It's Officially Christmastime!

I hope you had a great time with your family this Thanksgiving. We have some great cooks in our family so I couldn't help but overindulge. It was so nice to spend the day with family and catching up since we don't see each other much. As I looked at my friends' postings about their Thanksgiving I noticed many of them used the family gathering as an opportunity to get a big group photo. I will definitely do that next year and have no idea why that didn't occur to me before. I may take tons of pictures of my house, but I have a horrible habit of not taking family pictures unless you count Mario photobombing. My boys leap out of the way of the camera or use it as an opportunity to make faces, and then I give up. I did have professional pictures taken this year, which I have neglected to do the last several years. I love these pictures so much and I've realized this is just something I'm going to have to do every year no matter how hard it is to organize. Do you want to see?



I think this picture was so worth the kids' tears, tantrums, and screaming about how they are going to look like a nerd in a button shirt. My 5 and 7 year old cried so hard they passed out in the car on the way to our appointment. It's a good thing they're cute!

Here are a few more.






   


   


  


This post was supposed to be about Christmas decorating and took a turn as I started typing. I'll get back on point now!

I should have been finished decorating by now since I started so early this year, but between holidays and an illness it's been difficult. I'm hoping to finish up later in the week or by the weekend if nothing else crops up (fingers crossed). This is why I should always start decorating and gift buying early. You just never know what life will throw at you!

Here's a sneak peek at what I've been working on.



It's very different from last year's decorations, which were mostly red. It felt out of place in my neutral and calm great room. I found myself counting down the days until I could take it down. I wanted to decorate with colors that would blend in with my current décor this year. This was not easy for me since I'm used to decorating with traditional Christmas colors, but I'm really loving the way it's turning out. The only red you will see is in the kitchen and even then it is in very small doses.



Thankfully, I'm almost finished decorating so it shouldn't be long before I have pictures for you. How are your Christmas preparations going? I only have a few gifts left to buy so I'm feeling good this year!