Every week I like to take a moment to showcase the moments that brought me the most joy. Sometimes they are awesome activities and other times it’s a sweet moment between the kids. There are always moments that can fill us with joy if we choose to see them with a thankful heart.
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We were so busy getting the last minute things done this week that my camera didn’t come out a whole lot! But we still had great moments that I did manage to capture and I’m feeling ready for the holiday.
I still have moments where I think I’m forgetting something but ya know what? It will probably be okay. If we have six appetizers instead of seven we will survive. If I don’t clean out the microwave, we will survive. We are spending time together as a family watching movies, listening to Christmas music, playing games, and simply being together. We are watching our Shepherd get closer and closer to finding Jesus and we are reminded to seek Him out as well. That’s what’s important right now, not the number of gifts under the tree, the dozens of cookies I made, or the amount of activities we did or didn’t complete.
1. Homemade Potstickers
We love this recipe for potstickers (minus the onion, of course) but this year we got extra fancy and even made our own wrappers! Are they pretty? NOPE! But they taste great and are going to make an awesome part of our New Year’s feast. It was fun working together and we filled this gallon bag to the point that there is no way to fit another in, even if we tried. If we are lucky we will get two meals out of this batch 😉
2. Homemade Ornaments
Last weekend I picked up a pack of paper ornaments and simple stickers at Hobby Lobby for 50% off. I gave each kid three ornaments and a sheet of stickers and let them go crazy. This seriously kept them busy for a good 45 minutes and it probably would have lasted longer but it was closing in on bedtime. I still have more ornaments left so I’ll pull this back out over break to drag them away from electronics 😉
3. Procrastination pays off
Micah and I bought ourselves new Fire tablets earlier this year and decided we would be passing down our old Fire tablets to the big boys. They have been playing their LeapPad tablets for 5+ years and could use an upgrade. We wanted to get them FreeTime Unlimited because then we can control what they have access to on the tablets and there is no access to purchasing or social media. I’d been putting it off and putting it off but this week they ran a deal for 40% off the yearly subscription rate – SOLD! For $49 we can have four kid profiles (but we only need the two right now) and it can be used on all our tablets. I’m a wee-bit excited to see the boys faces when they open these!
*FreeTime Unlimited is no longer on sale but you can get the whole tablet with a case, 2-year protection plan, and a year of Freetime Unlimited for less than the cost of the yearly subscription right now!
4. Buying ahead
Having two of our kids’ birthdays in the few months after Christmas means we can usually score some good deals on presents. When I ran into Costco on Friday I passed a display for these dollhouse/kitchen combos – marked down to $29.97! Mercedes has been asking for a new dollhouse that will fit her Barbies (the house we got her last year is for mini-dolls) and a play kitchen. Her room simply isn’t big enough for both toys but this combo should be perfect and it’s only $30 – normally $80!!! We have to keep it hidden until February so don’t tell her, haha!
5. Decorating cookies
The kids have been begging to decorate the batch of sugar cookie trees I made earlier this month. They’ve been sitting in the freezer waiting for the perfect moment and our lazy Saturday was exactly that. I whipped up a batch of buttercream and frosted the trees and they added mini m&ms and star sprinkles. It only lasted maybe 15 minutes but they encouraged each other and expressed their personalities in their own decorations. Jamison was super precise, Parker finished as quickly as possible, and Anders spilled half his m&ms on the floor. Good times!
Merry Christmas, everyone! Wishing you and your family a blessed day.
