A Little Christmas Concert ~

Our school had it's annual Christmas concert tonight and R had his first. I was a "band nerd" back in the day and it was pretty neat to see him up there on stage with his baritone...brought back a few memories. I hope both my kids like band. There's something cool about a group of kids coming together and working towards a common goal. It's alot of hard work, but it's all worth it when you walk on the field at the State Marching Contest or earn top honors at Concert Contest.

At this point I don't know if band is "his thing" but I do know band is required through 8th grade, so we at least have a few more years of these concerts to enjoy. :)

First Grapefruit of the Season ~

If you've been following my blog for a while you might have read this post about our love of grapefruits. For months the kids have been asking if it's grapefruit season yet.  Well, today was an exciting day in our house. The kids were so happy to discover grapefruits on the kitchen counter. I only bought a few because I didn't know how good they were going to be. They were delicious! Now we get to wait patiently for our annual box(es) of  grapefruits from the Jr class at our nieces' school. Those are the best!

I was an adult before I knew how to properly eat a grapefruit. For most of my life I used a grapefruit knife and painstakingly cut each little bite out of it's little segment...thanks to my sister I know how to eat a grapefruit the way God intended them to be eaten. First cut the ends off, next carve the rind off, then carefully cut each segment out. I'm pretty sure these instructions are as clear as mud, so if I were you and were really interested in this, I would just Google it!

Little Red ~

Day 2 of my month long photo project ~ the subject...our Elf on a Shelf; Little Red. I swore when I first found out about this idea of an elf coming in from the North Pole to spy on my children and then report back to Santa, I would not fall prey to another marketing ploy to get me to go out and spend money. Fast forward about 5 years and what did the brilliant marketing people do? That's right. They made a movie about this cute little elf. We watched the movie and then the next day (and I'm not kidding, it was the very next day) I found myself shelling out the dough for this little guy.

I will admit it's been fun. Little Red has been a very simple addition to our family traditions. He's a low key elf and pretty much just relocates himself every night without much fanfare. He doesn't get into mischief and could care less about making flour angels or spelling out names with Cheerios like I've seen some of his fellow elf friends doing online. He simply does his job. And by doing his job I mean just his presence in the house has worked wonders in getting K out of bed every morning. There have been a few times he has forgotten to find a new hiding spot, but somehow manages to move before the kids wake up. It really is amazing. ;)

Days of December

This is day 1 of my "Days of December" photo project I've decided to do this year. Every day I will take an Instagram pic and post it to my blog; at the end of the month I will have a pretty cool photo journal of all the highlights of the month. This seems like something I can keep up with during the busy days of the last month of the year.

This is a photo of our church. Today I participated in our monthly prayer vigil, had choir practice and a Christmas fellowship with the choir. My name was even drawn out of the basket for a door prize. I chose this really neat little wreath made out of a wire hanger with Tootsie Rolls tied all over it. By the looks of the wreath it took the crafter nearly forever to make it. :)

Oh and I have to say how happy I am that my kiddos talked me in to getting all the Christmas decorations out the day before Thanksgiving. This is something I've never done before, but something I will for sure do again in the future. I love that our home is ready for Christmas and I can focus on what really matters...making memories with my family.

Here's to a holly jolly Christmas...it really is the best time of the year!