Christmas 2017 Part 1

December was such a fun month for us; I wrapped up my last days at my job (I'm officially a SAHM now!), we baked lots of treats, wrapped lots of gifts, looked at lots of lights, and spent lots of time with friends and family. I have so many pictures that I'm going to split them up into 2 posts, but here are some pictures from the first part of our Christmas!

We started off our month with some shopping for a child off the Angel Tree. We picked a 7 year old girl named Zoe who asked for games and dolls. This is one of my favorite traditions! Providing Christmas gifts for a child who wouldn't otherwise get them is such a special thing.

 

 

We drove around and looked at Christmas lights several nights this season, but on this particular night we got hot chocolate and donut holes! 😊 

 

 My mom and I served at our church's "Giving Hope Christmas Mall" gift wrapping presents, then came home and baked lots of Christmas goodies, including homemade cinnamon rolls. They were SO delicious, and we felt pretty proud of our accomplishment 😂. This is our second year doing it, so I hope it becomes a new tradition!

My favorite Christmas party of the year is with my Bloom family, and this year was extra special since it was my last year as an employee. I got choked up because it truly is the end of an era. But I'll be back every year I'm invited because I love these ladies!

We visited Horseshoe Bend to see Christmas lights (twice!) and Henry basically had the best time of his life. It was freezing the first night we went, but he didn't even seem to mind. He walked up and down the driveway looking at all the little decorations and was laughing and pointing at everything. Amanda and Stephen met us there with the girls, and the kids had such a good time!

This was the best picture we could get of the kids together. Henry would not stand still!

We went back the weekend before Christmas with our neighbors because Santa was there! Weston was all smiles, but Henry was a little less sure. 😂

We have a place called Constitution Village in our downtown, and every year at Christmas time it turns into "Santa's Village". We decided to go this year because we've heard such good things about it. Well it was a total letdown! First of all it was packed (there was a 2 hour wait to see Santa!), but there was really nothing exciting to do. We snapped this picture and left very shortly after. The girl's faces crack me up. Believe me, this is how we all felt about Santa's Village!

 

On the night of the 23rd, we went to our church's Christmas service. It was a wonderful time of worship, with a challenging message. This time of year is so busy that it's easy to lose sight of the reason we celebrate Christmas. This night was just what I needed to remember what it's all about. Afterwards, we came back to our house for our 3rd annual "Cookies and Cocoa" party at our house with family. We had a great time being together! So great in fact that I did not take one picture. Oops! 

That's all for part 1! Tomorrow I'll be back with pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!