Eight Crazy Nights

Belated Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to all!  Belated might be an understatement on this warm, beautiful March day but I choose to post late rather than not at all!

As I do every year, I kinda panicked at the thought of Haunkkah and Christmas right on the heels of Joseph's birthday and all the stuff he would be bombarded with.  I know he has no complaints, but I'd rather give him situations to act gracious and humble rather than spoil him with 'stuff'. With eight nights of fun and presents, there isn't much room for humility from a five year old.  ;)

Joseph's "big" present this year was a scooter.  He has really been wanting one and as much as he loves his bike we thought it would be a good present.  He rides it fairly often, but definitely prefers his bike.  He soars on his little green bike!  The scooter fold up nicely for storage though, and often gets played like an electric guitar as such.  Ha!

Alaina's "big" present was a cute pink doll stroller.  It took some time for her to figure out it wasn't meant for her to sit in, but now the miles that it has been pushed are immeasurable!

We also took the kids to Chuck E Cheese as one night's present of "time together".  Some good ol family fun is always a great idea.  We'll have to do that again next year for sure too!

I thought all in all we did really well not spoiling them too much.  Most importantly, it's not about the presents and I want my kids to understand the religious meaning first.  Even though I'd like for them to have nice things too, there is only so much room for lots of stuff.  We ended up doing a house-wide donation cleaning spree after the first of the year.  It's soooo nice to see the clutter go and make room for new or more special possessions! 

 

Enjoying the lights with dinner!

Even St. Nick and some reindeer celebrated with us, then we gave Santa a new home at Gigi's on her tree.

Our children are very well-rounded!   ;)