T'is the Season Part 9

Christmas Day

The little boy woke up with much excitement, and eager anticipation of what was inside those stockings!

They came with a personal little gift tag!

He got a bunch of stuff from his wish list - including a bunch of Stampy and Minecraft items.

Then, it was time to see what loot was waiting for us under the tree!

This year, there was even a pedal car!

Thank you, Uncle Carter & Aunt Winnie for the gifts as well!

Afterwards, it was off for Christmas lunch at Stephanie's house, where the whole Wilson Clan was assembled, great grandchildren and all.

I made and brought turkey pigs-in-a-blanket, guacamole and some Reese's peanut butter chocolate bars for dessert.

Jaxon exchanged gifts with his cousins, and had loads of fun playing over there - he especially loves their PonyCycle.

Oh yes, and after all that food and fun, it's time to retreat to the new baby's room and have some good ol' rest. :)

T'is the Season Part 8

Trimming the Christmas Tree

This year, the little boy played a much more major role in helping me trim the tree.  The hubs and I put the lights around the tree, and the little one worked on putting on the different ornaments.

He needed a little bit of help reaching the higher limbs though, but did splendidly.

Our's is not one of those trees that have very coordinated picture perfect ornaments, but rather one that has a hodge podge of homemade, child-chosen, given-as-gifts, and personal favorites, as well as the mandatory ornament-of-the-year pieces.

And of course, to top it all off, was the tradition of the little boy and daddy placing the star on the top. :)

T'is the Season Part 7

Cookies for Santa

It was all a bit last minute, and the cookies didn't exactly come out of the oven looking all perfect, but we had fun, and it was all grand.

We used one of those Pillsbury tubes of sugar cookie dough, rolled them out and used cookie cutters, and then rolled them into little balls and pressed them into the shaped cookie tray.

They came out all either too blobby, all spread out, or a little crunchy, like a bigger chip. Oh well.

We still had loads of fun decorating them, nevertheless.  This year, we used homemade icing/glaze as well as store-bought tubes we had on hand.

Decorating cookies is indeed messy business, but oh so much fun.

We ended up with quite a few masterpieces, and even daddy got in on the act and decorated one.  Can you guess which one?

Till next year, Santa!

T'is the Season Part 6

Christmas Lights

As with years past, we made a trip to the Abilene State Supported Living Center, where the annual Christmas displays had been set up.  This year we've been lagging behind in a bunch of stuff, and so we managed to get this in only on Christmas Eve.

Another tradition we have is for the little boy to sit on daddy's lap and "drive" as we go 5 mph down the windy streets, looking at the various displays.

The little boy recognized some of the displays from previous years, and was excited to see them, especially the Peanuts display.

After that, we went around the neighborhoods and enjoyed still more spectacular lights. :)

T'is the Season Part 5

Gingerbread House Construction

We even had a whole cheerleading section in the back ( read: Soft Toys in A Row )

Some of the roof slid a little during the "drying and hardening" process, but it was salvageable with some nifty icing work :)

T'is the Season Part 4

Breakfast with Santa

This year, we asked the little boy if he would like to go have breakfast with Santa in his Jammies, and his face lit up with enthusiasm. :)

I mean, pancakes with syrup, sausage patties and milk..... that's a pretty excellent breakfast to me..

Lots of kids came in their jammies too, tucking into their breakfasts having a good time.

Like, YUM.

We were joined by Cindy - which always makes things just that much better.

Meanwhile, little kids were lining up to see Santa and have their picture made with him.

After lunch,  we hit the craft tables... I LOVE those black scratch-off thingies where there's rainbow colors underneath.

We also made pinecone Christmas Trees,

baby Jesus in a manger,

and decorated a gingerbread/cookie man.

Plus, the sack that all the craftiness goes into..

This year, there was no hesitation or shyness when it came time for the little boy to meet Santa.

We walked around a bit and took photos with er, another Santa, a Snowman,

and a non-Rudolph reindeer.

T'is the Season Part 3

Bible Class Christmas Party

We sort of volunteered Madge's home for the pot-luck party, but she was so gracious she gladly volunteered herself after that :)

This year, Xia Yu's parents were in the States, visiting, and so Xia Yu brought Xi, her parents, and her little year-old granddaughter Sophie along :)

She was so precious, looking like a real life baby doll.

Good food and happy times galore.

T'is the Season Part 2

HEB Feast of Sharing

HEB once again hosted their annual Feast of Sharing Christmas meal at the Civic Center, and we were glad to have Cindy with us this year.

There weren't any long lines when we got there, so we walked right in and were taken care of almost immediately by the volunteers who were helping out.

There was yummy rolls, ham, greens and mashed potatoes n gravy.

The little boy even got an unexpected treat!

They usually serve around 7000 people every year, and all I can say is, I'm in awe at all HEB does for the community.

Revolution Strings was there to entertain, so we got to hear their fantastic music yet again!

After dinner, it was off to the back where the children's area was to play games and have fun!

Jaxon wanted to have his photo taken with the HEB mascot and several other characters who were walking around spreading cheer :)

We even found Jaxon's favorite pop-up Snowman!