The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We filled up our week with some Christmas traditions!

Four batches of toffee, decorating gingerbread with friends, gingerbread houses at Westin's classroom (I was so happy to be able to go! One of our favorite babysitters is home from BYU for Christmas, so she watched Camden and Bennett while I was with Westin), driving around looking at lights, driving through the live nativity/Bethlehem set up at a nearby church, Christmas sacrament meeting with cinnamon rolls after, Christmas movies and books, one-on-one dates with the boys so they could buy a present for each other to exchange on Christmas Eve, present wrapping, treat drop offs, finished up some cross stitches, and finished each day with our 25 Days of Christ ornaments/book. I am so excited for Christmas with the boys! Last Christmas was hard with Michael's schedule and pregnancy nausea. I don't think I would've made it through Christmas Eve without Becca! We spent Christmas Eve together states apart as we just pushed each other through getting things done that day. Michael has two days off this week and I'm so excited.

Some favorite moments with each person this week:

When Bennett tells the dogs we watch "I love you, heh heh!"

(Heh heh is him sticking out his tongue and panting like a dog,

which is the name he calls all dogs. Like how he calls Kitty 'meow meow'".)

Watching Westin have so much fun with his ward friends decorating gingerbread cookies.

Smelling my house after baking those gingerbread cookies.

Going out for dumplings all together on Saturday night and watching the boys try to use chopsticks and figure out how to eat edamame. They were so cute.
When Westin walked by the pile of boxes (of Christmas presents that need to be wrapped) that had been there for maybe two weeks and said, "Whoa! That's a big pile of boxes!" like he had never seen them before haha.
Listening to Westin sing Rockin Around the Christmas tree ... "You will get a santa-little feeling, when you hear... voices singing let's be golly, deh da duh duh (mumbles away the last part because he has no idea what it says). Such a cutie.

This week felt like one of those times when you realize how much work it takes to play,

but I feel like we have had a really fun Christmas season and I'm so excited for this week. The last couple years I have felt a little bit of dread when the holidays came closer because of the work it takes to be intentional with all the parts of Christmas. But this year it came together so much better than the last couple years. I think a big part of it was doing free Amazon and Shipt trials plus my first Instacart order, so I seriously have not dragged my kids around any stores this whole season. I get drained so fast when I am out in holiday crowds and we really have accomplished quite a bit without setting foot in any stores.

I am grateful for this time of year to teach my kids even more about their Savior who loves them!

We're ready for Christmas!

Tonight I just sat with this view:



and listened to this song on repeat (thanks Becca), and this one too, and just sat with the feeling that change is coming. This has been such a sweet and simple Christmas season. This little tree by me, this home we're in. We've grown so much here these last few years. Soon we'll know what our next is. These are our last few weeks being fully in this stage without being lost in the next transition. And I can't help but mourn the sweetness of this little stage. Tiny people. Simple life. So much work for both Michael and for me, but just good, good efforts from both of us to build a good foundation for our family. Oh this little Christmas. I know I'm going to remember it forever. Christmas also has me a little inexplicably sad this season and I think that's because we are all homesick for heaven. And we can just feel that a little bit more during these days of being closer to Christ. I love my family so much. I love my Savior. I love the moments when I feel like I am close to Him and living life in the way that will help my kids get back to Him. I don't want Christmas to end this year. There is just so much happening on the other side of it. But I know there are things working together for our good, and everything will work out in the right way.

I am just weepy and wordy tonight.

Toffee time. He loved helping with this part.
Then he looked over at me mixing up the toffee on the stove and said,
"Whoa. That's a lot of butter."

It really helps to make your four batches of toffee when you really need to go to the grocery store.
I was quite pleased about this timing.

My kids love driving through "Bethlehem" and the live nativity at a nearby church.
This was the first year Michael was with us, so it's the first time we all got out after for the hot chocolate and cookies.
Everyone we met was so kind. I want to go to more community events and get out of our places of habit more.

Just reading at Christmas time. The best.

He hit 5 months this week! How!
He has rolled twice from stomach to back. Wakes up twice each night. Smiles SO much and is such a sweet, happy boy. Nurses so fast now and gets distracted by his brothers while eating, laughs when his brothers give him attention,
and is very content on our walks to take brother to school or pick him up.

They asked me to cut up a banana so they could have a picnic.
I'm not sure why it needed to be cut up for the picnic but they were being so cute,
so I decided to just cut up the banana.

My mom mailed me this picture of my family at Christmas time years ago.
I have it hung up by my Christmas cards right now and I love it so much.
It also makes me super nostalgic when I stop and look at it,
and makes me remember that time goes by so fast.

Brothers watching a Wild Kratts Christmas

Happy to be 5 months old!

Bennett loves this fleece that my friend Ami Bunker gave us years ago.
She gave it to me when Westin was 18 months old, even though it's a 3T fleece, and said,
"You're going to need this before you know it."
And now my second kid is wearing it. Blows my mind.

Westin tapes his kindergarten creations onto our hallway wall and I love it.

I found this note in the kitchen one day.
"Mom, I love you, I am sorry."
I don't even know what he's apologizing for. I thought it was the sweetest thing.

He chose what to write on the back of his teacher's Christmas cross stitches,
and I just helped him with the spelling.

He really really loves his teachers. So grateful he has such good ones!

Making gingerbread men.

Cookie decorating!

Ethan won for most decorated.
It was so fun watching them all be creative and just letting them go for it.

Bennett loves Luna!

I made two batches of dutch oven bread so that we could take one to a friend and experiment with one.
Michael put some herbs from his garden throughout this one plus some fresh parmesan cheese. It was delicious!
 He said, "Nothing's better than bread. It's better than any dessert there is."
It's probably true.

Everyone wants to help with Luna's walks!
Luna's family brought the boys that cute painted fish for Christmas when they dropped her off,
and Bennett carries it all around. So cute.

Michael's chief, Amit, from two years ago stopped by and he had fun seeing him!