Christmas Preparation in Full Swing!

The four of us have been busy little elves getting our house ready for Christmas! 

While we don't go out and cut our tree down at a fancy tree cutting place, we still have a lot of fun walking the aisles at Lowe's and gawking at the Christmas trees and decorations.  The kids had fun weaving in and out of any tiny spot they could hide in.

 We found... the one.

 Thankful for one tough Daddy!

 ...and his special helper!

I actually didn't get any pics of the next evening decorating the tree, BUT...Lucas did! 

Nali bought Lucas a camera for his birthday and he's been LOVING it.  I didn't realize how handy it would be!  If I forget to take pictures, I can now count on Lucas!

The kids absolutely LOVE their Little People manger scene.  They've played with it every day since we got it out of the attic.  But I want to bring something to your attention... in the pic below, do you happen to see one small detail that is out of place??  (Other than baby Jesus and the stable sitting on an OSU football field.)

 (Answer:  Did you spot Lightning McQueen???)

A favorite tradition is making gingerbread cookies so today was the day!  We had a lot of fun....despite the fact that I realized I was one cup short of molasses, after we started pouring the ingredients in.  Whoops.  Somehow they still turned out okay!

Also, I wanted to add another tradition that I hope to bring back each year.  Several friends and bloggers lately have told me about the Jesus Storybook Bible so I looked into it myself.  It shares various stories from the Bible from the very beginning of the Old Testament to the Birth of Jesus- and there's one to read each day of the month.  Each story ties into the Christmas story.  I went ahead and bought it this week and the kids are loving it.  It's written so well and captures the kids' attention.  I look forward to reading the stories each night.