Breakfast with Santa

One of our greatest blessings from open adoption is gaining a new family. When we adopted Max, we joke and say we adopted Jordan (his birthmom) and about 26 others. They are all a terrific family and we are truly blessed!With family comes Christmas traditions. Now one of our favorite Christmas traditions is breakfast with Santa at Papa Jake's and Grandma Jeannie's house.

See, Papa Jake and Grandma Jeannie are good friends with the REAL Santa. On a Sunday morning in December they invite him to their home with breakfast with the grandkids (and all of us adoring parents get to hang out too).

The kids eagerly await the arrival of Santa.Santa reads them a story and hands out gifts.He sits with each child and listens to their Christmas wishes.Sam asked Santa for an iPhone 4S (this was news to me!) so they were having a conversation about it.I don't think it was looking good for Sam. (Thanks Santa!)

Then Grandma Jeannie leads the kids in singing Happy Birthday to Jesus.Next all the kids head over to the table to eat a delicious breakfast, complete with hot cocoa. Yum!

We are truly blessed and thankful for this family and this great Christmas tradition!
Cheers!
Christy

holiday reflections

So the chaos of the holidays is behind us. The clean up and my annual "Spring" cleaning has begun. Now that everyone is healthy (we learned that Max has asthma-yuck!), I am finding more time to reflect on the blur that was December. Here are some favorite moments I'd like to share.

Max and Sam singing at a church they go to have Parent's Monring Out. Max was the littlest one and quickly decided he was going to crawl away after they sang his favorite song: Jingle Bells.
Hanging up the stockings on Christmas Eve. He could ALMOST reach.
Carefully choosing cookies for Santa.
And of course, one for herself!
Max was happy as can be with the new trike Santa brought him. He is really enjoying it still!My mom, dad, and brother were here for Christmas. Uncle John spent HOURS with Sam teaching him how to assemble Legos (his newest obsession.)So many more great memories than photos.

Enjoy your day!
Christy

Breakfast with Santa

Last Sunday we got to go to breakfast with Santa. See, Max's birth-great-grandparents are good friends with Santa. Every year they invite him over for breakfast and, lucky us, we get to hang out with Papa Jake, Grandma Jeannie and Santa too!
Santa reads them a story, gives them presents and then eats breakfast with them. Such an honor at such a busy time of year!
New favorite picture below! I imagine Max thinking... "So... what? You give me presents and drive a sleigh with reindeer? This world has a lot for me to learn yet!" Santa looked a little different without his coat and big boots. (Nonetheless, completely authentic!) This is his outfit he wears when it is 85 degrees out. This is clearly, a new favorite Christmas tradition for us! Thanks Papa Jake and Grandma Jeannie! Thanks Santa too!

Cheers,
Christy

More Christmas Crafting...

I stole some time to make these beauties and now I don't have any time to write about them. ;) They are lovely and so easy to make. I do love glitter and tinsel! Thanks for checking in!
Cheers,
Christy

First Christmas Craft

Have you ever gotten a gift that is so beautifully wrapped that the thing it came in is almost as good as the gift itself? I have and it's like 2 gifts in one. I love it!

I bought these plain wine tubes on after-Christmas clearance a few years ago. I thought I might paint them or decoupage them but I liked the faux leather outside so much that they just sat in my closet until the right inspiration came. And.... ta-da! Here is the result:I made 3 of these in 10 minutes. No kidding! (You know me... if it can't get done quickly these days, it'll have to wait.) I'll tell you how. What you need is 1 wine tube, 1 small ready-made wreath (I think mine is meant to be around a candle) 1 flat ornament or embellishment (I found my birds in the $1 bin at Michael's -just like this), and Gorilla glue. I can't sing enough praises about Gorilla Glue. Your hot glue gun will not be able to do this job. Bend the wreath so it contours better around the wine tube. Find the contact points between the wreath and the tube and put the Gorilla Glue on. Remember that Gorilla Glue expands so don't use too much. Glue the bird or your ornament of choice on top of the wreath and let it dry for a couple house. That's it!

Don't forget to put the wine in. This would also make a great container for a big stack of cookies. You better get crafting--only 49 days left until Christmas! Can you believe it?!?!? Cheers!

Lots of memories

Where do I begin... The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of activities, fun, and making memories. First, Sam turned 4 years old on the 23rd. I'm still not sure what I was thinking throwing a party for him 2 days before Christmas but it turned out fine. We kept it simple and small and he loved it.
Then, onto Christmas Eve. Maddie dressed up as an angel at church.
This is my favorite gift this year: Maxwell. Isn't he adorable?Everyone was on their best behavior by Christmas Eve.
That good behavior paid off for our kids. They got more than we could have imagined but it sure did keep them busy. I love this photo of Maddie playing on Christmas morning. She said that "Baby Doctor Barbie" made all her dreams come true. If only that innocence could last... Max woke up happy on Christmas morning after another full night's sleep. I needed some coffee and obvious to me now, need to color my hair. ;) Max loves his Bumbo chair and he thinks this singing penguin is hilarious! I never know how Maddie will "decorate" Max when I leave the room. She is so gentle but loves to put different hats on him, blankets to keep him warm, and make sure he has a toy. She is a doting sister and he loves it. So while all our family back East is enjoying a White Christmas, we enjoyed a San Diego Bright Christmas. We went down to Balboa park the day after Christmas to play and just enjoy the nice day. The kids enjoyed the Koi pond.Our favorite secret chair.
Even the Grinch was there. Can you see him?Our favorite activity at Balboa Park is always the Carousel. It will be 100 years old in 2010 and still brings so much joy to the young and old. Even old guys like Brentt have fun playing the Brass Ring game. He won the Brass Ring and we got a free ride for next time. The kids thought he was their hero. He is.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you are also making special memories with your family this holiday season. Cheers!
Christy