Joyful Noise: The Crazy Days of Christmas!

These have been some crazy days at our house. I got an early jump on the Christmas shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving. Then I got all proud of myself about how far ahead of the game I was so I didn't do anything else for A LONG TIME and then I was totally behind... And then Isaac got walking pneumonia and I got the cold that won't go away and the baby cut his eye teeth! All I can say is thank goodness for online shopping, rush shipping (although it is painful to pay for it) and the housekeepers that come and really deep clean my house twice a month.

Even though it has been crazy, we have had some really good times this holiday season. Alex and I went to a few Christmas parties with friends and co-workers and we celebrated the one year anniversary of his company, WBI. We also enjoyed Reiley's Winter Dance Showcase! Those little girls are so darned cute. Check out the pics below. A few nights ago, we all got into comfy clothes and Christmas jammies, picked up a warm drink at Starbucks and drove around for over an hour looking at Christmas lights. This is one of our kids' favorite things to do. It was funny this year, because we had a couple of little light critics in the backseat. "Those are beautiful." "This house did a really good job." and "What no lights, don't you love Jesus? Aren't you going to celebrate Christmas?" and other random comments from my daughter who never fails to have an opinion and always makes her opinion known! I am so glad she associates EVERYTHING at Christmas with the birth of Jesus, but questioning people's love for Jesus based on their light display is a little off-base. We may have some fine tuning to do.

But, despite all the chaos and the busy-ness, we are having a fantastic Christmas season remembering that Jesus is the reason, loving our kids, loving our life and rolling with the punches.

Winter showcase- Reiley's ballet class