Christmas 2014

Oh Christmastime!

I love thee.  But you never quite work out like I plan.

This year was no different.

Maybe one day I'll stop letting that bother me.

Nonetheless.

The littles both had something or another going on, starting the week before Christmas.

Snot, Cough, Croupe, Teeth, Fevers.  It was fun.

But we rallied and we made the most of the Christmas Holiday.

Some events were skipped.

Some rescheduled.

And some just done completely different.  

But Christmas Morning was my favorite.  Maybe my favorite of all time.

Most of the time we are rushing around having 4 places to go to and we never get to fully enjoy.

This year, we stayed home.  It was glorious.

I was able to fix breakfast for my crew.  We played with our toys.  We stayed in PJ's all day.

We were together.  No rushing.  No fussing.  Just enjoyable all day long.

My in-laws came up for a visit & my mom + step dad came to have brunch & my dad came too.

It was so nice to have my home filled with my family throughout the day.

Lance said it best 'it's going to be hard to get me to go anywhere on Christmas Day next year!'

It was wonderful.  Truly!

#tradition

Despite the "plan" I had in my mind, it really was perfect. 

One day, maybe I'll learn to roll with the punches a little better!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Doing all the Christmas Things:: Gingerbread Houses

It's no secret I'm a sucker for tradition.

So if we do something one year, and enjoyed it, you better believe we're going to do it again.

We bought a kit a few weeks ago on one of our Target trips and finally got around to putting them together.

I did the construction, and Easton did the decorating.

I love seeing his little creativity and imagination go to work.

He's so serious and concentrated. 

I so cherish this time I have with he and Emerson at home.

There are long hard days, but there are so many moments even within those hard days that are just beautiful.  Priceless days for sure.

He wanted to share the houses with Emerson and put 2 in her room, but with no place to put them we decided it best to be in his room.

Our village has 5 little buildings.

I went in his room later that night to put clothes away and noticed we were down to 4.

After further investigation, I learned that he was holding on to his dresser, while balancing on his green bouncy ball looking out the window and he pulled #5 off.  Kirby took care of the clean up.

Oh, the memories.  Never a dull moment at the Farrar House!

What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?  

I love trying to do all the Christmas things we can during this Season.

It comes and goes so quickly.

Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments

Being home this Christmas Season, with 2 babies, I knew I wanted to try to make the most of the season.  I've pinned a lot of Christmas Crafts and we've been reading scripture at night before Easton goes to bed.  I really want to focus on Jesus this year and the importance of Jesus in Christmas.

Last year, Easton & I made Cinnamon Ornaments and this year as we unpacked our ornaments to put on the tree, the cinnamon smell filled up the bonus room.  I thought it would be fun to do again this year.

Easton was a perfect age for them.  I mixed the dough and rolled it out and he used the cookie cutters himself and put them on the cookie sheet.  We also had my sister-in-law & niece over to make some with us! This recipe makes a full cookie sheet of mini ornaments.

I found the mini cookie cutters at Target in the Christmas section for $3.99.

All you need is 3/4 cup of apple sauce + 2 containers of Cinnamon.  If you have any Essential Oils, add a few drops of clove or orange or Christmas Spirit in your mix!  Clove smells super yummy!!!

1. Mix it together and separate into 2 balls.
2. Lay some plastic wrap on the counter and put the ball of dough on it.  Cover with another layer of plastic wrap.
3.  Roll out the dough to 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
4.  Pull off top layer of plastic wrap and go to town cutting out ornaments.
((TIP:: The mini cutters were a lot easier than the full size.  Little hands can handle smaller ornaments a lot easier.))
5.  Lay them on a cookie sheet and use a tooth pick to make a hole big enough to string twine or ribbon through.
6.  Bake at 200 for 2 1/2 hours and let cool before stringing.

Then hang them on the tree and enjoy the yummy smell!