Our Christmas Celebrations

This whole month has just flown by! It seems like just yesterday we were walking down the road in search of our family tree...and there it was!

I sold our wagon since I thought we were moving, so this year we mixed it up a bit and did some extra running back and forth because the thought of hauling the tree home on our shoulders wasn't all that appealing, ha!

There were visits to Santa, lots of goodies to try from my Pinterest board (most were a hit, awesome!), and special things I hoped would be meaningful to our family. I was really hoping that all these little things would show everyone how much I love them and want them to feel cherished.

And of course there was this extra special Christmas surprise...

This is how our tree looked on Christmas morning, before anyone else was awake...well, technically, before I let Caleb come downstairs...everything looked shimmery from the all the candles, and I thought it looked so magical and beautiful.

When Caleb and I {finally} roused everyone, we raced downstairs and checked out the empty plate and coffee mug and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus...

some look more awake than others, huh?  =)

The kiddos have been thanking us all week for Ryder- they walk around saying, "I still can't believe we have a dog!" I love it!

 We went to my parent's church and the children were called down front to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and then they served birthday cake to the entire congregation! I thought that was so neat!

I was ultra organized with some things, but not with others, like Christmas dinner. I know, I know! I made due but it was nothing spectacular. The drinks and treats on the other hand were really great!  =)

 so fun and festive!

and a great way to use up leftover decorating gel & candy canes!

 the official taste-tester gave these a thumbs up!

 doesn't that look gorgeous!?!

 This was so much fun too! I was thrilled it actually worked! (ignore the weird lighting and color- my camera was yet again in the wrong mode and I just didn't realize until later, as in, when the cake was all gone.) The red and green were SO vibrant and pretty! The recipe called for white and green frosting, but we wanted some chocolate so I made a quick glaze and sprinkled snowflake candies all over. Thank you Pinterest!

We have had a wonderful week, going on hikes with Ryder, special dinners out, a little night swimming and ice cream sundaes for lunch! I must say it took a couple of days for me to get used to having a dog in the house, but he is a sweet, sweet boy! So far, Jonah has fallen asleep on him (yes, ON him) twice, he cuddles so nicely, and he doesn't run off or pull hard on the leash. He is the perfect dog for us and I'm so thankful I gave in and said yes!
There is one thing, though.

 

The kitties aren't quite convinced yet.

But I'm sure they'll be good friends in time!