A Christmas To Remember Part 2

Here is the rest of our Christmas fun, enjoy!


On December 16 I decided it was time to break out the ginger bread house and have the boys decorate it. I had been saving it for a day we could do it as a family but Mike was MIA for most of December so I decided if I waited any longer Christmas would be over and it would never it done.


Isaac and Eric had so much fun! I didn't think they would last as long as they did. This little activity lasted most of the afternoon believe it or not.



They did such a great job decorating it. Everything was going great until the icing decided not to hold the roof on any longer. The whole thing fell apart and I made a mess of it trying to fix it. Isaac really wanted me to figure out a way to get the house back together again. After a few days I decided there was no fixing it with icing ~ I broke out the faithful hot glue gun! I am happy to say the little house it still standing and has not moved an inch!


December 21 we drove over to Rio Rancho to visit Mike's grandma. She is in her 90's and is so much fun to talk to. She keeps up on all the news and loves to read books. Every year we give her some kind of a goodie along with a book. This year we gave her These Is My Words by Nancy Turner. I love this book! I could not put it down! Nancy Turner also wrote Sarah's Quilt and Star Garden which go along with These Is My Words. All three books were great.
While we were in Rio Rancho we also stopped by to see Mike's Mom. We were afraid we might be stuck up on the mountain come Christmas because a big snow storm was predicted and we wanted to make sure everyone got their Christmas gifts.


Christmas Eve! Uncle Joe came over along with Mike's mom to say hello. Here is Isaac and his Uncle Joe making luminarias. I have been doing this since I was a little girl and I wanted to pass the tradition on to my kids. When we lived in Rio Rancho I would make them the traditional way ~ with brown paper lunch bags folded over, a little sand in the bottom of the them and a candle. When we moved to the East Mountains it was so windy I was afraid the bags would tip over and burn up. My clever Mom came up with this idea. We now fill glass mason jars with sand and put a candle in them. It looks very pretty and is even more magical looking if there is snow on the ground. This way we don't have to worry about the bags catching fire or burning our house down. :)


Every Christmas Eve for many years now, we have spent it with the Lesperance family. We go over to their house and have dinner and open gifts. It is so much fun! Since we have moved to the mountains (Yes, our friends moved with us from Rio Rancho! We love them to much to leave them behind!) we have started to go caroling. Matt hooks up his flat bed trailer to his truck and puts in his park benches and bails of hay. Lights are added and Christmas music is played from a CD player. We bundle up really well hold our flashlights and drive around the neighborhood singing at the top of our lungs! This year we had an added feature on the flat bed. A fire pit! Yes, this sounds a little dangerous but so much fun and warm!


After all the fun with the Lesperance family we came home to get the boys to bed and prepare for Santa's arrival. Issac was so excited about this! He picked out this mug to put milk in for Santa. He also was convinced that Santa had to eat a cookie shaped like a bell. Not sure where he got this idea from.


Here is Isaac writing a letter to Santa saying that he would like a Polar Express train set very much.


This is the new technical way to find out where Santa is and when he will be at your house. Mike found a web site that actually tracks Santa and his Sleigh!


Mike wanted to try and take a picture of the Christmas lights he risked his life putting up! This is the front of the house.


And this is the back of the house.