By Tree Light

This time of year I love playing piano by tree-light while my furry pup curls up next to me...

Christmas Baking

 Today I managed to make a double batch of Christmas spice cookies and a batch of Sugar cookies. Joe sliced the Christmas cookies and placed them on the cookie sheet all by himself. Fin woke from his nap just in time to help cut out the sugar cookies. The last pan came out of the oven just before the big kids got home from school. I whipped up a batch of icing and pulled the sprinkles out of the back of the cupboard. We all squished at the little round table to decorate trees and stars. They each ate a couple and then I finished up and froze the rest for our give away tins. I love Christmas traditions, and I love my kids being little and excited about every little thing we do!

Ultra Organized

I texted this picture to Mr. Stannix and he laughed and told me that it was totally blog worthy, so here I am! Our girl likes to be super organized. She always sets her clothes out the night before and prepares well for school days. She has a morning routine that she likes to stick to and some days she writes herself little notes. I found this particular one when I was tidying up the toy room one afternoon. It made me smile because of the whole "give mom a hug" part. I love that I am important enough to be included on her morning list. Not only does she get herself ready in the morning but she's also super helpful when it comes to grabbing cloth diapers for Ollie and helping Hyrum keep his room tidy. This girl is a firecracker and we love her so much!

Deck the Halls

 Everybody slept in today, and it felt amazing! The morning was going so well until Ollie threw up his breakfast all over his church clothes, and then it was back into the bath for him. Daddy took the older three to church and I stayed home with our sick babe and a runny-nosed Fin. 

 Ollie went back to bed shortly after everyone left and fell asleep without complaint. 

 I spent the rest of the morning lugging Christmas boxes out of the storage room and pulling out a few things before the kids got home. 

 The house was so quite with Ollie napping and Fin playing quietly. It was actually nice to have a few moments of peace after a busy week. I was able to read my scriptures and have some time to plan out my week. 

 When the littles got home we ate a quick lunch, put on our Santa hats, and turned on some Christmas music. Daddy set up the tree and then we spent the afternoon decorating it!

 We quietly giggled at the size of the dents in some of our plastic Christmas balls while the littles exclaimed more than once how much they love Christmas. 

 For every ornament that went on, two fell off. The plastic balls bounced all over the livingroom and were quickly grabbed by an eager Finley.

 He loved decorating the tree so much that every single bottom branch had it's very own decoration. 

 The big kids were great at putting the decorations up high and filling in the holes. 

 It's so crazy how fast they're growing!!

 I am sure glad to be married to this guy. He's my very best friend! His hugs are the greatest and he puts up with a lot from me. Ha!

 Hyrum wanted to put the star on this year, but he wasn't quite brave enough to make it to the tippy-top of the ladder. Camilla fearlessly climbed on top and managed to get it mostly on. Daddy quickly fixed it after.

 Ollie slept through the whole thing and threw up shortly after he woke up. I cleaned up a puddle of puke, changed his clothes, and brought him out to see the tree.

 He shrieked in delight when Daddy showed him the lights, and it was the sweetest moment ever!

 They were super cute together.

 All of Finley's hard work was quickly undone by chubby baby hands. Every decoration that came off was strategically placed a tad higher up the tree.

 Oh the excitement! 

 This sweet girl has almost been with us an entire year now! She fits in so well with our crazy family and does great with the kids. She's used to the loud noises and the chaos and has a different relationship with each of the littles. 

 We spent our evening downstairs taking in the Christmas devotional. It's always a really great way to feel the spirit of the season. The music alone had tears welling in my eyes. I am so grateful for my Savior and all that he has done for me. 

We read a quick story from our advent book with a flashlight and blankets and then enjoyed a yummy apple pie before bed. Everytime I walk by the tree I get giddy inside. It really is the most wonderful time of the year!

Annual Nativity

 Every year our church puts on a fabulous Nativity display with Nativities from all over the world. We took the kids last night to help us get into the Christmas spirit. 

It was a slower evening and I enjoyed the peace and joy I felt as we walked around checking out the different displays. Ollie's favorite spot was in front of the fireplace.

Hyrum and Camilla did a fun little scavenger hunt counting how many igloos, or looking for special words or pictures.

I loved how cozy everything felt and I loved all of the lights! 

 It was done so well and really helped us remember the reason for the season.

 On the way home we stopped by the ball diamonds to check out the light display. It was so weird not to have snow crunching under our boots as we walked around.

The colorful lights and the smell of a wood burning fire took me to my happy place. This is one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. The littles each grabbed a candy cane at the end and then we went home and enjoyed homemade steamers while we watched our Light the World video.

Welcome December

December has arrived, but the snow has vanished. We've enjoyed some pretty great chinooks over the past week and while the weather has been amazing, I am kind of missing the snow!

The last few months of the year always fly by with three birthdays in our little family and Christmas prep. I've already baked and froze a batch of Soft Ginger Cookies, and Shortbread Cookies to enjoy over the holiday season. We've been trying to bake something every day as we prep gifts for friends and neighbors.

