Leading up to Christmas and beyond

This is our tree this year.  Nothing fancy but we love it.  My mom and dad have started a tradition of giving each child a new ornament each year.  Sometimes it ends up being a set of ornaments.  Our tree is filling up more and more each year.  Up until this year, we have used small Christmas-y stuffed animals as fillers for the tree where needed.  Each year we seemed to use less and less.  They weren't my favorite so I can definitely say that I was happy to not have to use them this year.  (Last year we only used the stuffed animals since C was such a Curious George.  We didn't want to take any chances.)  We love each and every ornament on our tree.   

I've made gingerbread men a few times before but I really think I need to make more of an effort to make them every year.  The girls had so much fun decorating them..... and eating them too.  They are delicious!  The recipe I use is the recipe that Anthony's grandmother (whom I never had the privilege of meeting) used.  Everyone that tries them says they are the some of the best they've ever tried.  Chewy, not hard... just the way I like 'em!  As much as I'd love to share the recipe with you, I just don't know how Anthony's family would feel about that.  It feels almost wrong to share this one.  Sorry, you'll just have to let me bake you some ;)

We were able to go to three different family parties.  It's complicated.  At one of them, the kids do the nativity scene.  K was asked to be Mary this year, a role she was more than excited to take.  H (angel) and A (shepherd) got to choose from the costume box and B was asked to be baby Jesus.  Ha ha!  I had to laugh when my aunt asked.  We only see most of this side once a year.... at the Christmas party, so I knew she had no idea that she was asking my 9-month old, 25-pound monster to be the baby Jesus.  I informed her that he would probably break the prop but she assured me that it would be fine. 

I'm pretty sure this is the biggest baby Jesus in history!  Notice his feet hanging off the edge....  Ha!

Christmas Eve..... Santa had to have some cookies and the reindeer need carrots.  The kids really wanted to leave 9 carrots, one for each reindeer, but I assured them that the reindeer don't need that much all at once.  Normally that would not have sufficed but it did.  I don't ask questions, I'm just grateful to not have wasted 9 carrots.  Don't mind the weirdy in the background.

Look!  Santa Claus made it to our house!  (The tricycle is C's, the car is B's.  C was pretty sure that he needed B's car on Christmas morning.) 

I hope Santa was as good to you as he was to us.  My favorite?  Scroll down...

 Not this but this is cool too.  Santa left a note after eating all the goodies.

Here it is!  A new can opener, YES!  I can make dinner again.  But this wasn't from Santa.  It was from a relative.  And actually it wasn't my favorite gift.  I'll post the real favorite in a separate post.  It's precious!