A Magical Time of Year....

Christmas!!!!

Always my favorite time of the year, but being a mama has made December SO SO FUN!!  I love the season so much and want to create that special Christmas-Magic feeling with my children like my parents did (and continue to do;)) for me when I was little.

I do spend some time organizing and prepping, but come December 1st I am ready for the month of activities and special moments with my munchkins....

...beginning with Dixie's arrival!  

She's been visiting us each December since Harper was 1 year old and continues to be a highlight as we get the Christmas festivities up and running.

disclaimer: this year the tote containing Dixie, our advent calendar, among many other Christmas decorations broke open, and somehow got infested with yuck!  A quick glance inside told us the whole thing was toast- MAJOR BUMMER.  So I scurried around to find 'Dixie the Second' days before her "arrival"- HA!

Our friend, Mara, has a fantastic cookie business and blew my socks off with the detail of this cute surprise: elf cookies to celebrate our elf's arrival... with a couple extra for Mom and Dad- safe to say we were ALL enjoying Dixie festivities!

  

Trimming the Tree ~ a family affair!

This year I added some fresh colored ornaments and ribbon to the tree- kinda loving the sparkle in the evening;)....

...kids and their Daddy were all ears as he walked through the train set-up;).  They love that thing and sat for hours lost in make believe land with that train... ha!

 

A couple new additions: a replacement advent calendar and sparkly sign for above my stove;)...

can you spy Dixie?! ;)

 

After the decorating was complete, kids nestled in to watch Elf (not MY influence... was not on board, but their endless laughter somehow made it all seem ok in the end- ha) and we enjoyed our sparkly tree;).  Nothing quite like an evening in the Christmas season where everything is adorned with twinkle lights... I LOVE it.  Gosh do I sound old!

Husband's contribution;)... kinda loved a Monday flower delivery!

 

Making cookies for the neighbors ~ Adorning gingerbread houses

Old-fashioned advent calendars. 

I remember these charts where each day was a chocolate!  My Aunt Karen gifted each of the girls a chocolate-filled calendar and they LOVED it.. especially Maggie's that played Christmas carols!

Something New...

We had always heard about two Christmas festivities that were pretty awesome AND close to home, yet we had never tried them out.  This year I was armed and ready in September to buy the tickets and make the reservations- Branson, MO, the Lee's were ready for ya!

#1: Brunch with Santa at Big Cedar Lodge

...beautiful grounds and a sweet breakfast with Santa where he actually sat down with you and visited while we eat- kids loved it!!  The accommodations weren't the best for our crew, but I think the kids loved room service and staying the night away together- ha!

 

{Santa Love}

 

The view!!!!  

Harper asked us to stop and pull over so she could snap a picture- so sweet!

#2: the Christmas lights at Silver Dollar City

 

Next up we headed a short way to Silver Dollar City theme park to enjoy the rides and festivities of the decked-out park all with a Christmas touch.  I've never seen so many Christmas lights in a small area- it was unbelievable and although it was CHILLY, I think the kids enjoyed themselves!!

Grandfather's Mansion: their favorite.

Evelyn's Christmas Program ~ 2018

This was her very first holiday program with her classmates and it was such a good show!!!  This little peanut always keeps us on our toes.  She seems a bit shy among her classmates, but as soon as she hit that stage, glasses and jingle bells on, she was ALL about it: singing at the top of her lungs and doing all the motions to her Christmas songs.  We loved it and thankfully got the whole thing on video to show at some family event when she's a teenager- ha... but seriously, it was just the cutest and watching her proud self take a bow at the end- ahhh!!!!!

Christmas Festival at Zuriel Stables

This year, the barn where Harper does horse camp, opened up their ranch to families involved in their programs for horse back rides, pictures with Santa, and hot chocolate.  I called it the trifecta of happy for our crew...

They each took a handful of laps around the arena on the horses ....

 

Maggie was in Heaven!!!

I had a little girl's night/gift exchange in the neighborhood....

...and Pete and I went to our friends' annual Christmas party dressed in style- lol!

But this look... is the BEST part of Christmas.  I hope the magic of this season stays with them for years to come... 

it's the BEST!!!

Next stop: INDIANA here we COOOOOOOME!!!!

Thanksgiving in Hoosier Country;)

Usually, we don't travel for Thanksgiving, but this year we decided to pack up the troops and head north!  We anxiously planned a visit with a new orthopedic surgeon at the children's hospital there to chat about an impending surgery with Ms. Maggie, but also decided to take the opportunity to enjoy some much needed family time with both Pete and I's fam while we were there!  Kids were stoked and I was secretly pumped to do some shopping alongside my mama!

Slight hiccup right out of the shoots: hubs fell down the stairs at my parent's house while carrying Maggie. 

Ugh....

