Deck the Halls

Today we had a great Sunday morning (and I can't say that happens often). The children all slept in after our late night out last night, and there was minimal fighting. For the first time in forever I was able to shower and get ready for church while they slept. 

Lily wore one of her new dresses from H&M. She has many short sleeved Summer type dresses, but not many warmer Winter dresses. I just had to snap a picture of her and her big sis before we left for church!

After dinner, we lugged up our new tree and called my parents over to decorate with us. Mr. Stannix made sure to go big, and we now have a 12ft tree in our living room. It might take us a few days to sort out the furniture situation as the tree took the place of our couch.

 

The big kids were a huge help fluffing out the branches and getting it looking pretty.

The little ones played with the nativity sets and santa hats while they waited to decorate.

Joe was a big help securing the cords (that ended up later breaking) to keep the tree sturdy.

I had to grab a shot of Mike and his girls!

Sonny also joined us for a little bit (until it got too chaotic and everyone started tripping over each other).

This little lady knows all about ladders and loved climbing to the tippy top of this extra tall ladder. 

She wasn't feeling too hot and ended up falling asleep in her big sisters arms shortly after this pic was taken.

Sawyer is such a little elf and expressed so much excitement over finally being able to decorate the tree! He was so happy to put the "bells" on the tree.

This little lady slept through the entire decorating process. Daddy was happy to snuggle her while Camilla helped us out!

Hyrum put the star on this year and was able to get it just right.

We also enjoyed some festive rice krispy squares to keep our spirits bright. The kids started loosing steam near the end.

I am grateful for this Christmas season, to contemplate my relationship with the Saviour and what it means for me.

Sawyer searched his jammie drawer for the perfect Christmas pajamas. He couldn't wait to show us all at bedtime!

After the littles were tucked into bed and the furniture was arranged and the house was still, Camilla and I spent a few minutes tidying up the livingroom together. She wanted it to be perfectly cozy for morning scripture study. I was feeling so tired, and so grateful for her help! We enjoyed the low lighting and soft Christmas music while Sonny chewed his toy and hung out on the rug. 

Just as we were finishing up, Lily came out of her bed, fever burning, and cozied up on the couch. Her sister read her a few stories before finally going down to bed herself. It was quite late, and we had an early morning. 

I waited for the bread to come out of the oven, took some pictures of Lily sweetly resting, and then scooped her up and tucked her into bed.

This was such a beautiful sight to end the day to.