Christmas 2014~ Part 2

After our Christmas Eve breakfast wrapped up and we sat around talking til about lunch time, we headed home for naptime. Thankfully Austin and Layton both got in a short nap while Garrison had his "rest time" and mama and daddy enjoyed a quiet break from the busyness too. It was nice to be able to relax for just a little bit.

As soon as the boys were up from their naps we went over to my parents house to let the boys snack on their homemade cookies and watch a little Christmas movie and see all the presents. My parents go all out BIG at Christmas so we knew we wanted to have some time at their house on Christmas Eve... if for no other reason but to build anticipation and excitement. =)

For dinner we went over to my sister's house to enjoy our traditional Christmas Eve supper of chili, hotdogs, and a baked potato bar. Yum! Our family, my parents, and all of my grandparents were able to be there. We had a really fun and festive night.

Our hosts... AnAn and Frankie! (This picture was taken earlier that morning at my in-laws' Christmas Eve breakfast. Ha. Next year I must get a picture of these 2 in their own home. =))

 

Granna and Papa with the boys at AnAn's and Frankie's...

After supper another tradition continued... the boys all opened their Christmas pj's! They were adorable! And they all changed into them right there on the spot so they were all ready for bed as soon as we got home.

Before bedtime my big boys said a special prayer thanking God for sending Jesus. So sweet! Those sincere little prayers of thanksgiving for the newborn King and Savior of the world were precious. Melt my heart. The tears almost flowed something serious.

Finally the big boys settled down and went to sleep... and Santa came!!

(It should be noted that Santa had a tough time of it assembling hotwheels race tracks and searching for batteries in the middle of the night and staying awake... but he came... eventually... whew.)

Christmas morning in our own home (sort of... since we're still in the rental house) sure was special. It wasn't as big and loud and exciting as years past but the boys were amazed and excited and thrilled anyway. Triple yay!!

After our Christmas morning fun we got the boys ready (Terrell and I were already ready since we had another Christmas morning to experience!) and headed over to my parents' house to do Christmas and presents with them and Anna and Frankie. This was our first year ever to do it this way. In the past we'd always woken up at their house and done Santa Claus and the whole shebang there. So this year we had to carve out a time for our Christmas with them, and I think it worked out great. We may not always do it on Christmas morning in the future, but this year it was our best option and a big, fun, we were all totally spoiled addition to our morning. =)

We snacked on breakfast finger foods and opened lots and lots of presents. A super fun morning!

After finishing up at my parents' house, we made our way over to my Nanny's for lunch with my dad's side of the family. (We literally ate pretty much non-stop all day long. Haha.) We enjoyed seeing everybody and hanging out together just like we have every single Christmas Day of my entire life. =) I didn't get a single picture... but my uncle got a couple of my kiddos and sent them to me...

After leaving my Nanny's we went home and rested for an hour or 2 before going back to my parents' for a Christmas dinner with my mom's side of the family. Whew! We enjoyed another huge and delicious feast with everyone and wrapped up our Christmas Day by opening stockings at their house. The perfect ending to a very fun and very FULL day. Then we got the boys back in pj's before heading home and crashing. Everybody was worn out!

 

Christmas 2014 was filled to the brim with blessings. We may have been crazy busy and so exhausted we couldn't see straight, but our special traditions and time with family are priceless gifts we treasure. So thankful for our wild and crazy Christmas!

Christmas 2014~ Part 1

We had a really wonderful Christmas. It was soo special to be able to spend this Christmas at home. I couldn't contain my joy after each family gathering-Christmas party when we loaded up the fam in the car to drive a few minutes back to our house for the night. It felt so good. And I felt so normal... and relieved. It was just wonderful. =)

Our Christmas was almost non-stop busy (can you say exhausting?) and some of our traditions had to be tweaked what with us not spending the night with our parents (can you say bittersweet?), but it was just the best celebrating with the people we love most and truly being home for the holidays.

Here's a recap of the first half of our Christmas...

We kicked things off on Tuesday the 23rd with Terrell's side of the fam. Terrell was given the day off (total surprise blessing) so we were able to hang out at home together as a family for the first half of the day and then we went over to my in-laws' house right after naptime and just let the cousins play while the grown-ups helped in the kitchen and caught up. The boys had a ball and we loved the easy, laid back start to our Christmas.

