Christmas Morning

Look what we woke up too!  Santa came and left lots of presents.  

Devin and Tate were both very excited to see Christmas Morning come.  They couldn't wait to open some presents.  

Look at how cute these two are??  My how they have grown.

Ripping open some of his presents.

Devin couldn't wait to find out what was inside.

What a huge surprise!!  An air hockey table in the basement!

Dad even surprised them with the pool table.  This pool table is an antique.  Papaw Barry played on this very pool table when he was a little boy.  Devin and Tate have loved having it in the basement to play!

Christmas Eve Mass

Devin and Tate were both shepherds during the Christmas Eve Mass at St James.  They processed in with the Angels followed by Fr Betz.  The Children's mass just warms your heart.  Their little voices sing praise to Jesus can be so moving.  

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas and Good Night 

Good Bye Thomas!

It's hard to believe we are saying goodbye to Thomas. He will head back to the North Pole with Santa 🎅🏼 tomorrow evening. It's a bittersweet moment. I think we will all miss Thomas' shenanigans. He not only keeps the boys in line, but helps to keep the holiday season magical for all of us. We will miss you and hope you enjoy your time off, it's well deserved!

Gingerbread House...Yum!

Oh No! Thomas helped himself to parts of Devin's homemade gingerbread house. Doesn't he know these are just for looks and not to eat. I sure hope Devin isn't upset in the morning.

Festive Bathroom

Thomas was a little hard to find this morning. He had locked himself away in our bathroom. Thomas had decided to do a little of his own decorating. He brought some of his elf style back with him from the North Pole. He definitely succeeded in making our bathroom much more festive!

We call this bow climbing.  Sorta like rock climbing, but for elves who love all things Christmas.

Really Thomas, even the toilet.

Magic Elf Snot

 Well, we know that Thomas has been under the weather. You guessed it, he's been a little "SNOTy". He came back from the North Pole with some magic elf snot. Im' not sure the difference between normal elf snot and magic elf snot. I just hope Thomas isn't leading us astray. Pretty disgusting if you ask me, but sure to excite the boys!

SNC CHristmas Concert

The boys loved it so much last year, that Dad surprised all of us with tickets to see Straight No Chaser.  Their concerts are just amazing.  The boys talked about them the whole year.  Hoping this becomes a new family tradition.

Tate and Mom Selfie

Devin and Mom selfie

We treated Mamaw and Papaw to dinner at Bone Fish Grill before the concert.  It was a fun evening! Glad we are able to share these memories with Mamaw and Papaw. 

Huge Mess

We asked Thomas to do one thing while we were gone - take Rudolph outside. Looks like Thomas was way too busy playing with his Snapchat filters to do what we asked. Now we have a huge mess under our Christmas tree. A Rudolph sized mess. Hope Thomas gets that cleaned up before Santa gets here.

Even Elves like to play with snap chat filters. Thomas thought this one was fitting for the season. Rudolph laughed at how ridiculous he looked as a reindeer.

Caught a Ride

It was way to cold for flying, so Thomas enlisted some help from one of his favorite friends. Thomas hitched a ride back on Rudolph. Rudolph was needing to get in some extra flight time before the big day and this was the perfect opportunity.

Bean Boozled

Spin if you Dare?? Thomas is daring us with the bean boozled challenge. Thomas took the first turn and spun the brown jelly bean. Is it chocolate pudding or canned dog food. I'm sure hoping the boys don't insist on me playing this game. This might be one game that I'm not going to be overly competitive. I sure hope Devin and Tate know what they are in for....

Now those look gross.

Once everyone was home and before dinner, we decided to play Bean Boozled with Thomas.  Mom spun Peach or Barf.....and she got Barf.  Devin spun Tutti Fruiti or Stinky Sock and was lucky enough to get Tutti Fruti.  Dad spun Berry Blue or Toothpaste and got toothpaste.  Tate spun Coconut or Spoiled Milk and got spoiled milk... Yuck!

Need a Light?

Simple question-Need a Light??? Looks like Thomas brought some craft activity for Devin and Tate. If I was going to guess I'd say it has something to do with a light. Can't wait to see!

What a fun craft!

Tate is proud of his snowman night light.

Devin working on his snowman.

They turned out so cute!  Thanks Thomas for this awesome little surprise.

Making Memories and Christmas Cookies

This is one of our favorite Christmas memories each year.  Making Christmas cookies with Grandma Wolsing.  I always looked forward to this when I was a child.  I hope that we can continue to pass this tradition on for years to come.  

The boys favorite - sugar cookies.

Who doesn't love decorating sugar cookies.

The boys decorating skills have really come a long way over the past several years.

I love this picture! Passing down family traditions.  Makes my heart smile.

Tate has become and amazing cookie decorator.  He really thought out each cookie and made sure to decorate them appropriately.  He took his time and made awesome cookies.

Mixing up the next batch.  The boys fight over who gets to run the mixer.