The busiest and best time of the year

     From November through January we are busy in this house.  With Harper's birth, we were even busier this year.  Between Thanksgiving, birthdays, and Christmas, there's always a lot to plan for... but also a lot to look forward to.

Christmas this year was really good.  I did most of my shopping online and plan to keep that up in the future.  We got our tree early.. and even got to go back to the tree farm again to help my mom pick out hers.

     On Christmas Eve we went to church.  We first began attending our church on Christmas Eve three years ago.  I always say that making the decision to attend that evening was the best decision I ever made.  I truly believe that God led me and Brandon to our church.  We have grown so much there and my whole perspective on life has changed.  I've never once regretted my decision to place my faith and hope in Jesus.  Service was really inspiring this year and Harper did well in the nursery, which was great!  Later that evening, Brandon's dad made us dinner at home.

Christmas morning...

     I loved getting to watch Peyton open his presents this year.  We really took our time picking presents that we thought he would enjoy.  We didn't want to just get a whole bunch of gifts for the sake of getting gifts, so we chose five gifts for Peyton and two for Harper.  Christmas means so much more to me than it did in the past.  It is about spending time with family and giving, but the birth of Jesus, who came into this world in such a humble, vulnerable form as a baby, is why Christmas is so important.  It's more important to Brandon and I to teach our children about this event and it's significance than anything else on this day.  Next year we want to scale back even more.  I found the "4 Gift Rule" on Pinterest, and we're thinking of using this as a guide next year.

     As for this Christmas, I still think we did a pretty good job of keeping things under control.

     Christmas was even more special this year because it snowed on Christmas Eve.  It was the real first snowfall and it was completely unexpected.  Because it barely snowed at all last year, this was the first time Peyton got to play in the snow.  On Christmas morning, Brandon and Peyton went sledding in the backyard.

     Peyton and Harper got to spend a lot of time with several different cousins on Christmas day and later in the week.

Harper hung out... looking cute

     Christmas went by quickly, but our celebrations didn't end on the 25th.  I'll post again (soon hopefully) to recap the New Year, Brandon's birthday, my birthday, and Peyton's birthday.