Merry Christmas!

Santa and the kids

Santa Claus made a visit to the Pack meeting for the scouts, and all the kids (big and small) got to visit with him.

These pictures of William are so adorable! He doesn't quite have the hang of "what do you want for Christmas" talk, so each time we see Santa he asks for a candycane, and each time he is not disappointed. It's so cute!

William recently had an encouter with the tile floor at McDonald's, and as you can see the floor came out victorious. Poor little guy.

Each time Emma has seen Santa, her list for Christmas gets longer. My favorite thing that she asks for is "a bag of socks." One Santa chuckled and Emma said it was because "she can never find any when she needs them." LOL What a nut.

Patrick is so predictable, but he has only asked for 2 or 3 things, at the most. And it's always the same things. He's so serious too.

And here is the token Mommy and James photo. We were there too! (And, if any of you are wondering, I am using an Ergo carrier, courtesy of the Iveys who are always so generous, and am totally.in.love with it!!! I can't believe it's taken me this many babies to discover the joys of a good baby carrier.)

Christmas in my home

My big helpers to finish the tree.

" Is it time to open mine yet?"

The first bit of mischief this boy is into.

Our sacrifices and good deeds go into the manger as straw to make His bed soft.

My Fontanini creche!

They are homemade and look it, but they are finally all sewn. If I could only find the things to cross-stitch the rest of the names.

We are counting down the days!

Visit with Fr. Puigbo

We invited one of our parish priests over for dinner, and Fr. Juan said he would come, only if he could cook! I am not one to turn down a night off from cooking and we knew it would be delicious so we happily agreed to the terms. (And, to be honest, it was a good reason to kick start my Christmas cleaning! :)
Father came over and cooked his grandmother's recipe for paella. It was absolutely delicious, and the company was even better!

Grandma and Grandpa Reynolds came and shared the evening with us. It was perfect timing for Emma, as she got to borrow Grandma's hat for school the next day.

Thank you so much, Father! We can't wait to have you over again!

When you give your toddler the cell phone.....

...you should expect some things like this to show up on it. I thought he was taking a picture.

Cookie Time!

Emma was just amazing this year with our Speculaas cookies. Such a great helper, and did not tire of doing the cutting and rolling.

(The recipe is here)

We were joined by "Aunt Nichole" and her neice, and the two girls were peas in a pod. They were so cute with the flour everywhere. Don't you just love Emma's outfit?

Their favorite part was the flour containers.

I love this time for the cookies. It is so special to me to have this tradition with my kids.

December Odds and Ends

• We are enjoying our evening drives with all the Christmas lights everywhere. William shouts "AHOY!" every time he sees a house with lights on. I think maybe it's time to limit Jake and the Neverland Pirates for a bit.
  


• The first day of December I was awakened with noises from my kitchen along the lines of how to pronounce the word "Psalm" - one says it right, the other says "Pee-salm." The children are so excited to have their new advent calendars doors to open each day and have pulled out the Bible to look up the verse. And no, I did not tell them to do this. My mother's heart was so happy! I watched Patrick look up a verse, and he was in the the book of Isaiah, and he knew which way to go in the Bible to find the book of Psalms. I have to admit that I am not even sure which one comes first.



• I am finally the proud owner of a Fontanini nativity scene (or "creche")! My mother was so sweet to help me get this beautiful set, and she has already added to it. I have to say that I don't think Legos or the little green aliens from Toy Story belong in the empty manger. The elephant that has come to adore is okay, but not so sure about the sword-wielding lego Nijago guys. William felt it was important to not have the manger empty. (I was so close to getting a photo, and I hope he does it again because it was so cute how well they fit!)



• I am having such a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. I feel like I missed out on the season last year, and I was hoping this year would feel a little different, but I still feel overwhelmed. Maybe it's just that time of year.


• We made our Speculaas cookies for St. Nicholas day, and I was very sentimental in the process this year. My best helper this year was my Emma. She was a dough rolling and cutting pro this year, and it reminded me of all the years that I was the one spending all the time helping my sister Jenn. My brother and I were always her helpers with the big baking this time of year, and it made me so happy to share that with her.


• We have big news in the Reynolds family! Tommy's brother Paul is engaged! The kids are excited to be able to call their music teacher "Aunt Nichole." We are so happy for them, and ask for prayers as they begin their planning.


• We have a great Christmas card this year, thanks to a wonderful friend who offered to take pictures for us. They turned out great, even with a wiggly 3 year old who never stops moving or talking. She said we would do it again in the spring, and I can't wait! We are so grateful.