So Christmas season begins December 1st in the Taylor household with the arrival of Elenor, our elf. Before Elf on the Shelf became so commercialized, our neighbors introduced Elenor to us. She is related to the Putney's elves. Tommy had read somewhere that you should have one elf for each child....that way when they grow up and have children of their own, their elf can go with them. I think traditions are part of childhood...those are the memories that tend to be closest to our hearts.
Another Christmas tradition is to open up one gift the night before Christmas. Each year, the girls receive a new pair of matching pjs and a new book to read that night. This year, it was extra special because my niece and nephew spent the night with us and they read the books to the girls. I love having family over night....and so do the girls!
I bought an Apple computer this past summer for my graduate class. With iPhoto, there are so many options you can do to modify and enhance your pictures. The one above is just one that I changed to black and white as well as the warmth of it.
Campbell sporting her new pjs after her bath.
The past 4 out of 5 Christmases, we have spent with Addisan on the nebulizer and ending up either at Chippenham or her pediatrician the 24th, 25th, or 26th of December. This year was no exception. I think her body just goes and goes on adrenalin until we have a break....and then everything catches up with her. Our biggest problem with Addisan is that she does not complain when she is sick...I think partially because she has always had issues with her health and does not have a solid healthy baseline to compare it to.
This was one of our favorite gifts that we received from my parents. Addisan has been asking a lot of questions about God lately....like how does he stand on the clouds without falling through?! She is starting to learn more about this at school this year. The JK program at her school did the pageant at the Christmas Eve service and she got the role of Mary. It was just darling!
Boo and Campbell playing with her birthday gift from the Charlottesville Millers.
Another tradition are oysters on Christmas Eve.....YUM! I love the fact that Tommy does not eat them and I can consume his share!
Homemade lasagna courtesy of Pop-Pop.
The Charlottesville Millers. How in the world did Boo get so tall?
One of the most special moments was seeing Addisan open the door to Santa. Her excitement just poured through every ounce of her body. She is a very reserved child by nature and to see her let her guard down and believe in something so magical was priceless. This is one of the moments I will always carry with me as a mother close to my heart....her belief in something bigger than herself.
You gotta love girl time!
Cookies for Santa.
Boo and his four legged friends before bed time. We are fortunate to have such easy going dogs! Max, their golden retriever, was a HAPPE dog that they adopted from our rescue group.
Going to bed with out of town family in your home makes me smile!
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