Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. I guess the kids were really good because Santa spoiled them rotten, and they loved it! Watching Natalie's face on Christmas morning was a special treat. She had been dreaming of all things Beauty and the Beast for months.

This was our first year during our marriage being on our own for Christmas. Although we missed our families, it was neat to start our own traditions and continue some that we each had growing up.

On Christmas Eve, we all got new pajamas (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Bell!). We read the Christmas story from the Bible. Right afterwards, we asked Natalie, "so why do we have Christmas?" and she promptly responded with, "Santa!". So we summarized the Bible story again and then asked, "Why do we have Christmas?" This time she gave the correct answer of "because of baby Jesus", so we could then open presents.

We received wonderful gifts, but most of all, it's been so special being together as a family and savoring the wonders of this season. I've really tried to focus on Christ to help Natalie gain an understanding of what Christmas is really all about. I just love my little family.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Sweet kids

CHRISTMAS DAY

Our beautiful princess

Blake's Christmas outfit from Gpa and Gma Bell

Snow!

It's not very often that we get snow here, and when we do, it melts really quickly. So when it started snowing the other day, we ran right outside to start enjoying it. Blake was taking a nap at the time, so he missed out on the fun, but it was freezing, so it was for the best.

Rob got a two hour delay the next morning for work, so he went out first thing with Natalie to play. It was so fun watching them out there together.

I Love these Guys

I just cannot get enough of the Christmas season! I love this time of year. The only thing that could make it better would be snow. :) This year I have been trying to really slow things down and enjoy each day of this wonderful month with my sweet family. I've also been trying to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas to my little Natalie. She enjoys hearing the story about baby Jesus' birth.

I feel so blessed to have these guys in my life.

My handsome boys. It's amazing how much they look alike.

Natalie looking so cute in her Christmas dress this past Sunday.

The proud creator of this cute gingerbread house.

Natalie and I have been having such a fun Christmas season with the help of our advent calendar. In each of the pockets corresponding to the days before Christmas is a paper with something fun to do. Some of the things we have done so far are make a gingerbread house, drink hot chocolate and watch Polar Express, tell the Christmas story from the Bible, make a felt gingerbread man, make Christmas treats, make a snowglobe, and listen to Christmas music.

Some of the things coming up are to go look at Christmas lights around the town, buy gifts for people in need, have a candelight/tree light dinner, and make Christmas goody plates for neighbors and friends.

I think it's about time for a new post

We had a great Thanksgiving this year just by ourselves. We went non-traditional and cooked stuffed pork tenderloin. Rob and I are not big fans of turkey and since we were on our own this year, we cooked a meat that we really liked instead. The pork was a lot of work to make, but it was well worth it. I also made rolls and potatoes and gravy and stuffing, and then we ate chocolate satin pie for dessert.

We put up our Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. We pretty much just lounged around all weekend. I avoid shopping on Black Friday like the plague. I hate crowds, and I can find great deals online, so why go out? It was nice and relaxing.

My baby Blake turned 8 months old over the Thanksgiving holiday. We sure love that boy. He has such a happy, easy-going disposition. What a sweetie.

My happy boy

I just love watching the kids play. On this particular night, Natalie was dressed up as Alice in Wonderland and she wanted her brother to be the white rabbit. I couldn't find his bunny ears, so he just wore his suit coat. I just love those cute kids.

Ward Halloween Party

Let me just start this post by saying that I love my Silhouette craft cutter. It is awesome! I use it almost every day, seriously. It hooks up to my computer and cuts whatever I design. You will see how that relates to the ward Halloween party in the next paragraph. That being said, we had a super fun time at our ward Halloween party and trunk-or-treat last night.

Our costumes actually had a theme this year-Alice in Wonderland. It all started with Natalie's Alice costume. Then Natalie told Rob that she wanted him to be the Mad Hatter, so he ordered a hat, and already had the rest-his jacket was $1.44 and his pants were .50 I think. I made Blake's little stopwatch and bunny ears and pinned them on a white crocheted hat that he already had-it was newborn size, so it's obviously too small, but it worked. And then I cut vinyl on my wonderful Silhouette machine and stuck it on Rob's white t-shirt and went as the ace of spades. So fun.

Natalie got a cute princess Old Maid card game amongst mounds of candy. Her first remark after trunk-or-treating was, "Can we play my card game when we get home?" Crazy girl. She could care less about the sugar. Oh well, all the more for me :)

Daddy and kids before we left.

Redeeming her prize after the game

My cute little Alice.

The Pumpkin Patch!

We love our yearly fall tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch! We spent most of the day there bouncing, sliding, making our way through the corn maze, and of course picking out pumpkins. And I just couldn't leave without sampling (ok, I did more than sample) their amazing fudge. :)

It was a hot, yet gorgeous day! I can't believe how mild our fall weather has been so far. Now, we're getting excited to carve our pumpkins and to go trick-or-treating.