As November Closes...

I can not believe that another November has come and gone!! The years just keep flying by! Thank you for listening to day after day of my thankfulness! We all have so much to be thankful for! It was good for me to reflect and write about the big and little things that manifest a thankful feeling in my heart! I enjoyed spending time during this past month thinking about those people and things that have and continue to shape me! There's lots I probably didn't get to, yet are just as important! And now it's December! :)

The big kids are at an extremely fun age! They have great conversations among themselves, they are old enough to do most things independently, but still young enough to want and need you! It's just fun! Today was a fun fun day! We had lots of time to just be together! And the best part is, that even though we feel like the weekend should be over, there's still one more day! Yay, for long weekends!! Tomorrow, December begins, and before we know it, another year will be complete!

We visited Santa today! It was fun! Grayson, at first just told him "thank you" for sending an elf to his house, and after some thinking time, he asked if he could have a toy 18 wheeler...sounds fun! But it is the first Mommy and Daddy have heard of that! ;) Ada knew exactly what she wanted! ;) She wants a Doc Mcstuffins bag! She was very sweet with Sanata and has spent a lot of time anticipating sitting in his lap! :)

We got to get out our decorations and make cookies today! That was a fun way to finish off the month! 

December is fun for so many reasons! The Advent Season is a favorite of mine! It's fun to spend a little time each day reflecting, anticipating, and praying! As I mentioned before, I am a little over excited this year for Christmas, but the kids are so fun! They love the advent lessons and crafts, doing things for others, and of course Christmas! It's a fun fun time! :) Looking forward to lots of fun days this month! And hoping we can keep our sanity and somewhat calm kids this month! ;) ha! Happy Decemeber! :)

This was a little gift to myself yesterday! :) I love it! I have been on the lookout for one for awhile and finally found it! :)

The finished tree! :)

North Pole Breakfast!

Mac Jingles (our elf) arrived from the North Pole last night! ;) This is our first year with an elf and we are very excited! They decided a couple weeks ago what they wanted to name it. Grayson got to pick one name and Ada the other. Ada chose Mac...like mac and cheese, she said! ;) And Grayson decided on Jingles. I think its a great name! ;)
I happened upon a really cute idea to have a special breakfast when the elf arrives, so we decided to give it a try!

 Mac Jingles prepared everything last night and just wrapped it in plastic wrap, so he just had to sneak in the kitchen this morning and pour the milk! ;)

Grady's hat says size 4...have I mentioned he is really a big boy?! But I love every little bit of him! ;)

The kids were thrilled when they came in to find a special breakfast and elf waiting  on them! They were very surprised and waaayy happy about Oreos, donuts, and candy kisses for breakfast! :)

After breakfast they rushed off to watch The Elf's Story!

 

Mac Jingles brought with him special Christmas pj's, an elf snowglobe, a light up necklace, and best of all...a letter from Santa himself! ;)

 

We had snowballs, peppermint cookies, and elf kisses!



The donuts with the candy canes were a cute little idea I saw on Pinterest (of course!) complete with the north pole signs and "snow sprinkles that I found a Target! Perfect! :) 

We veered  a little from the traditional Elf on The Shelf and tried to shift the focus of our elf to remembering Jesus and spreading his love at Christmas! I found a Santa letter that I liked and made my changes and added my touches to make it ours! ;) We did read the book and watch the movie, but put our Santa letters right beside their beds, where we could remember what Christmas was really about! :) So there it is, our North Pole Breakfast 2013! :)

This was definitely a fun way to introduce our elf and we will keep this up for years to come, I think!! :)

O' Christmas Tree!

Today, I am thankful for a down day at home, that was complete with a trip to the Christmas Tree Farm! It's officially Christmastime in the Powell House!! Whoo Hoo!! :) It was a quiet day around the house in the morning, and after nap we headed out to pick out our Christmas tree!! The kids were excited, I was excited, and I would even guess Daddy was excited too! :) We found a tree farm about 40 minutes or so from our house about four years ago and we loved it the first time and have continued to go there since! We love it! The kids run, we take a few pictures, and then we get to picking out a tree! We got it narrowed down to two and this year Grayson got the honor of having the final pick. And I think he picked a good one! :)
So with the Christmas Tree up and all the decorations out, tomorrow will be a fun day here! We will Start the day with the arrival of our elf, a trip to see Santa, and then home for tree decorating and catching up on some neglected chores around the house! Yippee for an extra long weekend! :) With all this being said, may I say my very first "Merry Christmas!" :) I hope it's a wonderful wonderful holiday season for all of you!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Give Thanks to The Lord, for He is good!"

 

 We spent the morning having breakfast with Chris' brother and his wife! Fire in the fireplace, pumpkin pie prepared by two of my little favorites, and playing outside! Yes! It was a good, no great, morning! :) A wonderful way to start off our Thanksgiving!

My girl and I! She could possibly be JUST like me...or so they say! ;) And my grandma! The cook and a wonderful lady!

 

Cousins! :)

 

Grady's first Thanksgiving meal that he could eat! :) He enjoyed it! Especially the mac-n-cheese!!!

My three loves! The greatest blessings I could've ever asked for! My cup runneth over! <3