December 1-13
We decorated Christmas trees the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We put up mini trees in the kids' bedrooms again this year, something they always look forward to. I give them full creative control over their trees, so the ornaments are rearranged approximately 26 times during the month of December. :) Matt cut down two trees for our main living spaces again. I really like having two trees! We put all of the breakable ornaments on the Christmas tree in the living room because of the laminate flooring in that room. The sun room has a tile floor so we put all of the plastic or non-breakable ornaments on that tree. Wouldn't you just know that about 30 minutes after we got all the ornaments up and the decorations put away, the tree with all the breakable ornaments tipped over! That was a first this year! It was a mess but surprisingly no ornaments broke. One light bulb broke off and left a tiny glass mess but that was all. The tree tipped over right as Matt was walking out the door to go elk hunting - but thankfully he was able to help me right the tree before he left.
Alanna wanted to do a Christmas craft one morning so we pulled up a shape Christmas tree picture on Pinterest. The girls each crafted their own Christmas tree, but I apparently only took a picture of Hattie's.
12.4
Hattie and I went to another EFree moms playdate where we got to decorate gingerbread men cookies. It was a riot, all those preschoolers and toddlers with frosting and sprinkles everywhere! Hattie decorated (and promptly ate) three cookies. I've never made gingerbread men cookie before! Thanks to Janel for baking all the cookies to decorate. She has really organized the group and rallied the troops to make this playgroup happen. I appreciate it so much, especially since our run with MOPS ended a while back and it just felt like I needed something for Hattie but didn't quite know what that looked like. I have really enjoyed getting to know some fellow moms from church.
Hattie and Louisa Ensinger
12.5
Alanna received a Wolf of the Month award in December from Mrs. Tomar. New this year, all the monthly winners of the Wolf of the Month awards get to do something special (see a movie, go to the gymnastics gym, etc). Alanna's award came with an outing to Pueblo Ice Arena one afternoon in early January.
12.6
Speaking of ice skating, the kids and I hit the rink again on a Friday. Why not?!
Later that Friday night, I attended a 'Christmas Mugging' party put on by Aly Moon, a mom from church I know. The party was really a fun gift exchange with added twists to the game. We all brought a mug and went home with a mug. It was something different that I had never done before. It was fun to spend the evening with Michelle and Larissa!!
12.7
I feel like December pictures should automatically be pictures of snow and wintery things, but this was one very beautiful Saturday morning in December where the girls were ripping up the driveway with their plasma cars.
Later that night, we donned more appropriate December gear and went to the Parade of Lights in Canon. Matt made hot chocolate for the kids and we watched a 30-minute showing of some nicely decorated floats. Some years, we are wearing snow pants and boots, and some years we are wearing light jackets. This was a good weather year with jackets and hats only! I do love Canon in the winter... probably because it doesn't feel like 'winter' at all! Ha!
12.8
Matt and I went to (and helped with) the Young Life Christmas Party at the Gibson Mansion in town. It was a typical party - nothing really new or different - with food, a program, and a gift exchange at the end of the evening. Matt and I are both now officially on YL committee, so that was different this year. For the past two years, we attended the regional YL Christmas party in Denver but we skipped out on it this year. It gets to be such a long day and is asking a lot of a babysitter, so we opted to pass. Oh well! There's always next year if we want to go again.
12.10
This is a picture of our Christmas YoungLives club, possibly the last one I will be a part of. I've been thinking for a while that I need to take a break from YoungLives, so at the end of the calendar year, I made it official. I have really, really loved my time pouring into YoungLives girls and their babies, but I've felt like my compassion has run dry lately. It's hard to share the gospel with the girls when I'm in a place of apathy. Alas, I'm not sure if I'll be done permanently or if I'll just take a break for a while and then go back, but I committed to taking spring semester and summer camp off. I will miss seeing my friends on a regular basis, but the good news is that I can still pursue girls and hang out with my genuine friends outside the umbrella of YoungLives ministry.
Back row, left to right: Amanda, Angelina, me, Angie, Jenna, Emma, Audra
Front row, left to right: Lex, Debbie, Tabby, Karrie (mamas holding their babies, of course)
12.11
I got to go and help Molly and her class make gingerbread houses in December. Matt helped with Alanna's class a few years ago, so this was all new to me. Mrs. Jarvis puts on such well-organized events for the kindergartners, and this was no exception. She has perfected the art of making gingerbread houses over the years and knows about exactly what will work and what won't. The kids were given very strict instructions not to eat any candies, and the kids and my table listened well. No one ate anything! The frosting also had egg whites in it so they weren't tempted to eat the frosting. Mrs. Jarvis did a good job telling the kids a few days prior that the frosting would make them sick. The other helpers and I had put extra candy into small baggies for the kids to take home before we even put together the gingerbread houses, so the kids knew that they would get some treats to eat. I love spending time with the kids one on one, and this was no exception. Molly and I had a great time together!
Charlie's class also made gingerbread houses with the 8th graders but I didn't go and help his class. It seemed like they had enough help. :/ Charlie had to bring in a cookie sheet wrapped in foil, a box of graham crackers, a tub or two of frosting, and three to five different kinds of candies. I had to literally send in everything that he needed to decorate a gingerbread house. (Insert annoyed face...) Goodness sakes, that was a lot.
Is it Christmas without puppy chow?! Hattie helped me make a batch (or two).
12.12
My hairstylist told me about an author coming to the Pueblo Barnes and Noble, so Hattie and I jumped at the chance to see Jan Brett in person. I don't think I've ever gone to a book signing before, at least not that I can remember. We listened to Jan Brett talk about how she comes up with her ideas for her stories, how she illustrates her books (watercolor paintings! and every inch of painting takes her an hour), how she does research, etc. At the end, she signed books. We bought The Mitten and had her sign it. It was a pretty interesting event!
12.13
One Friday that there was no school, EFree moms playgroup organized a Christmas party. We did a Christmas tea towel/crayon craft and had some snacks together. It was a full group with the addition of all the school-aged kids who are normally in school during playgroup.
