Christmas happenings

Christmas is in full swing, as it always is around here the day after Thanksgiving. :)

We started off the season with a trip to the Lights of Christmas with some friends. It was a blast. 

Quickly in other non-Christmas related news, all my boys got hair cuts. All of them. As in Banden got his hair chopped off, nice and short! We haven't seen him with short hair in years!

He was starting to get too attached to the idea that long hair was his identity. I don't want my children to focus outward, so I was starting to worry about this. We talked about how long hair did not make him, what he was all about came from the inside. I told him I felt like it was time for a change and left it at that. We talked about it off and on for a few more weeks. Then I asked him if he was ready to try something new, and he agreed. So off to a hair stylist we went. I felt like it required more than a bathroom buzz haircut, and he adamantly told me he did not want it that short. ;) I was so worried if I was making the right choice or not, pushing him in this direction. While he was getting his hair cut he looked upset and at one point he looked like he might cry. My stomach hurt. I wanted him to come away with the right sort of lesson learned and not just be upset with me for pushing him into it. We didn't talk much on the way home, but I told him he was his handsome self as always and that he looked so much older! He went straight to the bathroom when we got home. He tried out different styles. He gazed at himself in the mirror. I waited nervously and tried to stay busy cleaning house. Finally he came out and walked up to me and gave me a hug and told me that he really liked it. That he like his hair both ways. I almost cried. I'm tearing up thinking about it. He's just so sweet. He told me that he was a little freaked out when his hair was falling in chunks on the floor, but now that he was use to it he thought it was fun and cool.

I think he will be sticking with this style for at least a while now. And I do believe he discovered that it truly doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, you are you no matter what! Which is why the inside matters most!!!

I love being able to clearly see his beautiful face. :)

Okay back to Christmas...

The house is fully decorated. :)

Christmas has exploded here...

My favorite thing by far is still my snow globe collection. Can't wait to see what they surprise me with this year!

I always put our last four Christmas pictures up on the mantle. :) I like to see how everyone changes and grows.

Made my own wreath again this year.

Pretty and simple centerpiece for the table.

Atty and I fell in love with this Christmas bird decoration. :) It glows, but you can't tell in this picture because of the flash on my camera.

We did the wrapped books again this year. My kids love it. I wrap up 24 Christmas books and every night in December all the way up to Christmas Eve my kids take turns picking a book, unwrapping it and then I read it to them before bed. :)

Festive! :)

My daughter got to sing up front at church with her sunday school group. It was sooooooo cute! She loves to sing and has talked about wanting to sing on stage. But she also felt shy about it and wasn't sure she would ever be able to.

Well she did, with her Teresa doll and all. They started with my favorite song, "Silent Night" which we sing together often. It really choked me up! To see her be so brave and sing so well.

Apparently Teresa was super tired when we got home and needed a nap. Leiella had us whispering and all.

We also volunteered last weekend to help pack food for Children of the Nations at a local church.

It was an amazing experience. :) But after we were done we were all super burnt out. I still needed to go grocery shopping so I impulsively decided to try taking them to a restaurant that I felt might possibly be able to serve our special dietary needs. Ryder and I love this restaurant but have never tried to feed Atty or Banden there. Well I am happy to say that it worked! They were awesome and even made a special sauce for the boys that worked on their diets. No one got sick and it was amazing! I'll admit I was pretty nervous that I was making a really bad impulsive choice and so relieved that it worked out. Sometimes it pays to be daring. ;) Atty has not eaten restaurant food since he started on his diet over four years ago! And Banden hasn't in almost two years. It was quite the treat for my hard working volunteers. :) And know we know that there is one place we can go out to eat as a family every once and a while. I can hardly describe how totally awesome that is. :)

Lots of fun stuff happening this season.

Can't wait to see my kids happy little faces on Christmas morning. :)

So Merry Christmas from our family to yours!