December Weekend Recap & A Christmas Service Project
Good morning! How are you? We are all a little sleepy this morning and I’ve been contemplating a second cup of coffee, but have settled for some chai tea to sip on while I write. I snagged this Organic Winter Blend coffee from Costco when it was on sale and it is so smooth, rich, and delicious! It has made waking up early just a little bit easier!
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We had the sweetest weekend kicking off the Christmas season. On Friday the kids helped me wrap up and deliver a sackpack that my bible study put together. Our group signed up to stuff a sackpack through this amazing local organization to bless homeless, high-risk teens in our valley. Eight years ago a local young woman saw that there was an abundance of services for kids and families in our area during the Christmas season, but that teens were being passed over during the holidays, so she gathered her friends and partnered with local schools to launch this Christmas service project that has grown into what it is today. This year, 750 sackpacks were put together to show local teens that they are loved and remembered. This is such a great service project to do as a family or with your bible study or small group. Here is more information in case you are local and want to join in next year or would like to start one near you.
Friday night we headed out to my husband’s company Christmas party and had the best time visiting with everyone, enjoying dinner, and participating in the annual gift exchange. We brought home a couple of fun gifts for the kids from the exchange and I’m still dreaming about the mini chocolate cheesecake bites at the party. So good!
Saturday we woke up to find snow coming down, a cozy backdrop to decorate the tree, which we did in our Christmas jammies eating Elf cereal–well, I had oatmeal, but the kids each had a little bowl of this Elf on the Shelf cereal and then oatmeal.
We spent the day putting up Christmas, which normally happens the day after Thanksgiving, but we are a little slow on the decorating bandwagon this year.
After decorating the tree, Steve took the kids to the gym to play basketball and run around while I cleaned up the Christmas explosion and wrapped gifts. That night we cozied up on the couch to watch The Grinch, which is probably our favorite family Christmas movie (the newer animated version) and read our Christmas Advent storybook Tabitha’s Travels…the kids are loving it so far!
Sunday was Ashton’s basketball game and then out to see a Christmas show with a couple dear friends followed by dinner at the best little Thai place in town.
Sweet Moments with my Littlest
I always savor walks with Parker. We about froze our faces off walking this weekend (!), but I love winter strolls with this little guy. He has the softest spot for animals and always needs to stop to pet the orchard kitties and nearby horses. I’m so thankful to have a little piece of country right outside our front door. I treasure these times because I know it won’t be long before he’s too big to want to hold my hand on our outings.
Have a blessed start to your week friends!