Shed: December 15-20

 Shed also invited them to create the Nativity on Minecraft! Thanks Westfall family for giving Shed the idea!! This was Grant's Nativity. I didn't get a picture of Wyatt before they destroyed their world....I don't get Minecraft...AT.ALL!

 Mimi's elf, Oliver, is an old retired scout elf, but he still manages to hide from the boys! One day, they found him at Mimi's sewing machine making a pillow and blanket for Shed! The next day, we found Shed relaxing on them!! He deserved a good rest!

Pockets: December 9-16

Apparently I wasn't on the ball with my picture taking this week, but oh well!! The memories are in my head :)

December 9: Circle Coloring Tree

 December 10: Make Photo Ornament for Grandparents

December 11: Nativity Cootie Catcher

December 12: Make Paper Snowflakes

December 13: Drink Hot Cocoa

December 14: Christmas Mazes

December 15: Build Christmas Legos. We've accumulated quite the collection over the year and this year we added Santa's!!

December 16: Go see The Nutcracker! While we would've loved a trip to the Kansas City Ballet, we saw the American Youth Ballet performance at JCCC for the 2nd year in a row! Can't beat $12 tickets- and the show was so wonderful!! And yes, I'm well aware my boys are wearing sweats! We just got home from Grant's basketball game and lets face it, clothes are a battle, and that was one I just didn't want to fight!

Shed: December 8-14

 Our little tree is becoming more decorated!! We also got to add our melted bead ornaments we made to our little tree!

Pockets: December 1-8

We cram ALOT into our weeks leading up to Christmas! Each day our pockets have an activity card- anywhere from a fun outing, festive craft, or just something fun!! The boys always say their favorite part of the holiday season is doing our pockets each day! I think they mostly like to see what little treat or toy they get, but I think they also enjoy the activities!!

Dec 1: Journey to Judea

Dec 2: Christmas Tree Pinecones

 December 3: Big Lego Tree

December 4: Nativity Popsicle Stick

 December 5: Christmas I Spy

December 6: Go See Santa at Crown Center

 December 7: Christmas Would You Rather?

December 8: Melted Bead Ornaments

Shed: December 1-7

Oh, our little Shed!! The boys just adore him so very much!! They spring out of bed each morning to find him and see what he's up to today! This year, they not only have to find Shed, but they also have to use his clue to find the ornament he's hidden for their tiny tree! They had to do a scavenger hunt for their pockets, but Shed also used that same idea and hid an ornament that matched whatever word puzzle they solved from their pocket!! 

 The first three ornaments on the tree! Looking cute already!

 Shed always likes to get a front row seat for St. Nicholas's visit!

December 6th

How many Christmasy activities can you cram into one day?? Well, we tried our best to do as many as possible!! Of course, our morning started by checking out our goodies from St. Nicholas. Movies, Nutcrackers, Beanie Boos, gold coins, and candy! So many goodies! We ventured off to check out our pockets and find Shed! In our pockets, our activity of the day was "Go See Santa at Crown Center!" That means--- leave school early!!! So after a short stay at school, I picked the boys up and we headed on down to Crown Center! First stop- Fritz's for lunch! Then it was down the hall to see Santa. There was no line (YAY!) so I kind of expected the boys to linger around Santa for a little while, but they hopped on his lap, told them their wishes, I snapped their picture, and then that was that. It was like 1 whole minute. I guess the job was done! Grant asked for a base for his army men and Wyatt asked for the Imaginext Batbot Xtreme. As he was walking off, Wyatt did ask Santa if he could come to our house on the 23rd because we will be leaving the 24th to head for the farm. Santa said, "Of course!" And with that, they were off to explore Gingerbread Village. We did a little bit more exploring around Crown Center and then headed off for a visit at the Family Tree Nursery! The poinsettias there was truly remarkable! Such a pretty sign! We were pretty tired after all our adventuring, so we headed home and snuggled up to watch Arthur Christmas! Such a cute movie!! We were waiting for Levi to get home from drill and then we loaded up for a visit to watch the Deanna Rose light show and take a spin around Christmas Place! Phew!! What a magical day filled with so many of our favorite Christmas traditions!! I LOVE having days with my fellas, experiencing Christmas magic through their little eyes!! My favorite!

Journey to Judea

Last year a friend had told me about Journey to Judea and what a neat experience it was! So after loving last year's visit so much, I knew it would be something we would do each and every year and the boys were asking if we were going again too! Levi didn't get to go with us last year, so we were happy he was home this year to join us! Our December 1st activity in our pockets said "Journey to Judea" and the boys thought it was the perfect activity to kick off our season of Advent. Luckily, the weather had been in the 50s so we weren't planning on freezing temps- so thankful for that!! We got there a few minutes early to enjoy our cookies and cocoa, and then bundled up to experience the Bible in such a magical way! The story starts at Creation and takes you all the way to the Resurrection. It tells of the prophecy of Jesus and the of his birth, life, and death. Oh, it gives me chills hearing the Good News told in such a real-life way. The boys eyes were glued to each person as they told the story! I also loved when they'd lean over to me and say, "Oh I know this story!" Good good stuff. Love this special Christmas tradition!