Christmas Eve and Morning

I got cute jammies for the kids last year at the clearance sales, so of course I had to take some pictures. Makaylee my little instigator was having fun teasing her Papa.

and Grandpa

Christmas morning was exciting. Caleb and Makaylee were elated with each gift. Makaylee even thought the boxes were great.

We have gone back and forth on whether or not we wanted to make Santa a part of our family's Christmas tradition. Our conclusion was to really not talk about it and just down play his role for now. We did the stocking and unwrapped gifts, but we didn't say they were from Santa. I think it has been such a tough decision, because we both grew up with Santa. It was fun and if you watch Miracle on 34th Street there is a part of Santa that is full of innocence, and fantasy that is valuable for stretching children's imagination. I really think for me Christmas was about getting gifts and we definitely want to communicate a different message of Christmas to the kiddos. They both got a ton of fun toys. Caleb was thrilled about his dinosaur PJ's from Grandpa.

After, probably two hours of opening presents and two pretty overstimulated kids we took a little break and played with the fun toys.


This is Pleo. Thanks Uncle Bennett. He is the perfect pet for the Ruiz family. You just take out his battery when you don't want to deal with him.

Makaylee couldn't have been any cuter in her Mrs. Claus outfit. She also was excited about her hello kitty purse. She is rough and tough with her brother, but she loves purses and lipgloss.

Snowman

Caleb absolutely loves playing in the snow and we had so much fun making our first family snowman together. I really think mommy and daddy enjoyed the activity as much as the little man. Of course, we had to take a break from the hard work to have a snowball fight.






Then it was back to work. The snow was extremely fluffy so getting it to stick took some water. It was pretty comical to watch as we walked around the yard watering the snow.

Spirit of Nativity

We made the nativity scene out of playdoh and the kids loved this. Makaylee enjoyed a few bits and Caleb enjoyed mixing black and red. If you notice we had a few additions (friendly crocs) to the regular nativity scene.

Then we drew one on the chalk board. However, Caleb insisted we have a T-Rex lurking close by ready to attack.

Caleb signed his hard work with his name. He wanted to do it, "all by myself."

I also got most of the willow nativity. I really love this one.

We also thought it would be fun to celebrate this year with a birthday cake for Jesus. I thought this sight did a great job with a creative way to share with the kiddos.

Jesus Birthday Cake

Decking the Halls

I've really enjoyed decorating for Christmas this year. We are finally in a stable environment, so I've been very motivated. Caleb has been a great helper stringing the lights and encouraging me with how pretty everything looks. Makaylee on the other hand has been more of a hazard climbing up rock walls and breaking glass bulbs. She is so fascinated by the sparkle and shine she just can't help herself. She has to touch the "balballs".

We trimmed the trees.




Made the candles festive




Then we went outside and decorated our 8 Christmas trees. It was a little scary climbing up the ladder on unlevel ground. I felt a little like an acrobat in the circus.



Planted little trees in our pots out front.


Put wreaths on the windows and doors.


And finally, hung the cutest stockings on the mantle. I found them at the Potterybarn Outlet super cheap 2 years ago.

Learning to Enjoy

It seems so simple, but it was a light bulb moment for me as I listened to one of the Build Block speakers last night. The talk was regarding finding joy in your children. A topic that if I am honest has been a struggle at times in this toddler stage. Playing playdoh, breaking up sibling conflict or trying to get my children to eat one bit of something that will actually nourish their bodies is a part of each day. Often, I dread the prospect of living a repeat of the previous day. Needless to say this topic definitely grabbed my interest. She stated it as if it was "dah" everyone knows this, but it really caused me to reflect on whether or not I actually do the very thing she cautioned against. She said if you google enjoying your children what came up most often was getting them to do what you want them to do. Better said, manipulating your children into doing what you want them to do, so you can enjoy them. As I reflected on this I realized I do this much more often than my pride wants to admit. Sadly, but gratefully I was made aware how often I wish their little lives away waiting for them to change, so I can enjoy them more.

How do I overcome this? I don't have all the answers that is for sure, but her encouragement to look at myself when I'm in this battle was helpful. For example, it might be my high need to control fueling my frustration. I think most importantly I was reminded that God loves me too much to allow me to stay in my selfishness. Quite possibly He is using my dear ones to expose these weaknesses and grow me, so I can be more useful for Him. Most definitely, I see my people pleasing diminishing through my ever being humbled in public with two extremely hyper kiddos. She advised in times of feeling frazzled to go before the Lord and ask what He is doing? If nothing else this puts my heart in the right place.

All that being said, I would like to declare I am so grateful for the gift of two drastically different people that I have the privilege of raising. I have some thoughts on this topic, but I will save them for another day.

Palindrome

I thought this was awesome. In a culture where the norm is becoming the forward version of this video I'm praying to raise up Caleb and Makaylee so they believe the backward version.

A palindrome reads the same backwards as forward. This video reads the exact opposite backwards as forward. Not only does it read the opposite, the meaning is the exact opposite.

Competitive

Caleb has become quite the competitor lately. Actually he turns everything into a competition. It makes for lots of fun around here, but also for many tears. Tears because Caleb absolutely hates to lose. Daddy thinks that a healthy dose of learning to lose is necessary for character development, so frequently we are engaged in teaching moments. Cart racing has been a blast, a little rough on the hardwood floors, but so worth the fun.

Serenade and Spiritual Wisdom

Tis the Season

We are definitely getting into the Christmas mood around here. About half done with the shopping. Did I mention I love online shopping!!! We've been decorating, making Christmas cards and learning about the true meaning of Christmas. I picked up one of the fisher price nativity scenes from the store and the kids love it. It has been a great way to illustrate the story. They both love when I sing Away In a Manger. Baby Jesus' disappearing acts and one attack of T-Rex have made for extra fun with the set.



We attempted to make a gingerbread house, but in this sweet lovin family much of the decor went into our bellies and left for a pretty plan Jane house, but it was fun all the same.




We tried to get some cute family pictures nestled in our own family Christmas tree farm, and we were blessed with our first snow during the event. The kids enjoyed it, because I bribed with Lighting Mcqueens for every smile, but after awhile our hands went numb, so we headed inside.





This time of year always reminds me of how amazingly blessed we are to be in a Country where we are free to give thanks to our Father for the amazing gift of His Son.