Ahead Of The Season

I always feel SO behind every December. So many gifts to buy, things to decorate, bake, attend, mail out.....it just feels like too much, especially with little kids. Every year things seem to sneak up on me, even though I know what's coming! It doesn't help that everyone in my family has a birthday between September and December.

Ok I don't mean to brag....but we are so on top of things this year! Our tree is up and decorated.

(Please excuse the flashing disco-ball star on top of the tree. It's a serious point of contention in our house right now. )

 The fall leaves have been raked.

The stockings have been hung by the chimney with care. And get this.....Andrew's stocking with his name on it is already here. Like I ordered it last month. I've never had one of my kids' stockings ready for their first Christmas before!

 The house is decorated.

 With a mix of hand-me-downs, homemade items, and some new purchases.

 The pine-scented candles are burning.

 The house just feels cozy and Christmasy.

And for the first time, I mailed out our Christmas cards early! We've only received 3 so far, and I've already sent out all of ours. This as never happened before. And if we're being realistic, this will likely never happen again. (Anyone have a good Christmas card holder they can suggest? Every year I intend to buy one!)

(This picture didn't make the cut for our cards)

 Thanks to Grandma Jan, we have our little snowman family out.

We've been feasting on some yummy seasonal treats. For the record, Jenna is NOT a fan of candy cane Trader Joe's oreos. Oh and also for the record, you must try Trader Joe's "Cheesy Trees". They are Christmas tree-shaped cheese crackers and they taste JUST like my homemade cheez-its.

My ticket has been purchased for our church's women's Christmas gathering this week. And every night this week we've been doing our church's family advent together after dinner. Also, the boys started doing their lego advent calendar last night.
 
Adam and I are just about done shopping for our kids. Yesterday we even started wrapping everything. With a little help.....

We still want to go look at Christmas lights and bake cookies. Oh and I've got to start on presents for the boys' teachers. But seriously, I feel like we are so ahead of the season. I hope we can relax a bit, stay healthy, and just enjoy the next few magical weeks. Adam and I were joking that come Christmas Eve, we're going to realize we forgot something huge. I sure hope not!