Christmas Countdown

This year I am adding to our Christmas traditions by doing a Christmas Countdown starting on December 1st. I have searched and searched the web for ideas of what I want to do and this year since the kids are so little I'm kind of doing a hodge-podge of things. First we made our little 25 days chain and hung it on the mantle (pause for a moment - I have SIX stockings hanging on my mantle!!! How fun/crazy is that?!?) Each day until Christmas I let a different child tear one of the links of the chain off and then we do something Christmas-ie. Some of the things we are doing include - making cookies and giving them to our mail and garbage men, reading the Christmas story and putting out our nativity together, going to the live nativity, going out to look at Christmas lights, getting new Christmas coloring books, etc. As you see some things are more "spiritual" than others. This is just our first year. I've got lots of great ideas of things I want to do as they get older. A friend on facebook posted that each day they are talking about a different name of God - that sounds really cool to do! I'm also trying to pull together a trip to a local nursing home to sing carols and take cookies. I think my kids would LOVE it and its another way to teach them about reaching out and loving others.

Check out this happy baby! He gives me this big grinner all the time!! He is such a joy and we are so lucky God added him to our family.My little Christmas monster :) She found her brothers play teeth and thought she was soo funny!

My little mimi-mommy :)