How is it possible that it’s been a whole month since I last posted? I really need to get back in the habit of doing this!

I tried in vain to get a real family Christmas card this year. But two cancelled appointments and a camera malfunction later, I finally gave up. I did end up spending almost 2 hours (because I can be that slow and picky) on Shutterfly.com to do a custom card so I could get all the kids (and Abby) on a card.

Those two hours were worth it for the great deal I got!

Today wasn’t just about Christmas cards though. Every year (for the past several years), my Mother in Law picks a different color theme for Christmas. She has a white tree, so that makes it easy to do. If I can remember the years in order, these are the colors she’s used. Purple, Blue, Black/Silver/White (which was very elegant by the way), last year was Santa Claus theme, and this year is a pink or rose color. After Christmas is over she donates the decorations and ornaments to charity, which I think is an awesome thing to do. She buys the girls Christmas dresses to match the theme and it’s become a tradition to have their pictures made in those dresses. We usually get this done in October, but I was falling a bit behind this year.

I’ve had the appointment on the calender, knew it was coming, but was I really prepared? Of course not. It dawned on me yesterday that they don’t have dress shoes that fit anymore. So here Reagan and I go, before picking Hannah up from school, to shop for new shoes and socks, praying they fit Hannah since I don’t have time before the appointment to go back to the store. Thankfully I found something at the first store, and after Hannah wore them for a few minutes, she decided they fit ok.

Shortly after getting Hannah from school, we finally made it to JC Penny’s for their pictures, and I have to say my girls are little hams. But as soon as the posing is done, they are ready to go. My Mother In Law and I still have to pick out and order the pictures, which can take some time, so I promised the girls if they were good, we’d go see Santa when we were done (I’m not above bribing my kids if needed!).

20 minutes later we get to Santa’s workshop to discover Santa had just left to have dinner and feed his reindeer (at least that’s the story I told the girls), and wouldn’t be back for almost an hour. To pass the time we let the girls ride on Santa’s train, which had been moved to another part of the mall to make room for the hot tubs that have somehow been included in Santa’s workshop display. ‘Cause that makes a lot of sense! We grabbed a snack and got in line to wait our turn for the girls to see Santa. Now, I’ve not really made a big deal about Santa to the girls because I want them to know that the holiday is about celebrating Jesus’ birth, and not about Santa. But it’s hard to not get caught up in their excitement.

And I think going through the hoopla was worth it to see these smiling faces….

And No, they aren’t wearing makeup, just a little bit of gloss to match their dresses. Although if Hannah had her way, she’d be in full makeup. Now if I can just muster up enough energy tomorrow to put up the Christmas tree, we’ll be well on our way to getting in the Christmas Spirit!

Merry Early Christmas!