Terrell's mom made us a big delicious Christmas dinner before sending the kiddos to get in their matching pj's... a super fun, super cute cousin tradition. =)

 

After a mini photo shoot, a story and prayer with Nana, and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, it was presents time! All the kiddos played Santa Claus and were soo excited. It was so fun to experience it all through their eyes. And I think it's safe to say they were thrilled with their gifts. =)

We had such a fun time celebrating with the "Selph side"! And even though it was sort of crazy to tell everyone goodnight and get in our car to leave at the end of the night, it was also the best thing ever to be able to go home. Talk about stress-free! On the way home I told Terrell I felt so normal. Like this is how most people do Christmas. Yay!!

On Christmas Eve morning we woke up and went back to Terrell's parents' house for their family and friend breakfast. They host this every year for close family friends and it's always so good and such a fun little reunion. Even my family is invited. =) We enjoyed another delicious meal and loved catching up with friends we don't see very often.

Then we made our traditional family pics...

Such a fun morning and great way to wrap up the Selph Family Christmas. So thankful for sweet in-laws and special traditions.

2nd half recap coming soon. =)

Christmas Fun

The Selph fam enjoyed one of our favorite traditions of the Christmas season this weekend... Christmas lights! Slowly but surely this has become just as fun for our kiddos every year as it is for us. Haha!

We get the kids in their Christmas pj's, make pictures in front of the tree, grab a bowl of snacks (1 for each big boy), and this year for the first time ever head out on a Christmas lights scavenger hunt. So fun!

I found a pretty simple scavenger hunt online so we printed out copies for everybody and set off. The big boys loved it. They were on a mission. =) The hardest things to find on our list (that required driving all over town) were a penguin and a reindeer with a red nose/Rudolph. Finally we found a penguin and just before giving up on Rudolph we drove by a house that had a red candle nose glowing in the window. We knew then that Rudolph was inside watching us drive by. Scavenger hunt success!! It was super fun and we're excited to add the scavenger hunt to our tradition. Layton fell asleep but was present for most of the fun.

Then on Saturday night we went with my in-laws to see more Christmas lights at a local ranch and visited Santa's workshop while we there. The Christmas fun continued!

The kids got to do things like decorate a cookie, make an ornament, have storytime with an elf, and write a letter to Santa. The big boys had a ball. Especially my firstborn who is old enough to deeply enjoy and appreciate every little thing about Christmastime. We all had another fun night celebrating the season.

 

On yesterday we had a wonderful Christmas Sunday at church. We saw family, we saw friends, and we celebrated the greatest Gift of all. Then we had a lazy afternoon at home that included wrapping and Christmas movies. It was a pretty wonderful day.

And I just couldn't wrap up my last before Christmas post without mentioning just how grateful we are to be back in B'ville. We are so amazed and thankful for the way God worked out our move back to the hometown and thrilled to spend our first Christmas here! We aren't traveling this Christmas or packing or spending the whole week in other people's homes. And we aren't experiencing any of the stress and exhaustion that come with those things. We are home (woohoo!) and we are so enjoying the season right here with our closest family and friends!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the LORD Almighty

will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

Friday Favorites: Week of the Christmas Party Edition

We have had a fun week full of Christmas parties! Plus Terrell and I have been wrapping and planning and staying up too late trying to make sure we're ready for the big celebrations that are coming fast. We only have 6 days til Christmas! =)

Here are my favorites from our week...

*Our first party of the week was a Polar Express party during Storytime at our library. The kiddos wore pajamas, read the book, got a bell, made a craft, and ate lots of goodies. These two loved it. =) 

*Earlier in the week we also took advantage of the warmer temps and got outside. And the big boys have started a major serious, very big deal rock collection. Rocks are treasures for these 2.

*Between parties, Austin and I have worked all week on patterns with leftover wrapping paper. Little man has got it down. Even tough ones!

*The big boys had their choir Christmas program and party Wednesday night during their usual choir time. It was precious! I love watching my kiddos perform and sing. I think I smiled the whole entire time. Adorable!

This was Austin's first ever performance for an audience and he did great! He was pretty serious about his performance... and a little intimidated too I think, but he sang along with every song and watched his teacher just like he was supposed to. We were super proud.

My biggest is just a pro at performing. He has always liked to sing and always does a great job.

*On yesterday we had Garrison's Christmas party at school. Austin loved getting to go to this. I think he thinks he's kind of sort of in Kindergarten too. =)

*Layton had fun too and was entertained my Garrison's classmates the whole time. It was a fun little party.

*Speaking of Layton... he's officially our little puller upper. Naptime shenanigans have begun. =)

*Garrison has a special day at school today. Pajama Day, Polar Express Day, and it's a half day... plus a surprise visitor this morning! Christmastime is just super special.

We have a fun weekend planned full of Christmas lights and are so excited to kick off our Christmas Break fun tonight! Happy Friday!!