The first week of our break was wonderful, and it was time to celebrate Christmas!
It was so warm and balmy that we spent most of Christmas Eve outside. We went for a hike, came back home for lunch and a rest time, and then headed out to ice skating!
Ice skating was SO FUN! Tera really hit her stride and could go alone. Kiah and Ezra needed these green things but also really wanted to try to go alone. Theo and I went around a few times and I crashed and burned twice. I had bruises on my knees and backside for a week after! Ha!
We rushed home to warm up and get one of our favorite traditions set up: appetizers and a Christmas movie for dinner! My parents came over for dinner and the movie and my Mom made about half the food while I made the other half. It was all so delicious and we had enough left over to also work for the Christmas Day grazing that we knew we were all going to do.
We headed to bed warm and thankful and just overflowing with joy and gratitude.
The kids shockingly slept until 7:30 and I was able to get up, shower, and begin the cinnamon rolls cooking before we started on presents. My parents came over again and we gathered around the tree to read the Christmas story, sing a hymn and begin to exchange our gifts.
Christmas morning is a favorite after everyone is done opening presents. It just feels so calm. We worked on a puzzle, ate cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs, and Pepaw (my Dad) helped the kids assemble all of their crafts and legos and puzzles that they got. We headed over to my Mom’s house for a delicious lunch of ham and potatoes. After lunch, we decided that we wanted to watch a movie and somehow landed on Honey, We Shrunk the Kids. We watched that and the kids LOVED it, so we decided to go for a walk and then watch the second one. After a long walk, we watched the second one and picked over all of our leftover appetizers for dinner. When the second one was finished, it wasn’t quite time for bed, so we started the third one. HAHA. My kids watch like one movie a week and I think all of our brains were Christmas fried after watching three whole movies in a row. But it is SUCH a fun memory and it was the perfect way to spend a rainy Christmas Day.
The next week was a repeat of the first- Theo was working and I had no interest in leaving the house and going anywhere. Mostly, I just don’t want my kids getting sick anymore and it was fantastic to be able to stay home in a bubble and not let them see or touch anything. We read more books, did more puzzles, caught up on household chores, did a grocery run and hung out a lot with Memaw and Pepaw. I taught the two older kids how to play Ticket to Ride and I think we played at least 6 rounds of it over the course of the week!
We celebrated New Year’s Eve at a friends house with a small group. We toasted the New Year in at 8:30 and were in bed by 10. Just the way we like it haha!
On New Year’s Day, we told Ezra it was time for him to say goodbye to his paci. He did it with much fanfare and hasn’t looked back since. He has cried a bit at bedtime, but the transition has been super smooth and it’s really fun to see these kids of mine growing up. Hard to believe that we have no diapers and no pacis for the first time in 7+ years!
And that was a wrap on Christmas break! Monday morning was back to work and to school for everyone. It was such a restorative Christmas break and I am so thankful for the time that our family had to rest and just be together.