Happy New Year’s Eve! I love this time of year. As I’ve previously mentioned, Christmas and the weeks leading up to it are some of my favorite. I love pretty much everything that comes along with Christmas… Shopping for presents (for others and a few for myself too 😉 ), wrapping presents, gathering as a family, our church’s Christmas service, talking to my kids about Jesus’ birthday, Christmas crafts, decorating the house, cheesy Christmas movies, Christmas music… You name it, I love it!
Four and a Half Christmases
We had a wonderful Christmas with our family. Well, actually multiple Christmases with different segments of our family. On the 16th, we celebrated with Adam’s family at our house. The kids had a blast together, and the adults changed it up a bit and played a gift exchange game that led to lots of laughter, which is usually the case with Adam’s family!
On the 21st, we had our individual family Christmas where the kids opened their presents from us, and Adam and I exchanged gifts. My gift of some warm work pants were a total fail, as they didn’t fit at ALL (and he later dropped a very strong hint that he would like a new winter coat, so that’s happening), but even after my new Anthropologie stockings and miter saw, he surprised me with a Sonos speaker for our kitchen. It’s been getting a ton of use, and I don’t know how we’ve lived without it for so long!
Kaden got the Percy Jackson book series and the PS4 he has been desperately hoping for (along with the Spiderman game), and Arabella received a bunch of clothes, a few books, and an Our Generation vet clinic for her American Girl dolls.
Our third Christmas celebration was with my side of the family at the lake.
Kaden’s favorite gifts were a massive Nerf gun and a super cool face mask for Nerf gun wars.
Arabella had three very specific Christmas requests this year:
- a baby sister
- a puppy
- a spy kit.
As I have very violent pregnancies (read: puking for eight months straight even while on anti-nausea drugs) and we are blessed to have two healthy children, the baby ship sailed long ago. I’ve been a steady NO on a dog for the last ten years, so that option was also off the table. Which means a spy kit needed to happen. Done.
Our fourth and fourth and a half Christmases came on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve we drove down from the lake to my mom’s brother’s house and hung out with a bunch of extended family on that side.
The kids had a blast hanging with my cousins’ kids, their second cousins twice removed (I think, it’s all just so confusing), and it was great for all of us adults to catch up and chat and eat delicious food.
On Christmas Day, most of the same crew drove up to the lake home and we hung out for a few hours there. All around, so much fun with family!
Other December Fun
Adam and I had the opportunity to take some clients of his to a Timberwolves game in mid December, and they also happen to send their kids to the same school as ours. It was so much fun because his work life and our personal lives rarely intersect, but on this rare opportunity when they did, we had a total blast! Of course I completely forgot to snap a picture of the six of us, but here’s a selfie Adam and I took before our friends arrived. I’m getting better at them… I usually don’t have crazy eyes anymore, so progress!
I helped out in Arabella’s classroom for their Christmas party, which was semi-chaotic because, you know, first graders, but so much fun! I was assigned to the ice cream cone Christmas tree decorating station, and it was a blast to see the creativity and individuality of those little six and seven year olds shine through!
Our church puts on an amazing Christmas service each year, and this year topped them all. It’s not often your Christmas service features a super well done mini-movie about an iPod time machine, stars your pastor and two of his kids (who can actually act!), and ends with a musical journey through time with the worship band covering various artists including Beyonce, Maroon 5, The Weeknd, and Imagine Dragons. Seriously So. Much. Fun.
I would have loved to attend a second time if we weren’t heading out of town right away!
After heading home from the lake the day after Christmas, Northern MN had a huge snowfall, so two days later we packed back up and drove back to the lake. We didn’t have any plans for New Year’s Eve, so it was a great opportunity to spend a bit more time with my sister and her husband, and also take the kids out snowmobiling. I’m currently typing this from the lake, and we’ll hang out here until New Year’s Day.
Kaden went on his first “big boy” solo ride outside of the yard, and Arabella rode on a snowmobile for the first time.
They both loved it and wanted to keep riding, which is a huge relief to this mama, because it’s in my blood!
New Years
We had a fabulous Christmas, and I hate to let go of that season, but maybe equally exciting is the New Year, a beautiful time of reflecting over the past year and looking forward to the one ahead.
New Year’s resolutions get a bad rap, but personally, I’m a fan. I think the key is to not only make resolutions, but also plan how you will keep them. It’s not enough to say, “I’m going to get into better shape.” Really breaking that goal down into bite size pieces allows you to actually accomplish it. For example, “I will go to the gym three times per week and work out another two times at home.” And then take it a step further and schedule those workouts into your calendar. I’ve found that if it’s not on my weekly calendar, the urgent replaces the important, and things I really want to accomplish end up falling through the cracks.
On that note, I have some exciting changes I’m looking forward to in 2019. I’ll be sharing more about that in the weeks and months to come, so stay tuned!
Office Sneak Peek
My office has been the never ending project. But I am getting close. The pink dresser that replaced my original shelving plan is in, my DIY gold canvas frames are built, and my mom gifted me with the gorgeous Spoonflower fabric I finally chose for my curtains. It will probably be another month before the office is entirely complete, but it’s fun to finally see the end in sight!
Here’s a little sneak peek of what’s happening in there. Forgive the terrible photo. Every single picture on this post was taken with my iPhone, with the exception of the pink stock photo above from SC Stockshop.
That just about wraps up my December and our 2018. What was your Christmas and NYE like? I’d love to hear about the highlights of your month (and year!) in the comments below!
