All the days of Christmas

Notes from Santa... 

Christmas is always magical for us B's. We enjoy the whole season, get our decorations up as quickly as possible and celebrate everyday.
Over the past few years, we've slowly moved our kids and ourselves away from the shamefully now normal excitement of "getting, gimme, more" and encouraged feelings of "I have enough, what can we give?". It's hard to instill in kids especially when all around them there are examples of excess. We work hard at it though, molding kind, generous, contributing citizens of the world.
This year, we counted down our excitement to Christmas day with a family activity advent calendar. Each morning, the kids opened up the activity for the day. Some were silly (make "snowman soup" aka hot chocolate with marshmallows), some to teach lessons (pick out a brand new toy that you'd really like for yourself, then donate it to the children's hospital), some to make sure we did traditional things of the season (hang mistletoe and sing I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus).
It was an inspired activity and we started off strong. As the month wore on though, our commitment list grew longer and longer. With so many birthdays and parties and holidays in December, by the 13th I felt like a crazy person trying to add yet one more thing to do every day.
Then Mr. B brought it all back home for me after I was stressing completing 3 days worth of activities in one night... He said that it was a great idea and that we were having fun when we did things that were a part of the advent calendar. We were also having fun doing all the other things populating our schedules that weren't on the calendar. Stressing about it was taking away the joy of it. So right then and there, I re-embraced the relaxed, chill, qué sera sera attitude that we had agreed would see us though the season, heck, through life.

Ms. Hea Bug

Don't mind his grumpy face... It's hard to sit by your stuff and not open it cuz mom is taking a picture. lol.

Stuff happens. Things come up. When you're surrounded by people that you live and adore though, it doesn't seem to matter so much. I know what I have and what is important. We didn't accomplish every activity but we did a whole lot of them, together.

We enjoyed Christmas close to home setting out a ginormous cookie for Mr. C. JT wrote an awesome letter offering up Mr. B's Red Bulls and Diet Cokes if he wasn't satisfied with milk. We bid farewell to our Elf on the Shelf, Blue Berry Angus. We woke to french toast casserole and a morning of "one at a time gift opening". The kids were so excited with their treasures. We made the rounds visiting our family and enjoyed a delicious day. We were so happy to spend yet another amazing Christmas in each other's company. This marks 13 that Mr. B and I have spent together... way back since '99. Love him, love my kids, love all the this holiday stands for.

Wishing your family a very Merry Christmas too... Love, Us B's