A Christmas to Remember

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone! I always feel like I am trying to sloooooow down time so I can soak in and enjoy every second, but it hasn't worked yet. ;) 

This was a very special Christmas for our family - the first as a family of six, the first having our sweet Bella home. And I can say without hesitation: she absolutely LOVED it. It was just so special. It was emotional (for me), too. I broke down at one point on Christmas night, thinking of her birth momma and praying that she somehow was able to know that the little girl she had to leave is now being loved and spoiled and snuggled on the other side of the world. And I cried thinking of my Bella, how, at 2.5 years old, this was her first real Christmas. It just seems so unfair, the early life she had to endure. So, I grieved amidst the joy and thanked God for the blessings that abounded in our home this year. We are such a blessed family, and I cannot imagine our life without our Bella in it. Such a special Christmas. 

For memory's sake, a glimpse into My Lu Crew's festivities the last few days:

Pre-Christmas

Is there anything more beautiful than a candelit, Christmas Eve church service? Brings me to tears every time! We attended our church service on Sunday morning and were excited to learn that elementary school children were invited to attend "grown up church" with us. It just felt so important having Banks and Raleigh in that room with us. <3

Right after church, my hub took Banks for a little Christmas Eve surprise: a Panther's game! And boy, did they have fun. :) Meanwhile, back home, the little three rested while I prepped our Christmas morning breakfast casserole and then straightened up the house in preparation for it to be destroyed the next day. :)

After the big guys returned home, we enjoyed a big ol' pot of vegetable soup my hub had prepared earlier that morning and then decorated our cookies for Santa and spread our reindeer food (we had made our reindeer food the day before, per Goldy's instructions). ;)  

And then, a new fun tradition: Christmas caroling through our neighborhood...on a boat. Yes, a boat. :) Some of our dear friends decked out their boat in festive lights and invited us to join them and some of their friends for some Christmas Eve caroling, while riding on the boat that was towed behind their truck. Ha! It was seriously SO fun! 

We then came home, got on our Christmas jammies, and listened as Banks read us 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and then as my hub read us the story of Jesus' birth. Finally, off to bed so that Santa could visit!

Christmas Day

He came! He came! We woke up to discover that Santa had, in fact, left the kids the items from their wish lists: NFL mini helmets for Banks, Moana and Rapunzel clothes for Rals, cars and "a watch that turns on" for Harrison, and a new sleeping bag (to match her sister's) and musical toys for Bels, among other things. Christmas.Is.Magical. Just the BEST!!!

After opening all our gifts, and enjoying our breakfast casserole, we basically spent the rest of the day playing with all our new toys and games. One of my favorite memories, though, was the 3-mile run I took that day: you see, usually, I run alone. But that day, Banks begged to run with me. And he did! He ran the whole three miles. And we chatted the whole way, and I loved every.single.step. 

I made two appetizers for lunch that were really tasty (from one of my favorite bloggers) and then my hub made our traditional Christmas dinner - steaks and yummy, Southern sides. A little more playing (#familygamenight) and it was bedtime for all!

Post-Christmas 

And now, we are just enjoying time as a family. We went into the post-Christmas days with very few plans and are making the most of them! I took Harrison on a Momma Date to the movies yesterday and then Banks and Raleigh ice-skating today (after completing our first post-adoption visit with our {awesome} social worker this morning!).  

We have played lots of family games and are getting great use out of our new toys. We have visited our Greenway and have watched a few family movies. And Bels is just along for the ride and loving all of it!

It truly has been a great week with My Lu Crew, and we still have another week before school starts back. Yeehaw! I hope each of you enjoyed a special, magical holiday with your family. Here's to a great closing out of 2017. I'll be back with two last posts to end out the year. See you then! 

Gold E. Locks, Year 6

To elf or not to elf, that is the question. For us, we elf, and we elf HARD! ;) Our fun-loving, mischevious little Gold E. Locks, aka Goldy, joined our family six years ago, and the kiddos continue to get SO excited to find him and discover his latest shenanigans each morning. And as of this year, we still have four kiddos who believe in the magic. I worry that a certain 8-year-old is starting to catch on, but as far as we know, Goldy, and his jolly ol' boss, continue to be the magic makers. Here, a look at all the fun Goldy performed around our home over the last 24 days:

Day 1. Goldy arrived and dropped off an Advent calendar and a candy message.

Day 2.  Goldy was ready to cheer on the Clemson Tigers to victory in the ACC playoff game, donning his favorite Clemson sweater for the occasion.

Day 3.  Goldy left a fun craft so that the kids could help create some festive friends.

Day 4.  Goldy left all four kids high marks on their Official Elf Report Cards, thank goodness!

Day 5.  Goldy wanted to help the kiddos focus on the reason for the season, leaving a gingerbread Nativity for them to decorate this year. 

Day 6.  Goldy clearly had fun while the rest of us were sleeping, setting up his own Elf Photo Booth, complete with props.

Day 7.  The day had come: Goldy let us know we'd be visiting Santa that night to fill the 2017 frame!

Day 8.  Goldy packed himself up in a jar so the kiddos could safely transport him to Nana and Pop's without touching him - which meant no elf magic was lost in the travel!

Day 9.  Goldy had a wild and crazy game night with his elf cousins while at Nana and Pop's house. Those elves are just so FUN!

Day 10.  Goldy and his elf cousins were ready for the human cousins to join in the gaming fun, hiding 36 candy canes all around Nana and Pop's house for them to find!

Day 11.  Goldy made it safely back home and clearly had candy cane wishes and gumball dreams.

Day 12.  Goldy clearly has connections! He spoke to the jolly ol' soul himself, who sent each of the kids their very own personalized video messages.

Day 13. Goldy knew Momma's oven would be rockin' and rollin',with 70 cookie dough orders to fulfill, and he was ready to get to work as the official EBO (Elf Baking Assistant). 

Day 14.  Woohoo! Goldy let us know it was our annual pottery painting day. Time to add more Christmasware to our collection, per tradition. 

Day 15.  It was time to spread kindness all around! Goldy left eight kindness tasks for the kids to complete before Christmas arrived. 

Day 16. Goldy knew it was Momma's birthday and brought his own elf-sized cake to help celebrate.

Day 17. School night, shmool night. Goldy left candy-caned marshmallows, hot cocoa, mugs, and popcorn, inspiring an impromptu Christmas movie night.

Day 18.  Sweet Goldy brought a snowman back from the North Pole! Unfortunately, he didn't anticipate the difference in temperatures between the North Pole and South Carolina. Oops!

Day 19. Surprise! Goldy gifted the kids with an early Christmas present: season passes for Carowinds, including entry to Winterfest for that night. 

 

Day 20.  Goldy brought the kids official 2017 Christmas jammies, just in time for Raleigh and Banks' Polar Express jammie days at school!

Day 21.  Goldy left scavenger hunt clues for the kids, leading them to a 100-piece holiday puzzle. He must have realized that their Christmas break was mere hours away!  

Day 22. Goldy left donuts for the kids as well as elfin-sized donuts for himself. Thanks for making breakfast so easy that day, Goldy!

Day 23. It was time to make some reindeer food for Santa's transporters. Some oats here, a little glitter there, and Santa's traveling crew is sure to be well fed and well lead, straight to our home! 

Day 24.  Goldy bid the kids farewell with a goodbye letter and all the components needed to decorate Christmas cookies for Santa.

And that's a wrap on all our fun with Goldy in 2017. Thanks for the memories, thanks for the laughs, thanks for the fun, Goldy! We'll see you in 2018!