Christmas At Papa And Grammy's

We spent Sunday with my family celebrating Christmas. We always have a yummy brunch with many family favorites. We had the family Egg Bake, Peaches and Cream(my all time favorite), fresh fruit and muffins. We then went to church together. We filled up a whole row. It is always fun to go back and visit the church I grew up in. When we got home we quickly changed since the kids were ready to break into the presents. Every year I twist the family's arm to get a family pictures. It is so fun to see how the family grows and changes from year to year. I have 3 brothers. My older brother is married with 3 little girls and one of my younger brothers is also married. Santa doesn't come to Papa and Grammy's but Grammy finds a way to fill the adults stockings and since there isn't enough room to hang any more stockings, the grandkids get baskets. This is something the young and old look forward to every year. My brother even asked before he got married if he still got his stocking after he got married. As kids we always loved our stockings and we still do!

The highlights for the kids this year were Shane's sleeping bag. As you can see he crawled right in. He also got a mat to drive his cars on that he loves. The girls were surprised with their pink kitchen from Papa and Grammy. It definitely was favorite this Christmas. As you can see another highlight for Emma was her princess dress. She loves to dress up. Cousin Tyra got some beauty salon accessories that the girls tried out on Shane. What a trooper ... the only boy in the bunch! We spent the afternoon snacking, relaxing and playing games. We had a wonderful pork loin dinner to make the day complete.

The kids were tuckered out by the end of the night. They got their gingerbread pj's on for the trip home but had to jump on Papa and Grammy's bed for one last picture.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa

One of our favorite Christmas treats is homemade Peppermint Hot Cocoa. The kids also love it after coming in from playing in the snow! It also makes a great gift during the holidays. I thought I'd share the recipe!

In a pint jar layer in this order:

1/2 c powdered creamer

1/3 c sugar with red food coloring

1/4 c hard peppermint candy discs, crushed

1/3 c powdered sugar

1/2 c chocolate drink mix (I've found Quick or Nestle or a more well know brand is better than any generic)

1/2 cup dry milk

Christmas Goodies

The kids, especially the girls love to help in the kitchen. We had a big day in the kitchen and lots of yummy treats in the end. We made ....

Carmel Puff Corn








Oreo Bon Bons













Pretzels with yummy centers and

























Sugar Cookies!!!






Shane didn't want to be left out ... he wanted the apron on for awhile too!

Gingerbread Baby

The kids love the book the Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett. We dediced to make some gingerbread cookies after reading the book. They had fun making, rolling, cutting and decorating the cookies. They were very anxious as they were in the oven. They were nervous that one would jump out just like in the book. As you can see by the picture Emma didn'twant to look, she was too nervous. Alexa assured her she didn't think they would jump out because they weren't real. They had some cute conversations the 8 minutes they were cooking. They all were on the cookie sheet when we opened the oven. They had fun decorating and eating the cookies.

New Cousin

The kids are excited they have a new cousin. Zachary Allen was born on December 10 weighing in at 6 lbs and 3 oz and 20 inches long. He was born at 36 weeks and was in the hospital for about a week with an infection but is at home now and doing great. The girls are happy that Shane finally has a boy cousin to be friends with. Little do they know that it may mean that they will now have 2 boys trying to tag along and get in their stuff!

The Gingerbread House

Sunday is our Family Fun Night. I'll have to write about our typical Family Fun Night Activities on another post. This Sunday we decided to do a Gingerbread House with the kids! The kids were very excited and as you can see Alexa was busy showing dad what to do. Shane couldn't wait to get his hands on the cookie, frosting and candy. While Eric was busy putting frosting on the Gingerbread girl and boy for the girls to decorate Shane was busy eating the tree. The girls were not pleased with their brother. You can see in the picture that we managed to salvage half a tree. They were very proud of their finished project.

A Visit With Santa

On Saturday we went to see Santa. The kids were very excited to see him and put in their requests. Alexa asked Santa for an Ariel doll and Emma wanted a baby doll. Shane was a little distracted, trying to open the candy cane that Santa gave him but he did muster out his wish for a choo, choo!

Christmas Cookie Fun

On Friday we went to our friends house to decorate Christmas cookies. This is the 3rd year we have decorated cookies with the kids friends, Madeyln and Jack. Cousin Callie was staying at our house while her mom was in the hospital with her baby brother so she got in on the fun too! The kids had such a great time frosting, eating the frosting, adding the sprinkles and m&m's and of course eating a cookie or two in the process. This has been a fun tradition that the girls look forward to each year.

A Christmas Memory Interruption .....

Let's cross our fingers ... I think the chicken has learned how to go potty. What is the chicken all about? Shane has been told by his dad and his sisters many times that boys don't wear princess dresses. When the girls are playing dress up Shane is usually the chicken ... he is a cute chicken I might add. Well, this week our chicken learned how to go potty. I don't want to do cart wheels too soon but today was only the 2nd full day we've been at it and we didn't have any accidents. He even told me a couple times he had to go and went by himself once too. We have had someone in diapers for the last 5 1/2 years and often we had two in diapers. We just may be turning over a new leaf! Cross your fingers ......

How Many Days Until Christmas

The minute the tree went up and the presents went under I got the "Is it Christmas yet?" a couple times a day. I remember loving to make paper chains as a little girl and especially tearing one off each day. I thought the girls would enjoy making them too since they love anything arts and craftsy! The loved making their chains and get super excited about tearing one off each night before bed and counting how many days until Christmas!

Cozy Movies on the Couch

I remember being so excited as a little girl when all the Christmas movies started playing. Before DVR you just had to hope you were home to watch them. I've been taping the classics and a couple times a week before bed the kids get to watch one. They love to get their Christmas pj's on and snuggle on the couch with popcorn and hot cocoa. What a life!