Day 19: What God Wants for Christmas

24Days 

 of Joy!


We started What God Wants for Christmas today!

Day 18: Surprise PJ Milkshake Run!

24Days 

 of Joy!

 

This one was sooooo much fun. I knew it was coming, and I had a little countdown in my head as to how many days I had to wait until Day 18 was upon us. I'm horrible at keeping secrets, and almost told the kids a few times because I was so excited. It wasn't really that big of a deal, but I knew the kids would be so excited and I couldn't wait to see the looks in their faces. On Day 18, it was business as usual around the Smith home. We had dinner together, cleaned up the kitchen and playroom, had showers and baths, put on pajamas, brushed teeth, did our Advent reading together as a family, and tucked the kids into bed. We sang lullabies, did prayers, and turned out the lights. Then we went into the hall, waited a full minute, switched the lights back on, bounded into their rooms, and told them to get in the car- PJs and all. We were going out for milkshakes!

 

Our ever-practical first-born:

Our ever-enthusiastic third-born:

 

 

Poor Chilly was a little confused. Lucky for us, he rolls with it.

 

 

 We slurped chocolate milkshakes. We sang Christmas carols - corny, but true.

 

We kept the kids up too late and didn't care. We've got a new tradition.

 

Day 17: Christmas Cinnamon Rolls

24Days 

 of Joy!

Chloe and I had a blast making these. The family had a blast eating these. They are amazeballs.

We made our dough in the breadmaker, but I'm sure you can do it without a breadmaker too. Try them. You must. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/clone-of-a-cinnabon/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=cinnabon&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page
 

 

 

 

Day 16: Small Group Christmas Party

24Days 

 of Joy!


Tonight was our small group Christmas party. I didn't get any pictures, but we had such a nice time. We usually meet at the home of our friends Jeremy and Stacey. They also have four kids, so we hire several awesome babysitters, and Jeremy and Stacey are incredibly gracious about letting us all bring our crazy kids to destroy their basement while we hide out upstairs to study God's Word together and have a great time of fellowship. For the Christmas party, however, our brave friends whose kids are in college volunteered their pristine, kid-free home for the evening. The sitters could come there, they insisted, and they'd get out some of their boys' old toys to entertain our army of hoodlums (14 kids 8 and under) while we ate and chatted and were merry upstairs.

Ummm, are you sure?

They insisted.

We had such a nice time. I love our small group, and am so grateful for the gift their friendship has been to Greg and I this year.

Day 15: Phipps Conservatory

 

 

24Days 

 of Joy!

 

Yikes. I have fallen woefully behind. I've sort of learned that there isn't time enough to both experience the days with the kids and document them on the blog. Maybe next year I'll just include a few highlights :-). 

 

 Day 15 was our annual trip to Phipps with the whole family. This year was a bit different because the Sugar Plum Fairy from Pittsburgh Ballet Theater was there. Chloe loved getting to see her and learn more about some of the behind the scenes action from the Nutcracker, but the downside was that Phipps was super crowded. Not a great day for pictures, but I managed to get a few...

 

 

Day 14: A Visit to Santa!

24Days 

 of Joy!

I am falling behind on our joy days! We are having a blast keeping up with the activities... I just can't seem to find the time to blog about them. 

Last Friday we went to visit Santa with our friends the Bozeks. We did this last year too, and it was so much fun that we decided to make it a tradition for our families.  

Gathering for a quick smile before heading in to see Santa!

 
These sweet girls always have so much fun together. I am so grateful for their friendship.



Attempting to get a decent shot of all four kids on Santa's lap is no small feat...

I love this one of Santa making sure he heard Chloe correctly. She may be the oldest, but she talks the quietest.



Chilly did well until he realized he was alone on a strange bearded man's lap. Then he was dunzo.

  

After we visited Santa, we headed over to a quintessential Zelie experience that would make Clark Griswold proud: a house bedecked with enough lights and various holiday attractions to be seen from several miles away. This one's special though... they line the sidewalk along their house with big boxes containing Christmas scenes, and collect donations to give to the food bank. Their little endeavor has allowed them to bless the Pittsburgh Food Bank with over $14,000 in the past few years - pretty awesome, huh?

 

Charlie LOVED it.

After visiting Santa's little village, we went to the Bozeks for a potluck dinner, and were blessed with a table set for four grownups with pretty dishes and candlelight. The kiddos ate together down the hall. It was a great night with dear friends. Despite a late-night tantrum by one exhausted boy, we left feeling full and grateful :-).

Day 13: Field Trip with Friends

     24Days 
         of Joy!

A Countdown to Christmas

Okay, so this wasn't exactly Christmasy, and it wasn't exactly educational, but it was a super fun surprise for the kids... A few friends and I decided to take our kids to Fun Fore All, the indoor playground my kids absolutely love. I told them the night before that we were going, and this is how Max greeted me the next morning:

I was standing in the kitchen in my PJs brewing coffee and I heard his little voice. "Look, Mom! I'm ready for Fun Fore All!" He planned the whole outfit, right down to the rifle accessory he needed to bring to show Nathan and Jackson when we got there.

Sam looked out the window, saw the seldom-seen sunshine, and said, "Mom, I think God noticed we were going to fun fore all, so he put up the sun!" He has the funniest way of observing the world lately. Love that kid.

The kids had a wonderful time playing with their friends, and I had a wonderful time talking with my friends.