He's a top-notch Daddy though: Maggie came away without a scratch, yet he landed himself a visit to the ER with a few stitches and swollen leg.  He was sore that week, but he did get pretty darn good at navigating life in a boot- ha!  I was also grateful for my family being around to help with the munchkins while he recouped- lol!

Giggles and "Timber" with Papa ~ Cuddles with Aunt Abby

 

Equally Sweet...

- how much my parent's cat, Gracie, loves my non-cat-loving husband.  She is not intimidated by Pete at all- crawls right up in his lap.  Making a cat lover of him yet!

- listening to the conversation between my dad and Maggie.  She hears his voice, seeks him out, and wants nothing more then him to play with her- LOVE!!!!

 

Gaming Nana Style ~ NICU peeps talking shop

Thanksgiving in Cambridge City!!

Immediately following Pete's ER visit;), we headed out to his home town to have a yummy meal and visit with family!

Cousin time!!!!  It may be months between visits, but the cousins ALWAYS pick up right where they left off... laughing, horsing around, and playing their hearts out together- ha!

{Say cheese}

It was a nice visit spent indulging in the Lee family recipes and catching up!  We so enjoyed the visit and relaxing in Cambridge for a bit!!

It pays to have a nurse in the family....

Not sure she knew she'd be working after hours- ha!  We know Pete was slightly larger than her patients in the NICU, but Anna sure did do a fabulous job keeping Pete's foot healthy and healing!!!

...and her side-kick, nurse Evelyn, did a fine job as well!  She may not have had all the proper clothing on- but she sure was helping keep Daddy clean;)!

I think Harper's highlight of our trip, was getting to go to work with Papa.  It was always a big deal when we were little to go to work with Dad.  I remember taking Harper to his office when she was 2 years old just to look around, but THIS time was a little different...

...she was put to WORK!!!  They made her a badge and everything!  She helped Papa pick out doughnuts to bring into the office, organize the conference room, and shred paper.  I think it's safe to say she felt super special that day... 

big thanks and hugs to the peeps at ChemStation- future employee?!?!

Speaking of feeling special... while the boys headed to dinner and Top Golf, my sister surprised the rest of us with a SPA NIGHT!!!!!  Holy smokes... I knew Abby was passionate about healthy skin, but she sold me on so many products and the importance of sister/mom time that night!  Couple hours spent being pampered was pretty much the perfect way to spend an evening... I legit was ordering products from my phone as we were visiting- so fun!

Thank you Abby for sharing some of your beauty secrets AND your facial skills with us- it was so fun!!!  Let me know when you're up for doing it again;).

 

Pete and I (thanks to our neighbors:)), discovered how yummy Trader Joe"s pasta can be.  Bummer is we don't have one in Arkansas... so I stocked up BIG when we were in town!  We also indulged in a day-date to Charleston's (not one, but TWO times;)) to eat all our favs- thanks for watching the munchkins, Mom!!

Turkey Day 2018!!!

It has been years since I was home for Thanksgiving, yet it felt like no time had passed when we all got together!  Love the traditions my mom started in our family... They're all the same all these years later and I swear as I get older I love their significance more and more!!

The girls (and the aunts and uncles) helped to create gingerbread turkey's for the centerpieces.  We all worked together to prepare the fixings.... 

...set the table

...and prep the turkey (with a few shenanigans along the way- ha!!)

All in all it was delicious and it felt pretty darn good to have MOST of us around the table again!  

We missed you Aaron, Natalie, and Fig!

The next day (well, really that evening if I'm honest;)), the Black Friday shopping began!  It was fun, a little hairy at times, but loved shopping with the fam AND knocking out some Christmas gifts with everyone!

 

Later that day, my Aunt and Uncle arrived!  Such a fun surprise for the girls!  Aunt Karen is super techy and showed them all the coolest games on her ipad- ha!

We ventured out together on a horse drawn carriage ride to see the Christmas lights!  So pretty and the girls LOVED the horse!  Evelyn learned the hard way to 'keep her bottom in her seat' as she almost fell out of the carriage- oh dear!!

Slight mishap, but all in all, it was a beautiful adventure.  To top it off though: pizza from Arni's -our fav- thanks to the best aunt and uncle ever;).  Enjoying your fav restaurant food WITHOUT having to take your crazy crew INTO the restaurant was a major win the evening before we left;).

Wish I had a picture of Pete's parents as well from this trip, cause we owe them both a huge shout-out for being so awesome.  We kind of invited ourselves to both Thanksgiving meals this year and they all made us feel nothing short of special.  Felt nice to take a "pause" from life and enjoy some days back where it all began.  Our kids enjoyed the fun with ALL the family and I think it's safe to say Pete and I enjoyed all the home fixings, relaxing, and a couple dates, following a great report from Maggie's new doctor ;)...

Happy HAPPY Thanksgiving 2018....