It's beginning to look a little like Christmas...

Okay, so I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but we started putting up our Christmas decorations this weekend. I just couldn't wait any longer - I love this time of year. Besides, Kinlee's birthday is right after Thanksgiving, so if I waited until after that, it would be WELL into December before we got them up, and we just can't have that. SO, while Mark was breaking his back outside with the leaves, I was inside gettin' festive! Kinlee had a sleepover, so we were instructed to not put on even one ornament until her return. We obliged, and only put on lights until she got back. Yesterday afternoon, the kids decorated the "kid" tree. They separated the boy/girl ornaments and then began their creation. They strategically placed each ornament (okay, the first few and then it was a free-for-all). They had a good time. The "kid" tree lives on the balcony, right outside their rooms so they can see it as soon as they get up in the morning. I thought they did a really good job.


The rest of the house is beginning to fall into place, too. The big "family" tree in the living room is up with lights, but will be decorated by all of us tonight. I'll post pictures of that when it's done.

One of our favorite "traditions" is the candy-countdown-calendar. The kids get to pick candy (usually leftover from Halloween) to tie on the calendar, and beginning Dec. 1, they take turns taking a piece of candy off until Christmas morning. We had one when I was growing up, and my kids enjoy the tradition just as much as I did. Another thing the kids decided to do this year was to each pick a "toy" out of their rooms to put under their tree in hopes that Santa will come and get it and take it to another little boy or girl that doesn't have much. Above you will see Kinlee's stuffed penguin and a box of football cards from Parker. To many, this may not seem like much, but if you knew the kids, it would. Kinlee's weakness is stuffed animals - especially cute little penguins. Football cards (ANY kind of sports cards) are a very precious commodity as far as Parker is concerned. SO, when I saw what they had picked to put under the tree, it made me smile because I knew how much these things meant to them. It warmed my heart to know they were willing to give those up to someone who didn't have what they had. I hope Santa knows what he's getting when he takes those........I love this time of year!!!!