Tis the Season!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And these boys are all over it. Christmas in America sure beats Christmas down under (but we wouldn't mind a trip to the beach these days!) They were SO excited to go see Santa and both got really shy when they saw him. I know they still rattled off a list of things they're hoping to see under the tree but I loved seeing them awestruck with the big guy in red. We went really early so they had lots of time to talk and we took lots of pictures, and Alex looked like this in ALL of them!

At home we got a tall, pre-lit tree so I was pretty thrilled to save all the time stringing lights! The boys helped hang some of the ornaments but I didn't force the issue when they got bored because all of them would have ended up on one branch.

The fireplace is looking cozy and we've had lots of discussions about how Santa will get in. The best part of this picture is that the TV is no longer on the coffee table because we finally got a console!

The most fun we've had is with our Elf on the Shelf that the boys named Bart. For those new to this bribe, er, tradition, the story is that this little guy watches the kids all day then goes to the north pole at night to report to Santa. Awesome parenting tool.

Each day when he gets back from the north pole he shows up in a new spot so the kids have to find him in the morning.

We also went to the big Christmas pageant at our church in Houston and it was amazing! The kids loved parts of it but after the first 200 questions from Ben, I began to lose my patience and didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked. I should have given him a limit on questions before the show started. Live and learn. Regardless, it was their first time to see the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus and I hope they'll remember it forever. That and angels all over the sanctuary and coming down from the ceiling, and even an elephant following the wise men. Really awesome.