Christmas 2018

We were lucky enough to have Nana and Pap and their dog Bailey here with us for a week at Christmas time. It just feels more like a holiday with family. Every year we worry about having enough under the tree and we wrap gifts like toothpaste, socks, underwear, hair ties, etc, and then (with the help of very generous family members) we feel sheepish when we saw how full the tree is!

 Because Ruthie's penguin fever has spread, the pajama pants I made this year used penguin fabric. I actually let James make the final fabric selection to make sure he didn't feel overwhelmed by the girls' penguin votes, and this is the one he chose. He's so sweet. My friend from church, Stacey, helped make a stencil so we could paint penguins on the kids' shirts too!

The big gift this year was cleaning out a lot of stuff from the toy room to make room for a TV and bean bag chairs so the kids could have their own tv watching space. They also got a DVD player, TV stand, and Alexa in there too. 

Santa gifts: giant penguin picture, sequin backpack, penguin stuffed animal, and soccer toy.

I couldn't think of a homemade gift idea this year, but at the last minute Linda gave me an idea and I made these pocket blankets for the girls to keep their beanie boos in. The animals don't stay in all the time, but I think the girls like them!

Also while Nana and Papa were here: party at the Casella's, caroling, shopping, wrapping, movies, LOTS of board games, pottery, escape room, and more. Sadly, I had to work most of the days, but still got to play with everyone later in the day!