Then and Now

My least favorite part of the holiday season is packing up all the decorations and putting them away.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Thankfully, today is over and the packing up is done. (Well, except for the outside lights, but that's the hubby's department).

Yesterday...

Today...

What a relief!

Christmas Day

It's New Year's Day and I just realized that I never posted pictures of Christmas Day.

Clearly, I've been living in a post holiday fog consisting of too much sugar and not enough motivation.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the holiday fog though.

This year my side of the family celebrated Christmas at our house. Every year my mom usually hosts the festivities, and goes above and beyond to give us a special Christmas.. I really wanted to give her the year off this year, and let her be a guest for once.

I hope I succeeded, at least a little bit.

So, because things were slightly crazy Christmas morning, I really didn't get any pictures of our little family opening presents. That was probably partly due to the fact that the kids opened their gifts in stages. They opened one or two Christmas morning, some while my family was here, and some in the evening.

I like to think we were spreading Christmas out over the whole day. I'm pretty sure that won't work next year though when the kids are older.

We did have a treasure hunt for the boys in the morning with the end result being a Wii. They weren't sure what it was all about at first, but trust me, have figured it out this week. They love playing Mario Kart.

I have to say though, if Alex drives like he does on Mario Kart when he's sixteen, there is one parent who WON'T be riding along with him.

But I digress.

Here are some (belated) pictures of our day.

The table, waiting for the guests

The entire family, except for Craig who was taking the picture.

After lunch we opened presents and ate some more.


You think I'm kidding don't you? You see that table we ate lunch at? Yep, it was filled with snacks for the afternoon.


You know, just in case anybody was hungry.


It just wouldn't be Christmas with my family without lots of candy and cookies nobody is hungry for (but eats anyway).

Alex, with a gift my sister brought home from Russia. (You spin it and the chickens "eat" their food).

Thank you Grandpa for this gift- a hat with lights. The boys love them. I caught Drew under the covers the other afternoon with it on reading a book (while he was supposed to be taking a nap).

The person responsible for the gift-my dad. Apparently, the hat also makes Alex pose as a tough dude.

The boys had been begging to open these gifts for days. They looked huge in the basement. Yes, they were toys I had bought at a garage sale earlier in the summer. Hey, they won't know the difference, right? $5 for a Rescue Heroes boat and pirate ship? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!

Trying to figure out what exactly it was

Alex, where are you going??

The pirate ship:

I think the gifts were a hit!

It was a fun, exhausting day!

And I think everyone got enough to eat!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve we went to church, then went to Craig's parents house for dinner and presents.

The boys love grandma's house, especially if their older cousins, Tyler and Adam are going to be there.

And the fact they got presents also? Well, that just made the night complete!

Some pictures of our night:

The boys at home before leaving when we gave them their Yoder Lumber (or as Alex says, "Woder Lumber") jackets (with a truck on the back). They were a definite hit.

The cousins: Alex, Drew, Tyler and Adam. Alex, where are you??

Oh, there you are.

Opening presents...

One of Alex's favorite gifts.

And Drew's favorite...he's been talking about this gift for weeks!

Yes, I've heard LOTS about the "dinosaur that destroys the WHOLE city".

Every year Grandma makes the grandkids pajamas: Thanks Rhoda!

Apparently, these pajamas are also good for doing "super cool moves"

I think this face pretty much sums up the night:

"Cornhole" Christmas

I have Christmas pictures to upload and blog, but am still feeling the effects of too much turkey and apple dumplings.

In other words, I'm just too lazy to go through them, crop them and post them right now.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with family, laughter, gifts, and of course, lots of food.

My side of the family exchanges names each year, and two of the names we picked out of the hat this year were my dad and my brother.

Sigh.

Not only are they the hardest people to buy for in the family, they also don't give you any ideas or have a wish list.

"I don't know" is the standard answer when asked what they would like, or my personal favorite "whatever you think".

It sure doesn't give one much to work with.

Craig came up with the idea to make them both Cornhole games this year. Can I just tell you how nice it is to have a husband who is multi-talented?!

Craig enjoys woodworking and building things. He's made bookshelves for the kids, train tables and numerous other things over the years. In fact, I think he's beginning to dread Pottery Barn magazines coming in the mail. My wish list of things for him to build from that magazine keeps growing.

The only problem with this talent is that he has a regular job, a wife that likes him home in the evenings, and kids that love his attention. Oh, and since we moved, he doesn't have electricity in his shop.

Needless to say, my wish list keeps growing, but he really doesn't have the time or the set-up to make anything.

But this Christmas, he spent several evenings and Saturdays making these:

I'm so proud of him! I think the hubby did a great job!

Now, if only he had the time to finish my wish list...

Ironically, Craig's dad is also making some for us as part of our Christmas present. (I'd post pictures but they aren't done yet).

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

Just checking in to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I'll be back after Christmas with lots of photos and more regular blogging.

My Holiday Tour of Homes!

Welcome to my bloggy Christmas Tour of Homes! Grab some coffee or hot chocolate, (and most definitely a cookie) and take a peek at our house!

There's so much more I would like to do for Christmas in our house, but really anything is better than last year when we moved the week before Christmas. (Shudder). I'm not planning on doing that again anytime soon.

At least there is a decorated tree in our house this year. Oh, and lights outside. And no boxes cluttering the house, and ...

C'mon, let's get started, shall we?

Here is the view from the front lawn. It's a little difficult to see, but I think you can get the general idea.

And the front door...




Did you see those trees by the front door? I think they are my favorite purchase of the year. I bought them at a garage sale for $2.00. $2.00!!!!!


I know, I know...I'm sure people who know me in "real life" are tired of me talking about them, but seriously, $2.00?


Here's a close-up, just in case you missed them.


Opening the front door...


I call this tree the "kid's tree". Many of the ornaments on this tree were made in preschool. Let's not forget the train either.


Yes, it's loud and the kid's love it. No, I did not realize that it actually sounds like a real train and blows smoke when we bought it. I think the newness has finally worn off. That's a good thing.

Not that I don't like to be woke up at 6:00 by a blowing train whistle.

Hypothetically speaking of course. Ahem.

Making a left turn into the living room...here is a larger Christmas tree-without a train.



For some reason, all the pictures I took look like the tree is leaning. I promise it's not. Maybe it had something to do with the camera angle.


Let's head into the kitchen/dining area, shall we? Can you smell the cookies? I've been on a baking spree the last few days.

I am ready to throw my mixer out the window.

To say I am tired of baking would be an understatement.

Here is a picture of the mantle. You have to imagine a gas fireplace with a crackling fire beneath the mantle. When we moved (yes, a year ago) we had every intention of putting in a fireplace before moving day. In the craziness of moving/remodeling/selling we just never had time to go to the store and actually pick one out before we moved. Now that we've moved in, other more important things keep popping up.

You know, things like food and electricity.


Here is my snowman display on the kitchen counter. These poor snowmen have a had a hard life in our house with two boys. Their heads have been glued on various times. In fact, if you look closely you'll see the tallest one is missing part of his hat.

I like to think it adds character.


My ornament tree next to the snowmen and the kid's countdown the Christmas tree:





Let's go upstairs now!




Here is a picture of the pencil tree in the upstairs window.



A Christmas tree in Drew's room with an angel on top that he made in preschool last year:

A view of the entry from upstairs, looking down:



Thanks so much for stopping by! If you live close by, come on over. I've got plenty of cookies!

And, no, don't worry. I won't be throwing the mixer out the window anytime soon.

Be sure to head on over to Boomama's site (click on the link at the top of the post) and check out all the other homes!