The littles are still not sleeping the greatest and every night feels like a giant game of musical beds. In the morning time, Reese runs upstairs and sniffs around until she figures out which bed I'm sleeping in. Joe has been in our bed every single night for almost three weeks now. Usually I end up in his by morning, and then he joins me around 5:00am and we sleep until Reese greets us.

I am getting excited to have the older two home for Christmas break. If I had the energy and organizational skills I would seriously consider homeschooling them. They love their classes, teachers, and friends right now though which is great! Every morning I have to fight Hyrum to dress warm. If he could have his way he would go to school in a sweater and running shoes every day. I don't want any sick kids though. It's quite the battle some days.

We've enjoyed getting out and walking around the neighborhood. There's a cute little old folks home just down the street and the cute ladies always wave at us as we walk to the park. It happens so often that Ollie automatically starts waving whenever we walk by the house even if there's no body in the window to wave back. It's super cute. Camilla wants to take her violin over and play Christmas songs for them. I love her big heart and desire to spread Christmas cheer.

I am looking forward to setting up our tree this weekend and adding a little more Hygge to our home. This month our family will be participating in the Light the World campaign and serving 25 ways in 25 days.

Happy Birthday Handsome

Today my handsome husband turns 32! I am so grateful for him and the love we share. He never ceases to amaze me each and every day with his determination and patience. He is kind, gentle, and loving. He works hard to have a special relationship with each of our five children and they all adore him. He is ever forgiving and always finds the best in people. 

He is just the right amount of adventurous for me and loves to explore new places. He enjoys a good hike, and cheers the littles right along side him. He loves the Lord and takes his church callings very seriously. He is one of the best teachers I know and I love watching him teach our children new things. I admire the way he sticks with a job until it's done (even though it makes me crazy sometimes).

 

He brings so much happiness and life to our family! I couldn't do what I do without him. He is my best friend and dear companion. He gets me and all of my quirks. I think he's pretty special! 

Happy birthday, Mike!!

End of an Era

For the last few months Mr. Stannix and I have been giggling about how old and ripped our basement couches were looking. It was getting so bad that the kids were pulling the foam out of the giant holes in the cushions. I had to start tucking blankets over the cushions in hopes of making them last a little bit longer.When the black Friday sales came, we decided to take advantage of them and purchase a new couch for the basement. We lugged our old ones out on the weekend and waited patiently for delivery day!

The new sectional came today, and the kids were super excited about it! It's so new smelling and nice. It looks huge in our basement, but there's enough room for everyone to fit! It's added a cozy touch to the room and I love it!

It's already getting played on, bounced on, sat on, layed on, and loved. Although I'm a little bit sad to be rid of our dear old college couches, I am definitely excited to enjoy family movie nights stretched out on the new one!

Cowboy Fin

Yesterday miss Reese went to the groomers for a few hours. Her hair was long and crazy! She came home looking much prettier than when she left, and is feeling good with her new cut!

We've had a rather slow afternoon. We hauled our old couches out on Saturday, so the kids have loved the extra space to run free! Fin found his cowboy slippers and enjoyed running around yelling "YEE-HAW!" and other crazy cowboy phrases. He's such a nut. I sure love him.

Lovely Weather

The weather was too good to stay inside today! We have all been suffering from a mild case of cabin fever and it felt SO good to get out and enjoy the sunshine and get some fresh air this morning! The boys have been at each other like crazy and Oliver's shrieking is getting harder and harder to listen to each day. Getting outside was our only solution! Fresh air and free play is medicine for the soul, and we all came in a whole lot happier than we left!

I scored an awesome one piece snow suit on the buy & sell site for Ollie and we took it for a test run today. It worked like a charm. After our walk around the block I had to practically drag him back into the house kicking and screaming. We walked right through the house with all our gear on and into the backyard for some more fun!

While the boys jumped and Ollie wandered around the yard exploring the fluffy white stuff, I put on some milk and brown sugar to warm on the stove. The kids love homemade steamers after a morning outside!

Oliver was in his glory, crawling, walking, and touching the snow. All I wanted to do was smooch his big red cheeks and nibble his double chin!

I can't get enough of this boy!

Lunch consisted of Christmas oranges, ham, cheese & crackers. The boys giggled as they drank their steamers and I snapped pictures of their plump, rosy cheeks.

 After cleaning and folding laundry, it was off to parent teacher interviews with the older two. While we waited on Camilla's teacher I snapped a quick picture of her story pinned up on the bulletin board. She loves to write!

 We finished off our evening with dinner at DQ. It was semi-chaotic, but didn't bother us too much. Maybe we're just used to it now. Ha! Everyone finished their burgers, picked at their fries, and devoured their ice cream. The sky was so pretty, I couldn't help but snap a picture. We live in such a beautiful world!