My Christmas sweetheart.

New Traditions

Since my kids spent Christmas Eve with their dad,
I got to sleep in on Christmas morning (the one and only plus to this every-other-year bummer of a situation).

I enjoyed a long bike ride with my hubby before the kids arrived.

We stopped at the cemetery to leave some flowers for my mom and then I proceeded to get worked over on one of Lance's so-called short, easy rides.

We got home just in time to get showered and ready for the kids to get home.

It was our first Christmas as a new family.

We continued some old traditions and began some special new ones.

Lance even helped cook our Christmas dinner and may have made some of the best mashed potatoes I've ever tasted!

All in all, it was a good day...Lots of laughs, love, and good food.

What could be better?

Merry Christmas

Elfie

This is Mistletoe Elfie, our Elf on the Shelf.

Every night he leaves our house and heads to the North Pole to report to Santa all about the goings on in our home, but most importantly, the kids behavior for the day.

He shows back up in our home every morning in a different place.

He doesn't talk.

He can't be touched.

But, the kids can talk to him all they want.

Last night, I found Cal telling him all about his day.

The kids are totally enamoured with him and love searching for him every morning.

You can get your own Elf on the Shelf here.

Day 1

The advent calendar is up.

I try to mix it up with the activities we do as a family.

Some are religious, some are of service, and some are just plain fun.

For day 1, we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on video and put up our own Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

By Christmas, I am usually exhausted and have grown so tired of the daily activities.

But, I know we are creating some wonderful memories for the kids.

If you have any great ideas, let me know.
(I don't decide what we'll do until the night before ☺)

Disneyland

The week before Thanksgiving, my sister and I packed up the kids and headed for Disneyland.

I've never seen Disney decorated for Christmas and it definitely was beautiful.

I did Disney in style~ in a wheelchair!

No waiting,

no lines,

no complaining.