Merry Christmas

The month of December was a good one.

A stressful one for me, but a good one.

I found myself saying, "Three kids is manageable, but add something like Christmas and I feel overwhelmed."
(Add anything to daily life and it gets a little overwhelming...but that's a post for another day)

I kept stressing about trying to teach the kids good things and the true meaning behind Christmas
and I just kept telling myself to get through the season sanely.

Don't overdo it.

I don't think I was very successful at filling our lives with the best things,
but we did get in a lot of fun family activities.

And now we have something to do better next Christmas.

Lubbock Nativity

Our church hosts a big nativity where hundreds of nativities are on display.

There are traditional nativities, international nativities, and childrens' nativities.

The church becomes a new building and it's a big deal around here.

We went to that and had a good time while feeling the Spirit of Christmas.

Henry's Christmas Program

Henry participated in his school's Christmas program.

He was an angel and was a cute one at that.

He's been singing the songs at home and Maggie caught on to some of the songs.

Santa Clause

We waited in line 1.5 hours to see Santa.

It was basically a photo from Santa.

He wasn't very jovial, nor did he ask the kids what they wanted,
but I prepped them enough that Henry told him he wanted a headlight. 

Maggie almost didn't sit on his lap and I don't think she said a word to him,
but if she did, she asked for a baby Ariel.

We also did a couple Christmas activities and the kids were thrilled about seeing Santa.

Kids Gift Exchange

This year we went shopping with the kids to buy gifts for each other.

Brendon said Henry did a really good job at finding a lot of things for Maggie.

I was with Maggie, who didn't really take thought of Henry, but found things for herself.

Henry was really sweet when he opened Maggie's gift for him.

He gave her his Henry squeeze and said, "Thank you! I love it, Maggie!"

Maggie, on the other hand, thinks every gift she received was from Santa.

Christmas Lights

We drove to the lake to see Christmas lights.

Henry fell asleep on the drive over to our destination, but stayed awake once we got there.

The kids loved it and shouted, "Santa!!! A snowman! Reindeer!" with every statue/blow-up character.
(Photo from seeing Santa)

Drive-in Theatre

We visited the drive-in for the first time since moving to Lubbock.

A shame...we really should have done that more often.

We kept the back door open for the first movie (Annie) and snuggled close together to try to stay warm.

It was really picturesque, all of us snuggling.

It was true bonding time.

We even bought a funnel cake, Brendon's favorite.

For the second movie (Penguins from Madagascar), we closed the back and felt more squished, but warmer.
Henry wanted to go home because it was scary. 

Brendon wanted to go home because he was so uncomfortable.

But we stuck it out.

Christmas Eve Dinner

We got together with three other families for a Christmas Eve feast.

I have to have my turkey dinner.

I tried crescent rolls for the first time and they were amazing (if I do say so myself).
I felt so proud of myself--like I can finally say, "I can cook."

We played games and enjoyed each other's company and then it was off to bed.

Christmas

Hazel woke up at 5 AM and I wasn't able to go back to sleep.

Maggie woke up at 7 AM and came into our bed.

Henry was sleeping on our floor, so we turned on a light and Henry said, "I need more sleep!"

I asked him to see if Santa left any presents and he jumped up,
ran out of the room,
and was opening presents before we could all get out to the room.

Unlike last year, Henry was very happy with everything.

Maggie was, too.

We had a lot of fun watching the kids open their gifts and they played contently together the whole day.

Santa had a successful year at the Holmes' home.

Gingerbread Structures, Graham Cracker Style

For the last two years, we have been trying to get the kids into this
but this was the year of participation in not only eating, but also with building.

The boys made an amazing train.

The girls attempted at a castle. 

I wanted a castle and Maggie wanted a train, so she got a box to decorate.

Henry didn't want to eat the candy at first because it had frosting on it. 

He doesn't like trying new foods.

But after we convinced him of its' deliciousness, he ate and ate and ate.

Poor Maggie now thinks that Reeses Peanut Butter Cups give her a tummy ache
because she ate too much candy when we were making them.

(More for me!)

Bowling

We took the kids bowling on Brendon's last day off.

The kids lasted one game.
Henry got preoccupied with a toy he wanted.
Then Henry & Maggie found an arcade room, so Brendon & I played another game.

One of us would bowl while the other held Hazel and watched the toddlers.
He won the first game; I won the second.
(Trying to keep records with this blog, ya know)

These pictures were an attempt to keep the kids preoccupied in between their turn,
at Hazel's expense.
That face on the left is her Mom-save-me look.

Wow! We sure packed in a lot of fun things together!

It was great having Brendon home for a week all to ourselves 

(we didn't even have to share him with his study books).