Christmas Season Happenings

I'm always amazed at how busy the Christmas season is.  Even after giving up doing a couple things this year to try to keep it calmer, and trying to get other things done ahead of time, the rest of the time has somehow been filled in with a bunch more!  I always stress, but it always seems to work out. ;-)

The first weekend of December Morgan and Blake spent Friday evening at my parents.  They went to a special art event at the studio Blake paints at.  They liked it so much, they actually went back AGAIN Saturday morning-LOL!  (I'll have to post pictures soon...they made gifts, so I can't quite yet.)  Rich and I went out Christmas shopping Friday evening since I knew that time would be very limited after that night.

Then, Saturday morning, after doing a bunch of wrapping, Rich and I dropped off some donations, picked up the kids from my parents' and headed out to get our Christmas tree.  No pictures this year because both of our phones died just before trying to take pictures.

My sister, our good friend, and I had planned to go to the Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo with our kids Sunday evening. We were fortunate to have a clear evening, though quite cool.  It was really neat with 5 million LED lights to look at, ice sculptures, hot cocoa and really cool glasses that we bought that turns the lights into snowmen (very fun!)

All the kids ready to go see some lights!

 My sister with my niece, Morgan and Blake in front of a big reindeer.

 Blake really liked the dinosaur lights!

The busyness of this past weekend started earlier that I expected when our furnace quit Tuesday night.  I spent most of the day baking to keep the house warm, plus had the space heater running.  I ended up putting a blanket over the door frame between the kitchen to the living room to keep the heat in the kitchen, then just stayed in there until it was fixed.

A different way of using a blanket to stay warm! ;-)

Even though I called the repair guys in the morning, they didn't make it to our place until around 7:15 that night (super busy guys!), so our house, besides the kitchen, had gotten down to 50!  Brrr!!  In the time I was waiting for them, the eye doctor called to let me know Blake's glasses were in.  I was super anxious to get Blake his new glasses (just found out he needed them the week before) so I checked in with the furnace guys to make sure I wouldn't miss them and we ran to get the glasses after the kids got out of school....obviously had plenty of time! ;-)

Blake in his new glasses!  Of course wearing a coat in the house since it was a bit chilly.

Thankfully the furnace was fixed with a $20 part and we've been blessed with warmth ever since.  I'm also thankful for the time baking, because I didn't get much more time after that to bake for a cookie exchange I was participating in over the weekend.

Thursday was spent at my mom's working on projects for the kids.  (I'll have pictures after Christmas.)  There was some worry about driving to my mom's since I found out that morning there was a bulge in the truck tire.  Our tire person wasn't able to put our spare on (had a meeting to be at), but we had decided I'd been driving on it for weeks, thinking it was just mud making it off balance, so it would probably be fine for the day. I just went slow-ish on the back roads to and from my mom's.  That afternoon, the kids and I put the ornaments on the tree that we'd wanted to do the previous day, but it had been too cold in that part of the house.  Of course there were spelling words to practice, baths, etc. the rest of the evening.  (Rich has been working some long hours, but he put the spare on the truck that night for me until our new tire gets here.)

My little helpers after decorating the tree this year.

Friday mornings I volunteer in the school library.  Then Morgan went to a friend's after school and I took Blake to my parents' so Rich and I could go to his work party.  (My mom is awesome, because that night she not only picked Morgan up from the friend's, she then took both kids to paint some more at the studio!)  Rich and I didn't get home until late...10:00ish...I'm getting old, so 10:00 is late-LOL!  A GREAT time at the party though...he works with some fun people. :-)

Saturday was more running.  I went to get the kids from my parents, then took Morgan to Rich's parents', so she could help get her horse ready for the Old Fashioned Christmas Horse Parade in the neighboring town.  Blake and I then ran home to meet up with Rich, then ran back to the neighboring town to find Morgan before the parade.  It was a super neat parade and a very proud, tears-in-eyes, mom moment seeing Morgan riding her horse in the parade.  (She was safe with Grandma holding a lead rope beside her and also had a helmet on.) We only made it home for a short time before going to Rich's Fire Department's Christmas party and again didn't get home until 10:00ish.  More fun times with great people! :-)

Morgan looking a little nervous before the parade.

There's a smile!

Sunday was church, but just before we left we heard that Morgan had to see the newspaper.  So we stopped to grab the Sunday paper and found that Morgan (and Grandma and the horses) made front page of the B section!  That afternoon was the cookie exchange (again thankful for our furnace dying to have cookies ready.)  A very nice time at the exchange, as always, and spent much of it with a beautiful sleeping baby in my arms. :-)  The kids weren't with me as they went to their Grandpa's Kid Christmas party for his work.  We were blessed with a quiet Sunday evening as a family after the craziness of the past several days.

Morgan making the paper!

This week is a bit quieter so far.  A lot to do, but not as much running.  I'm very much looking forward to Christmas break with Rich and the kiddos and hopefully some relaxing, baking, crafts and just enjoying our days together. :-)