Christmas Joy

Last year on Christmas I knew the boys would be joining our family soon. What they would do to our dynamic, I had no idea. This year has stretched us. It's grown us closer and our hearts have expanded beyond what we knew possible. This is my perfect Christmas, right here in this one picture:

Santa

I love dressing up and getting a yearly picture with Santa. We have a favorite Santa (or should I say we stay away from the creepy Santa at the mall close to our house). We arrived all cute and ready about 5:30pm to beat the evening rush and found out Santa had just gone to dinner. Whaaat?! I think Mr. Santa needs to take an earlier dinner because...hello...right before Christmas....5:30 at night.  It took about 5 minutes for the boys to quit listening and earn a group time out. This picture was not funny at the time but is super funny to me a couple weeks later:

We assumed neither little boy had visited Santa before and it was pretty evident. Afterwards I tried for a good picture together and this is about how it goes most the time:

We did the merry-go-round as well. It accidentally became a tradition years ago and Declan couldn't wait for "the brothers" to try it. 

Go Big Red

Now that my job has slowed down for the winter (can I get a hallelujah?!) I've been wanting to take each of my sons on dates. First up was my middle son. A lender I work with asked if I wanted tickets to the Husker basketball game and I thought that would be perfect for J. Little did I know that we were court side with a private VIP lounge. Ha! Such fun times. I love being one on one with my little guys.

BancWise and the big 1-0!

I absolutely love the company I work for. Our Christmas party this year was a blast. The whole theme was hush/hush but it started with Sushi down at the Railyard and we ended up getting picked up a on a charter party bus. The whole crew wondered where we may be going. The drive took us to a comedy club in Omaha. So fun!

I was honored with 10 years with the company that night. I can't believe its' been 10 years! A lot of life has happened in those years and I sit here thankful and blessed. 

//DPP day 4//

//DPP day 3//

Family

We are in a really fun season of life right now. Completely exhausting but fun. I love having 3 kids. It makes each little event or thing a little more exciting (or stressful depending on the situation- ha!) We had a chaotic summer and my busy job was partly to blame for that. Sundays tended to take the biggest hit. Now that things are slowing down, Sunday nights are movie night. This is only our 3rd week but the boys look forward to and ask about it. Popcorn may possibly be the reason they actually sit and take in the movie. Oh well- I just enjoy the family all smooshed together on the couch with no phones or distractions. 

       

The past few Christmases I've wanted to do an Advent calendar but haven't. My friend made these cute calendars with different cards for each night...complete with a game or task on back. Not sure how much a 2, 3 and 6 year old are soaking in, but it's a good time to sit in front of the fire each night and talk God. 

I look at my little brood and dream of game nights, football in the front yard, and many more times celebrating life together. So blessed. So overwhelmed by God's goodness. So worth the stress, uncertainty and turbulence to get right here.