Decking the Halls

We have a tradition of putting up Christmas decorations the day after Thanksgiving. It always helped keep me in the holiday mood after spending Thanksgiving away from family-sometimes alone. And it is something that the girls REALLY look forward to, they love to help and find fun places to put everything. The last 3 Christmasses we have been in new homes (well new to us) so it is always an adventure finding the right place for the right special things.

This year, Thanksgiving vacation was marked with a lot of bickering and squabbling in our family...and putting up the decorations was NO DIFFERENT. So much bickering that I in a bout of frustration told the children I wanted to resign my post as mom for a while....which of course was really mean and I felt so bad. Especially after Savannah started to cry and said that she thought families were forever. We finally had to pull out the "Santa doesn't come to kids who are mean to their brothers & sisters" card which seems to have done the trick.

So needless to say it has taken a while for us to get the house ready for Christmas. We are getting our tree this week....we are going to a real tree farm to cut our own which is one of my favorite childhood memories. And the lights have yet to be put up on the outisde of the house. But the inside is done and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The stockings were hung...

My favorite holiday wreath...that has about seen its last days...the words say herzlich wilkommen which means hearty welcome and the church is a replica of the church where silent night was first played

Every day I find these trees in a new arrangement, Savannah and Isabella just can't agree on how they are supposed to go

My excuse for getting kisses all day long...

Bella stands under it and demands "someone come kiss me" at the top of her voice

This mantle still needs some fresh greenery from our tree.

Some of my nativity collection

My mom gave me this awesome advent this year because she knows how much we love advents. Doesn't it look like an old German house?

Can't post without pictures of the littlest...his face is changing every day, not looking so much like a baby anymore.