Christmas Merriment Recap

This Christmas season... it just happened SO fast! Here's a recap of some of our activities.

• The kids met Santa at a local craft fair. 

• Went to my parent's house for a few days with the kids and left Will at home to study. This was a celebration of me finishing my semester as well! Israel and I went to the Opelika Christmas parade. I got to visit with one of my long time best friends and her daughter, who is just a few weeks younger than Edith. 

E and my brother!

• Israel and Edith went to our UCP Christmas party, and saw Santa again! 

Israel wore this santa hat a lot this season. He was always so proud of himself when he wore it! Here he is with our awesome case manager, Margaret!

• We went to the Jacksonville Christmas parade, but only stayed about 20 minutes. It was not really a good parade, and it was at night after Israel had been at school, so Israel was super tired. 

• We had a Christmas party with our adult friends, played dirty santa, and all the kids were in another room with babysitters! It was really fun!

• Edith and Israel posed in front of our own Christmas tree. 

• We went to my parents' house the weekend before Christmas to celebrate with them. Will and I went on a REAL DATE and walked around Auburn. We also saw a movie with my sis-in-law. We had a family Christmas brunch at my aunt's house. Israel and Edith (and us!) were spoiled, and Israel got a lot of noisy, musical toys! I may have gained 5 pounds from the dessert table at my mom's house. 

• We had a McGee Christmas Eve with our little family of four, complete with Christmas Eve service at church and a "home cooked" meal by me! The kids sat with me during the service and they completely distracted everyone around us, especially during the communion time when Will was up front. The next morning, we had a big breakfast, opened presents with the kids, and then got ready to see more family. 

• Christmas morning we loaded up and went to Will's grandparents house in Birmingham. We saw extended family there, then drove to Scottsboro to Will's parents. We opened presents with his family the next morning, and the kids played with their cousins! Israel got more musical toys and we were all overly spoiled again. 

• We finally came home, settled down and un-decorated. Christmas is so refreshing as we read Advent scriptures, spend intentional time with family, and give gifts to others. I love this season and hate that it is such a short time each year. This year we did less than we normally do- we didn't really watch Christmas movies or play music, we decorated less and we spent less money. It just happened so fast. I'm thankful that I have such a precious family to enjoy this season with and that our needs are provided for. We're still in the thick of school and the chaos of small children, but during Christmas you are reminded to soak it in, take pictures, and enjoy this season for what it is. 

How was your Christmas season??