Christmas is in the air!!!

I hope y'all had an amazing Thanksgiving! I know we did. We spent it with both sides of our families and had tons of fun!!! And since we live in Texas we were able to spend lots of fun time inside and OUTSIDE playing!!!

Love these sets...the kids literally played for almost 2 hours. They are Fisher Price Imaginext toys but the ones the kids are playing with are actually Joey's from when he was little...and you can see how particular he is about his things because these are in perfect condition!

My little pilgrim/pirate

Crafts at my parents. (Grayson wanted to bring some for the kids...can you tell he is the son of educators...haha)

Playing at the park at Nana and Papa's house

our little turkey

Grayson and a nutcracker

mommy and Ella

Grayson, Ella, and their sweet cousin Shelby

silly kiddos

I was a bit sad that I didn't get a picture of Ella and Sawyer together because they had matching outfits...maybe Christmas! : )
We also enjoyed a fun little Pinterest Playdate with my bff Amanda. We always try to do those each month where the kids do a craft we find on Pinterest and we do one too! We also make all pinterest inspired recipes. It's a lot of fun!!! I don't have the recipes but once I compile them I will post. Amanda made amazing tuna salad in cucumber cups and spinach-macaroni-cheese cups....they were AMAZING!!!

cookies and strawberry brownies

getting messy

Ella's sugar cone tree she decorated

the kiddos

Then we decorated for Christmas which was an all day event because we thoroughly cleaned while we did it! The kids had fun and we let Grayson do whatever he wanted in his room....we didn't put as much up this year because I really didn't want to feel like things were cluttered. So we kept it simple. I didn't get pictures of the formal living room but maybe next time!

The outcome of the Pinterest Playdate......a Christmas card wreath

Decorating their fun family room tree....for their ornaments they get or make, for all my teacher ornaments, and Joey's ornaments from when he was little.

Ella's princess tree

me and my elves

formal room tree

kids family room tree

Ella's pink tree

Grayson's creation...he also hung blue lights around his room

Williams Sonoma inspired (it's really dollar tree candle sticks and walmart candle jars glued together...love) Love the smell of the cinnamon pinecones

Joey's 1st Christmas..haha

Love these ornaments Joey's Grandma got us when we got married and one when we got our house. They are hand painted and so special. I found these neat ornament holders at Pier 1 to display them.

Mantle almost finished.....forgot to turn the lights on

What is Christmas decorating without doing Christmasy stuff? We made sure to check out Bass Pro Shop and Forney Hometown Christmas. Grayson loved trying to ice skate and Ella loved seeing all the neat stuff because she is really enjoying it all this year and getting excited!!!

Helped mom and dad decorate...isn't it funny that my mom is standing on a chair but is barely taller than my dad?

Ella helping Nana put the little red birds on the tree

Grayson and Daddy having a good ol' time

We have had such a wonderful time and give all thanks to God for blessing us and giving us each day that we have. It really makes me realize that since we are so blessed how important it is to give to others at this time. So please remember as you're shopping at Christmas or enjoying those memorable moments with your family....stop to give and if you can't financially give, give the gift of praying for someone or sharing the gospel with them. Those are some things we shouldn't just do during Christmas but all year round. I am doing some projects with my school and also possibly with volunteering with an organization so if you need some ideas or places to serve, message me and I will send you some information on where you can do that!
melroseacker@yahoo.com
Well, I have a little one who is sick so I am going to back to "Cloroxing" the house! I hope you have a blessed week and I can't wait to share pictures of Grayson's 1st program next week. This mommy is sooo excited!!