and tied felt pieces.  There are ornaments that I have made and some that have been given to us.  There are framed pictures of the kids' first christmas that they LOVE to find each year! Our tree topper is a yarn covered wire star that just makes me so happy to see each year! I just love decorating the tree...❤︎

 Ryder took these:

The best part of the tree is watching the absolute WONDER that occurs every time the kids see it!

I love this time of year and I love that we continue to make memories in this house!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Our church has an annual tradition for our families called "'Twas the Night" and it was held this past Friday night.  Our family ministry staff puts on a play of "The Grinch"... There is hot chocolate and cookies and the kids come in their jammies.  The kids look forward to it every year and I love watching them enjoy themselves on such a special night! 

I just love our church and the family that it has become over the years.  It is a HUGE blessing!

let it snow...

or snow"flake" in this case...❤︎

A little pre dinner entertainment of arts and crafts:

We had some fun!
The next day, we decided to take our snowflakes and decorate Kit's office.  

We also decided to bring hot banana bread to our friends at church too!
The whole experience was really sweet and I think I might have to make this some sort of tradition while the kiddos are little!❤︎

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, we have been having some fun pulling out our christmas decorations!

Inside:

Our entry way and family room:

Yep, even the antlers got in on the action:

The dining room:

The fireplace room:

 I have such fun decorating my metal board that Kit made me.  
Pom pom garland just seemed to fit this year!

Tiny garland and tree in Ryder's room:

I have also had some fun with a few clothing items this year that I have put me in the Christmas spirit...

...while I get to wrap gifts for people that I love:

Outside:

Oh this is such a fun time of year!  This Friday we are getting our tree and I can't wait to pull out all those special decorations!

the giving tree

On Tuesday night, instead of our regular Life Group meeting, we decided to meet for dinner and then shop for "The Giving Tree" for our church.  We talked about it though out the the week with our kiddos, letting them know that they were going to be picking out toys for other girls and boys and from the ages of 5-10 years old.  We took the gift cards that our church had donated to pick out the gifts.  I have never been able to do the shopping for "The Giving Tree" and it was really special for the kiddos to be part of!

Forgive the blurriness.  

Having 14 kids sit still in the toy isle is no easy task...

 It was such a special night and I am so thankful for not only our Life Group, but that we get to have memories and experiences like this as families!
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Ryder picked a Nerf Gun and a Star Wars Lego set for the boy gifts and Eden picked a mini Frozen Ana and Elsa doll and an Elsa Barbie.  Both kept saying "This is really cool mom, I hope they like it as much as I do!"❤︎