Deck the Halls

Despite the craziness of this weekend, the Stannix's stuck with tradition and decorated for Christmas this afternoon. We typically do it the first Sunday of December which is almost always the same night as the Christmas devotional. It's such a great way to get into the Christmas spirit. This year we got our very first real tree! It's about twice the height of our usual tree which is as old as me and holds many Christmas memories (and lots of tinsel from my childhood days). Mr. Stannix and I got it in the stand last night after the kiddos went to bed and despite the fact that our tree stand claimed to be anti-tipping, it toppled over just as we turned out the lights for bed. We laughed, mopped up the floor, re-read the instructions, and set it back up the right way. The house smelled of Christmas all day today!

We spent our afternoon stringing lights and hanging decorations. Joseph has been so excited about Christmas trees this year. I suppose he doesn't remember much from last year.

Camilla is super a decorating and did her own thing.

Joseph concentrated very hard for this one!

Hyrum was pretty serious about decorating too! It's all business with this kid.

The bottom half of our tree was very well decorated by the end!

I just love these three! It took me a while to get Mr. H to crack a smile! I love the way the other two are looking at him so adoringly.

Joe helped Daddy decorate a bit more up top before we could get to our favorite part!

Putting the star on the top is always a highlight for the littles. Camilla did it last year, so Hyrum got a chance this year. 

There is something so magical about the Christmas season, the lights, the decorations, the spirit, the extra love. 

I sure love the special spirit these two bring into our home!

I also extra love these handsome boys of mine. One more week and we have Daddy home for good! 

After we had finished decorating there was some dancing and goofing around while we enjoyed the lights on the tree. This guy totally cracks me up lately. He's such a ham.

It was a super fun afternoon! The only bummer was packing up the car and heading out of town for the week. This week is Mike's last week in Calgary and we are all very excited! I'm glad we get to spend it together, even if it is in a tiny apartment. I am extra excited to get home next week to enjoy our tree and get to Christmas baking!