Preparing for Christmas

The month of December is a month of celebration and counting down to the joys of Christmas day.  This Christmas season was like most others and was just full of happy times together as we made our usual preparations for Christmas.  It was our first Christmas in our new home in Georgia, and it was baby Grayson's second Christmas with us.  It was a very fun and memorable Christmas season for us all!

We found a new Christmas tree farm where we could get a good ol' NC Frasier fir tree because there just isn't a better Christmas tree out there.  There is a reason why it is the type of tree usually preferred by the White House. 

We went to get our tree right after getting home from our vacation so I completely forgot to take the camera and had to take pictures with my phone. The scenery wasn't as photographic anyway.  

My crazy boys! 

Love these two big boys. 

These boys weren't too happy at being confined to the stroller, but there wasn't a good spot for them to be released. 

I did get some yummy homemade preserves from the farm, and we did see a little fall foliage on our drive. 

Decorating the tree is primarily my duty.  The boys enjoyed putting up their nativity set.  I love our family ornament from last year with all of our names on it. 

Brody helped hang his special ornament on the tree. 

And Grayson helped hang his. 

And Mattox's. 

There were several ornaments on the tree that Mattox could not resist playing with.  I just did a simple burlap bow and ribbon on our tree with colored lights this year.  We just loved the simpleness of our tree last year. 

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care. 

The special art we made last Christmas was also a favorite decoration.  I just added some gold trees and a bowl of ornaments to our table decor.  Mattie's tree, our special angel, and a nativity scene finish out the decor. 

Mattox and I had to make a little trip to the doctor with Grayson, and we liked the fun superhero tree in the waiting room. 

Brewster arrived a little later than normal...probably because he shipped himself UPS Ground.  Silly elf!  He brought chocolate though so all was forgiven. 

Brewster enjoyed "elfing" some of the kids' toy friends.  He also made himself a hammock to relax in the Christmas tree and found a cozy spot in Daddy's stocking. 

The boys and I enjoyed watching the beloved classic Frosty the Snowman. 

We also enjoyed some hot chocolate by the Christmas tree.  I love this mug with two of my cuties on it.  I guess I need one with all four on it.

My sweet babies enjoyed napping by the tree.  I painted my wooden sign for the Christmas season. 

Grayson has a little history of napping by the tree. So tiny at only a few days old last Christmas. 

We had the cutest little Santa and reindeer pair this year.  Cocoa was a good sport to wear the antlers.  Haha!

What a jolly little ol' Saint Nick. 

Brewster made a little candy cane hunt game for the boys.  

He really thinks highly of himself.  The only candy cane the boys couldn't find was the one behind the banana.  Haha! 

Grayson wanted a candy cane too! 

A picture of the boys all dressed for church in their Christmas best. 

I do love those boys! 

We took a drive to look at some Christmas lights.  Our neighborhood had some sweet traditional ones. 

We visited another newer neighborhood that had some really good ones.  This neighborhood has a lot of homes in the southern style with two story porches and balconies.  I really like it. 

The boys wore their pajamas and had cups of hot chocolate for the trip.  We liked the Mickey Mouse countdown to Christmas on someone's garage door. 

Just a little Christmas wonderland close to home. 

Wouldn't that be magical to drive through a lighted archway to get home?  I think I will put in a request to do that in the future.  

Our little house was dressed for the season too.  

We missed our old town's Santa mailbox where we mailed our letters to Santa and got responses back, but we used the mailbox at Macy's to send our letters this year. 

This Christmas event was a major fail.  A local Irish restaurant advertised a big Santa event where they would take pictures of the kids for you.  Eddie convinced me not to take my own pictures that day, and I never received any pictures.  Sigh.  The meal was also a bust.  They didn't have enough wait staff for the crowd (very poor planning on their part), and we waited over an hour for service and food.  We were seated quickly but just never got served or got food for a long time.  We had other plans that afternoon which were affected as well.  Sigh. The kids did get some goody bags and did meet Santa...just no pictures.  

Our elf got creative with Daddy's shaving cream on the bathroom mirror and on his own face.  Brody used his leftovers to make his own beard. 

I did not wrap any presents under the tree until a couple of days before Christmas, but Grayson still found them.  He came to find me and proudly show me some paper he had torn off.  Silly boy! 

After the shaving cream fiasco, Brewster needed a bath and was wrapped in a towel to dry off.  He also brought a special camera from the North Pole so Santa could personally spy on the boys.  Brody made Brewster a picture of himself. 

Our tree looked more complete with a few presents under it.  Mattox enjoyed playing with the nativity set, and we enjoyed reading our Christmas books. 

I love those little elves and reindeer. 

I had to get a picture of Grayson's reindeer booty.  These pajamas go all the way back to Evan's first Christmas when he was about 9 months old.  They were a little snug on one year old Grayson. 

Daddy taught Mattox how reindeer fight with their antlers. 

We attended Christmas Eve service at our church which just happened to fall on Sunday this year.  I wanted a picture of the boys in front of the church's tree.  

My sweet baby boy is ready for Christmas. 

At church, Evan was part of the Christmas video shoot to talk about what Christmas means.  When asked what the wise men brought to Jesus, he said "silver and gold."  Well, he got one out of three so that ain't bad.  Haha!  When I asked him and Brody these questions later, I loved their responses.  Obviously, Brody was on point with what to bring for a baby.  Evan knew his parents would need money and food too.  I have practical kids! 

Grayson got to eat his first candy cane. What a treat! 

Brewster started the Christmas Eve celebration by decorating for Baby Jesus's birthday party.  Then, Daddy prepared a yummy turkey feast for us.  I loved that conversation between Brody and Daddy.  So silly! 

My boys enjoying the feast.  Daddy kindly let me have a turkey leg.  We also had mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing/dressing, green bean casserole, and rolls.  The big boys wanted to drink out of fancy glasses.