This Christmas went by like a whirlwind! It really didn’t feel like the Christmas season at all until Graydon arrived home on the 21st. As soon as the younger three girls and I picked him up from the airport, we headed straight to the Christmas tree farm to finally pick up a tree.


(anxiously awaiting to see Daddy)

Our usual tradition each year is to pick out our tree on, or around, the twins birthday which is December 8th. However, since hubby was not home, and finances simply didn’t permit it at the time, we held off getting the tree this year. I was starting to wonder if we’d even have one at all!

This year’s tree was quite a bit a little smaller then usual. Since our home is still for sale, and our home IS small, I didn’t want the house to see too cluttered, but rather cozy. I’m really not quite sure we’ve succeeded, but it is what it is. I’m not really advertising the house again until after the new  year anyway, so we’ll enjoy our cozy, albeit cluttered, living room with the pretty tree, while we can.


(pets, pets, in every photo!)

One of the many casualties of living with your home half packed is missing things such as the Angel your husband bought you many, many Christmases ago. A precious moments angel had to take the place of my beautiful golden ‘missing in action’ angel. Not sure where she’s gone off to, but most likely packed away with some of my good china.

(peanut butter blossoms)

Graydon would only be home for 4 and a half days. That first evening was spent taking all five kids to do a little Christmas & grocery shopping. The next day we had the pleasure of doing my quarterly business taxes. The third day he ran errands while I did some baking with the girls and last minute sewing.

Saturday was Christmas Eve. We did some more baking, and lots of cooking! Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, & gravy.

(good company)

Company brought brussel sprouts, dinner rolls and some more baked goods. We had a candle light service at Church and then a very late Christmas dinner at home. It really was a nice Christmas eve. However, we had some sick kids and so my parents were not able to come, and I just hope our friends who were brave enough to join us don’t regret it by ending up with this cold/flu themselves.

(opening gifts, Shaylah loves Garfield so her brother got her a Garfield movie!)

All five kids are now sick, although Joshua was the first sick and is well on his way to getting better now. This morning I realized I’m coming down with it myself. So far, Graydon is the last man standing and I hope it stays that way!


(father & son discussing the farming and REAL tractors while ‘playing’ with a toy one)

Yesterday, Christmas, our last day together, was spent sleeping in late until almost 11:00! That’s the first time we’ve slept so late on Christmas, but it had been such a LONG week with very little sleep, and sick kids!


(the girls BIG gift. Pillow buddies, a dog and a horse, I was blessed to trade for with another wahm!)


(Julia made her Daddy a travel pillow of his very own! She even personalized it with i love u)

We opened gifts while fresh homemade cinnamon buns baked in the oven. For once I got some photos of how we make our buns so I can share those photos at a later date.


(Cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing)

Once we were done opening gifts, we simply hung around the house, eating homemade goodies and enjoying family time.


(JUNK food! What could be better, according to a teenage boy?)

The last gift the kids opened was a movie night package. We made up one of these for them last year, and they liked it so much we did it again.


(Jasper & Alesia. Jasper never knows what to think of all this excitement going on.)

Christmas evening was spent watching a movie together and eating junk food amid coughs and sniffles.

Early this morning Joshua (ds) and I took Graydon (dh) to the airport. We were up at 5am and got everyone else up just long enough to say a prayer together as a family before we headed out. Then the girls went back to bed, and I dropped Joshua off at work after we said our goodbyes to Graydon at the airport.

How was your Christmas?