Merry Christmas!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Every year we make a birthday cake for Jesus and use the fancy candles

We got the live Christmas tree inside and decorated!

3/5 kids made it through Christmas morning Mass without having to be removed from the church, so they were rewarded by getting to light candles in the chapel (where we discovered that somebody forgot to put baby Jesus in the manger there, and also in the outdoor nativity... Whoops.).

A Christmas card picture reject...

And Grandma and the kids!

Today we'll be listening to Christmas music all day (particularly this CD, without which I don't think your Christmas playlist can be complete!), enjoying each other's company, and especially enjoying the quiet that comes from kids engrossed in their Christmas presents. 

(I posted this on Facebook this morning, but I know not everybody is on social media)

The Octave of Christmas lasts until January 1, which means it's still Christmas Day every day until then (feast!!!), and the 12 days of Christmas lasts until January 5 (#twelvedays), with Epiphany falling on the 6th (that's when we'll do the rest of our presents), and Christmastide lasts 40 days, until Candlemas on February 2! 

I'm not saying you have to leave your tree up that long, but it is a pretty great reason to keep sending those Christmas cards you didn't get around to addressing (guilty), to keep baking, to keep saying Merry Christmas, and the let the kids wear those adorable Christmas outfits for a little longer :)

I'm so thankful for our community here, and for the community I've found while blogging - you are truly the best friends and readers! In thanksgiving for your support shopping through our blog links, a few other bloggers and I will be having an Epiphany giveaway for charity on instagram on January 6 - if you're a blogger interested in participating, do email me!

Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday, Jesus!