Our Christmas

This Christmas season has gone by so fast, I feel like it always does.  Besides the fact that both my kids spiked fevers and were miserable, it was fun of my favorites.  It was the first year that I have been super intentional about the things will do, and the things we will not do, and it was fantastic.  We should have cultivated this approach years ago.

The freedom that has come with this decisions, and they difference it has made in my kids overall December behavior has been so awesome.  They were not stretched thin, overtired, and overstimulated, or on a constant sugar rush.  That alone made everything so much more enjoyable.

Ian got hit the worse with a croup, he was out for days, and barely made it to Christmas morning.  We has a slow Christmas morning, and by mid-morning he was feeling so much better, that we decided to go ahead with our plans and head to Oklahoma to spend some time with my au-pair family.

I was thrilled that my kids actually slept in on Christmas day, most people who know us well know that my kids do not sleep in at all, never have and probably never will.  So I was delighted when on Christmas we didn't have the extra early 05:30 wake up call - score!

We were able to get up slowly, and make some tea, turn on the twinkly lights, our fake fire place, and just get lost in the beauty of it all.

Christmas makes me so happy, and I love having kids to share it with - it makes everything so much more exciting!

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I love our slow Christmas morning, and it just gets better and better, because the kids are getting older, more patient, and love taking their time opening up each gift.  Marveling over it - so much fun.

We tend to always forget the stockings - ha.  So this year we decided to open them first, and it was so fun - we might have to start a new tradition of opening them the night before Christmas.

  And on to the gifts we go...

It was a fabulous morning of opening gifts and hanging around, we made a leisurely breakfast of waffles (my oven is still broken, so I had to improvise) - I also splurged and bought for figs because after the fig waffles in Albuquerque I just couldn't help myself.

I do love a slow breakfast splurge morning.

    

Since we changed our plans and Ian was on the mend, we decided to go ahead with our original plan to head to Oklahoma the next day, so I spend the remainder of the day packing for our trip, while making a super delicious Christmas lunch.  Bonus points, both kids ate it and loved it!

We totally botched our family picture by the tree, by the time I got done packing, it was late and Ian was emotionally drained, so we just skipped it all together.  I am kind of sad but o well.

It was differently a different Christmas, but we did have a great time, and it was nice to just be home with Nate and the kids.

I am thankful for these three, and the adventure and light they bring to my life.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

PS.  The kids and I are loving our time here in Oklahoma City, and will be returning home in a few days!