Move over Martha

Well, we finally managed to get our Christmas decorations up in the house. I'm such a stickler about not decorating for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, so we don't usually even bother thinking about it until then. But, we were even a little slower this year than that. We finally got all of our stuff (ok, we actually only have 3 tubs, which is very little compared to most) from the attic. I have to say, I love Christmastime, and Christmas decorations, but I despise putting them up and taking them down. That's probably part of the reason we didn't get things put up until Sunday. And probably the reason we only have 3 tubs. But something tells me that's going to change soon. Eli absolutely LOVES Christmas stuff. Anytime we go into a store or someone's house with trees or lights, really anything Christmas related, he starts talking up a storm and pointing like crazy. I have to make sure that the lights on the tree and stairs or on before he gets up in the morning, or I hear it from him. And the first thing we have to do when we walk in the house is turn on the lights. He's definitely a boy after his granny's own heart. We've even driven around and looked at Christmas lights a couple of times. He goes pretty crazy for him. it's pretty darn cute, and makes me want to get things put up for him and add to our collection so he has more fun stuff to look at. On the list for add-ons this year is an advent calendar for him to open everyday, and a "kid friendly" nativity scene. I do have to say, as much as I hate putting up the decorations, I love the beauty they seem to bring into the home. And I was very proud of myself this year. I feel like I got more creative and put more stuff on the tree and elsewhere in the house. As Brian was leaving the house on Sunday morning, I told him to be prepared for a Christmas oasis when he got home. "Move over Martha Stewart, I'm decorating the house today," were probably more like my actual words:). But either way, Eli and I got busy while he was gone. Eli was a big help by moving the plastic tubs all over the house for me and pulling all the tinsel out of them. He only broke one ornament, so I was very impressed.


Today Eli and I made some peppermint bark for our neighbors to put together with the chocolates we dipped this weekend at Granny's house. We skipped out on bible study this morning because Eli's been battling a cold, and I didn't think he needed to pick up any more germs, or give any of his away in the church nursery. So, we ran a few errands and got crafty at home. He loves to sit on the counter while I'm working on the stove and "help" me. So that's exactly what he did today while we finished up the neighbors gifts. He helped me stir up the almond bark and crush up the candy canes. I think his favorite part was beating the candy canes. He's such a boy:) Anything loud and destructive could keep him entertained for hours.

Here is the finished product of all of our hard work. We had the plate full of chocolates and peppermint bark and then a jar of cookie mix. We've never done this for our neighbors before, so it was a lot of fun. And I'm thankful I am able to get all this candy out of the house. I certainly don't have any problem gaining weight on my own right now, the last thing I need is all this yummy chocolate laying around to tempt me:).

The pictures are slightly out of order (i'm still trying to figure this thing out:)), but this is the finished plate.

And here's my little helper stirring the almond bark for me. He did a very good job; the trick was making sure he kept the spoon in the bowl. He kept trying to take it out. Boy that would have been a huge mess! Can I just add that I'm so very thankful to Brian for dragging his butt out of bed everyday and going to work so I can stay home and do fun things like this with Eli. I'm very blessed and love being able to stay home with our rugrat. I can't even imagine missing out on some of these fun things with him. So thanks B! You're a great husband and daddy!

And here's our beautiful Christmas tree. It's kind of hard to tell since the picture isn't too big, but I added ribbon and white flowers to it this year. I love the way the tree turned out this year. It's bigger and fuller than our "charlie brown" Christmas tree we have used the last 2 years that Brian had from college.