Friday Favorites-The One Before Christmas

Happy Friday, friends! I hope it’s been a great week for you. My oh my, I say every year that I’m going to get a lot done at the start of the season and then before I know it I’m right up until the end working on things again. I wasn’t even sure that I was going to get this post out, but I need a bit of a mental break from morphing into one of Santa’s helpers and escape for a bit. 

Let’s get into some favorites…

even though we’ve had a lot going on, we’ve stopped to make sure we are taking breaks when needed and enjoying this time of year before it slips on by. On Monday night we randomly loaded the kids in the car after their baths and they were already in their pjs, to drive around and check out some Christmas lights. We decided to rate the houses on a scale of 1-10 and the boys took it to a whole other level when they were rating things off the charts. I loved that it was so sporadic and we all had a lot of fun. 

i was trying to get some wrapping done while my big boys were at school, but my littlest elf helper had other plans. I mean, who can blame him for being curious. All those fun bows, ribbon, and tissue paper probably look like one big playground. I’ve had to do a lot after they go to bed, which has been a little hard on me, because that’s when I want to sit down and relax.

our friends have been having an ugly Christmas sweater party for years and it always ends up being such a fun time. It’s great to see how creative some people can be. They also give out prizes for the ugliest and for couple sweaters. Some of you might remember that I shared this, oh snap sweater a few weeks back. And while I don’t think it’s really ugly by any means. I did think it would be fun to wear it. And clearly I like wearing it in general.

i shared earlier this week a peek at our Christmas cards for this year. I always love how they turn out and getting mail around this time is always my favorite. The boys get so excited to open the cards that come through and see everyone’s pictures or sweet messages. I also shared a funny story about how our delivery guy handed a package to the boys that they ended up opening. Let’s just say it was not meant for them to see, yet. You can read more about that little debacle here.

my sister and I got to enjoy a night out at the sixers game, and aside from them losing (which really stinks because it was their first game they lost at home all season and it was only by 4 points), we had the best time. We got to stand right where the players run out to give them high-fives, we made it onto the big screen at the stadium, the game was telecast on ESPN, and let’s just say things were getting rowdy in there the last few minutes. We were standing up on our chairs screaming our heads off, the excitement was at an all time high, and it made for some great memories. We even got to take a pictures with, Franklin, their mascot. Better luck next time, boys.

i leave you with this favorite today because I can’t even wrap my head around that this was a year ago. A year ago today we also moved into our new house and C just turned one month. This sweet little angel literally fit into that stocking. I remember how crazy things were because it was right before Christmas and some of our renovations weren’t even done. Ha, we didn’t even have our kitchen counters in yet and were hosting a house full of people. We made it work though, and I have a feeling it will still go down as one of our favorite Christmases, ever. The best part is, regardless of a perfect house, the best decorations, or everything getting crossed off our list, we were together with our families, laughing, creating memories, and celebrating what this season is all about. It really is amazing how much can change in a year. I’m so thankful for all that we’ve been through because I think it helps you to appreciate things more. Let’s all try to remember why we celebrate this time of year and the many blessings we do have.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!