Christmas on the farm

On the 26th, we loaded up and headed to Petersburg for Christmas with Bryan's family. The 26th is the Kirk Christmas so that is where we headed first! I think we only have video from our time here, I can't believe I didn't take one picture! This side of the family is huge and there are tons of kids 4 and under so Kade and Ella were in heaven and ran and played all day long! That night we went back to Meme and Gdad's and spent the next several days doing nothing! It was so wonderful and relaxing! On the 28th we did Bryan's immediate family Christmas and it is always so much fun! The kids looooove playing with their cousins! Once again, we did a terrible job taking pictures but I think that the videos are something we will treasure even more!

Christmas Day SNOW!

This year we woke up on Christmas morning to thunderstorms and by about noon it had switched over to snow and it fell for the rest of the afternoon! This was our 2 white Christmas in 4 years which is unbelievable in Texas! No complaints here, I LOVE snow! After the wind stopped blowing and the snow slowed down, we went out in the back yard to play some! Kade was a maniac, MANIAC! He was running and jumping, making snowballs, and made more snow angels than I can count. Ella was happy for about 2 minutes and then she wanted back in the heat!

What wonderful memories! I can't believe Kade is only 3 and this was his SECOND white Christmas! And that Ella experienced her first white Christmas at only ONE! Maybe they are lucky charms!

Christmas morning!

Christmas morning was so much fun! Kade was really hoping he would wake up to find and kitchen and the moment he saw it, he shouted "MY KITCHEN!!!!!" The kids played and played all morning long! Santa did joint gifts for Kade and Ella this year and it was perfect for them. Ella didn't have a clue what was going on and ran straight to her baby doll that Santa left. (He KNEW she would :)) We had our big country breakfast, cleaned up Santa's mess and then it was time for the present craziness at my parents house! I mean it is insane because there are so many of us and also because my parents SPOIL these kiddos! It was so fun and relaxing. We had such a wonderful Christmas this year!

 

 I think they were in the middle of saying, "No pictures and don't put this on Facebook!!"

 

Ella didn't last long opening presents and needed a nap!

 

Kade's big present from my parents was a home depot tool bench!

 

Bryan got a smoker from my parents! We are excited!

Christmas Cookies!

Christmas Eve, we baked Christmas cookies for SANTA! And let me say, it was exhausting for this Mama! I know it will get easier as the kids get older but this year, with a 3 and 1 year old, it was PURE CHAOS! Kade wanted to do everything himself, which is hard, and Ella just liked eating the dough! They were a MESS by the end! PURE AND SIMPLE EXHAUSTING CHAOS!

 

The amount of sprinkles under there is ridiculous, I was biting my tongue trying to let him do his own thing..

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was fantastic this year! We had our traditional monkey bread for breakfast, then cookies for Santa, playing, cooking, relaxing, and then we went to the candle light Christmas service at Kade's preschool/church. Our church did a Christmas Eve Eve service that we attended that the day before. The Christmas eve service is my favorite holiday tradition. And this year was no different. We went back to my parents for a big traditional dinner and then we got ready for SANTA! Kade this year was SO MUCH FUN! He really grasped the idea and excitement of Santa. I downloaded a Santa Tracker app for my phone and he checked all day long where the big man was. He told us that along with cookies for Santa, we needed to put out broccoli and salad for him and the reindeer. So that is what we did! After that it was reading Twas the night before Christmas and then off to bed! We all played games and waited on SANTA after the kids were in bed!

 

I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I normally do. I kind of put my camera away this year. I wanted to in the moment and present rather than trying to capture the perfect picture and I don't regret it at all! Bryan did have the video camera glue to his hand all night so we have plentyyyyy of video!