Christmas Day

On Christmas morning we woke to the "chirping" of a smoke alarm low on battery. It was thankfully after 6:30am and not in the middle of the night. When I went to investigate, I could hear the children whispering downstairs. They had moved the bunk bed mattresses into the playroom and had a giant sleepover on Christmas eve (the chorus of snoring when I went to check on them will never be forgotten). Turns out the smoke alarm that needed it's batteries changed was literally the only one in the entire house high enough to need a ladder. So we listened to it go off every five minutes until we had finished gifts and breakfast. I'm sure when we watch the videos of Christmas morning in the future the sound of the smoke detector and the computerized woman's voice saying "low battery" will make us laugh. All in all, it was a pretty chill morning, and everyone had a great Christmas!

In the afternoon, I donned my apron to finish cooking Christmas dinner as I didn't want my new sweater to get stained. Lily saw me, scrunched her nose and said, "Mom, you look like a kitchen cleaner". 

We hosted my Uncle and the Sister Missionaries for Christmas dinner, and spent the rest of the evening relaxing, and listening to the children scream and giggle together over their new video game. It was nice to hear everyone getting along so well.

Here are some snippets from the morning...

Camilla and Hyrum both used their own money to buy each of their siblings a small gift. Lily was very grateful!

Camilla MADE me this beautiful cutting board with her own two hands and excitedly wrapped it and put it under the tree for me. She couldn't wait for me to open it. She did such a wonderful job. She burned the word "Homemade" in it because she and I always listen to that song by Jake Owen. It's so nice that I will likely never cut a thing on it, but it will make a great cheese and cracker board! 

And that's a wrap!

 

Christmas Eve

This Christmas Eve Sunday we were blessed to attend a beautiful church service filled with wonderful messages and a gentle Spirit. Since Daddy didn't have to go to any Bishopric meetings, we were able to have the morning all together as a family. The night before I had mentioned to the children that I'd like a family picture, so they all came up ready to go by 9am. 

 

We all arrived home from church feeling a little bit more of that Christmas Spirit that we've been seeking.

 

In the mid-afternoon Daddy donned his Grinch onesie and began the hours of making Grampy's Tacos. He's become quite the pro at it now, and having two pans going at once made things so much quicker this year! The children love to watch him toss and flip them in the air. It's really the best part of the whole process!

Once they were all stuffed with meat and folded together with toothpicks, Daddy fried them once more on each side, making the edges nice and crispy.

Camilla and I set both ends of the table with taco toppings and our special drink for the evening.

And once Daddy had fried the entire double batch, we all sat down to eat.

There was lots of "cheers" going on!

Once dinner was all cleaned up we gathered around the tree to open our Christmas jammies! Everyone was pretty excited (except for one who shall not be named).

We snapped a few pictures, and then cozied up to watch The Polar Express. Lily was sooo into the entire movie as she had never seen it before. 

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

 

A Double Date

After spending most of our day up in Edmonton for Sawyer to get some dental work done, we decided a date night was in order!

I made the kids some mac and cheese and then we invited my parents to join us in town at Cucina's. When we arrived it was very busy (and we hadn't made a reservation), but we frequent this place quite often and the hostess knows us well, so she snuck us into the back room. 

We enjoyed visiting with my parents away from the rest of the crowds before they head to my Sisters for Christmas. 

And the food was delicious!

 

Winter Solstice

This Winter solstice is definitely not as pretty as in years past. We have barely enough snow for a white Christmas and many parts of Alberta are currently quiet brown. It's been a very warm Winter. I am not complaining, but I do miss my snow flocked trees and frosty Winter mornings.

Thirty-Seven weeks already and on the countdown. We celebrated two kiddos birthdays this week and we are finishing up our Christmas shopping/wrapping. Everyone is excited for the last day of school tomorrow and we are hoping the worst of the sickness and germs are behind us so that we can enjoy our holidays!

And could somebody please tell my big kids to stop growing up so fast?!

Fin Turns NINE

Today Finley turned NINE! Fin brings a lot of laughter to our family. He is a big talker and loves to have a listening ear. He has a quick mind and is very witty. 

He is good at entertaining his younger siblings and making them feel loved. He makes friends easily and is very smart in school. He's kind hearted and likes to make people happy. 

We are so grateful he is ours! Happy birthday buddy!

Lily Joy is THREE

Lily Joy turned THREE today! Where does the time go?! We love her spunk and sass. When she opened her card from Gramma and Grampa, she 'read', "It says Happy Birthday to ME!". After the party she skipped around the table and shouted "Fank you everyone!" Lily is one smart cookie and also very observant. Nothing gets past her! She loves hanging around her older siblings, and pestering Sawyer. She is a snuggler and will often sleep cuddled right up next to whoever she is near. All she wanted for her birthday was a really big unicorn! We found her a stick unicorn that's blue and makes noise and she was thrilled. She is full of light and love and we are so glad she is ours! Happy birthday Miss Joy!!

 

Sunday Snapshot

Sisters on a Sunday...

 

Ugly Sweater Party

This morning Mr. Stannix and the boys went to the rink bright and early for a parents vs kids game. They all came back and filled the house with excited chatter as they recounted the events for me. It sounded like it was a lot of fun!

The rest of the day was filled with yard work, tidying, and grocery shopping as we prepared to host an Ugly Sweater Party in the evening. 

We had prepared quite a few appetizers, and those who came also brought something to share, which made for a really fun dinner/evening of finger food! 

I think we ended up with over forty people. We had Christmas music playing, kids running everywhere and a whole island full of yummy food and treats! Everyone was content to gather and visit and the games tables we had set out were hardly used. It was nice to see everyone enjoying their time together. 

Some people stayed until well after 10pm which was so fun! Once everyone had left, we quickly tidied up a few things, let the dogs out pee, and tucked everyone in. The kids were practically begging to go to bed!