Christmas Eve

It's not that often that we're all dressed up, so we have to snap a few family photos when it happens!

Christmas Eve gifts

 Everyone was allowed to open ONE gift after church on Christmas Eve.  Brady wasn't feeling well and was so tired that he almost opted to skip dinner and the gifts, but he powered through.

The kids put a lot of thought into their family gifts this year, with most things being homemade.  Brady gave up his Big Nate book as a gift for Rudy; he made basketball sugar cookies for James and the rolled paper tree for me.  Rudy made an angry bird ornament for Brady, Steelers magnets for James, and Jolly/Joy painted wood blocks for me.

Reindeer and other mischievous critters

Just some of the hijinks the reindeer got into this year...

Marshmallow roasting:

 

Football game with the other Christmas stuffed animals:
(I love how Grinch seems to look guilty!)

Santa replaced Brady's reindeer mid-season:


Jenga under the table:

Goldfishing:

 

Making a sugary breakfast mess:

They brought new socks for the kids, but had to try them on I guess:

Reindeer cannon:

Of course, we also have these critters who LOVE to sleep under the trees!

Why I love Williamsburg...

...because you run into Father Christmas strolling down the street, and he stops to give your kids hugs and candy canes!

With love, from Rudy

 

This was the thank you note that Rudy wrote to his teacher.  I almost made him rewrite it, but then decided that it's just so Rudy and that Mrs. Breeden would appreciate it. 

In case you can't decipher from the picture, it says:

Thank you for everything you gave Mrs. Breeden.  I can't rember what you gave me but a gian thanks.  from Rudy to Mrs. Breeden.

Snowman Day

Today was the much anticipated snowman day at school.  The kids have been looking forward to it all month.  The resource teachers put together rotations that included snowman cookie decorating, snowman ornament, freeze tag, and bean bag toss.   Unfortunately, Brady couldn't fight off the cooties for one more day (he's been trying to deny it all week), and had to stay home sick.  I volunteered with Rudy's class and then came home to take care of big brother.

Crafters

We finished up a few of our projects from earlier this week.  Did you notice Brady's helper?

Deficiency of Christmas Spirit

The boys stayed home from school yesterday, because they were suffering from a deficiency of Christmas spirit.  That's a real thing, right?

Their evenings are so busy, that we hadn't had any family time to bake, craft, and just be together.  I had already decided to keep them home before Friday's tragic events; after that, I had even less hesitation about keeping my babies home with me for a day! 

Sugar Cookies:

Making gifts...I can't reveal more specifics just yet...

Brady's rolled-paper tree.  I think it looks awesome and I've been dropping some pretty heavy hints about how much I love it...

Some more of the finished products...

Brady's angry bird:

My button tree.  Brady also made one as a gift.

My grinch:

Wood block nativity set.  Rudy made one for Teddy for Christmas.

Wrapping party

Our community adopted five local families through a non-profit organization.  Overall, we provided food, toys, clothes, books, and games for each family member.  This year, Brady and Rudy decided to use their charity jar money to buy toys for one of the children.  Between their charity savings, the money in their wallets, and a ToysRUs coupon they were able to purchase two Lego sets for the little boy.  They also helped wrap the gifts for the families...

Getting some help from Gavin...

Loading the gifts.  Other families in the neighborhood were coordinating the actual deliveries.

They even made it into the newspaper the next week: