Christmas 2019: Part 2

On December 21, the four of us celebrated Christmas with our family in Salter Path. We enjoyed spending time with family, opening presents, and eating oysters for lunch. We are blessed!

Merry Christmas from Harper and Hadley!

Starbucks gift card from Gran


New clothes for Hadley


Aunt EJ and Hadley (5)

Skateboard from Grandma Barbara

Harper's adorable toothless grin

All she wanted for Christmas were her two front teeth!

LOL camper for Harper

Monogrammed shirts from Grandma Barbara

 Custom name blanket for Harper

Harper made this beautiful Cape Lookout ornament for our tree:

Restaurant play set for Hadley's play kitchen

 2020 photo calendar for Grandma Barbara

Aunt EJ, Harper, and Uncle Benny

 Playing in an empty box

Savannah's new skateboard

Barbie camper and car from Harper

Oysters for lunch

Everyday Moments

Life...unedited. 

These random iPhone photos are dark, blurry, and untouched,

but they capture everyday moments from the last week.

The girls and I enjoyed having a staycation this week. On Tuesday, we played at a local trampoline park:

The girls' favorite activity was swinging on a high swing and jumping into the foam pit:

Hadley painted flowers at our kitchen table:

On Wednesday, Savannah and I prepped her bedroom and bathroom for painting. Savannah removed all of the outlet covers: 

On Friday, I painted Savannah's bedroom Tidewater by Sherwin Williams. It's a lovely muted turquoise color:

I used Savannah's new comforter as the inspiration for the turquoise and purple color scheme that Savannah requested for her tween bedroom makeover.

Savannah and Hadley loved hiding inside the blanket fort that they built in our living room: 

Today our friends Emily, Xavier, and Felix came to town, so the girls and I enjoyed swimming with them at their hotel pool:

Christmas 2019: Part 1

Merry Christmas! Since Tal only had Christmas Day off from work, our family chose to spend the day at home instead of traveling. We celebrated Christmas by sleeping late, opening presents, playing with new toys, eating turkey for lunch, taking a nap, and watching Christmas movies. 

Savannah (10) and Hadley (5)

Tal and I gave Savannah, Hadley, and Harper custom name blankets that coordinate with their bedroom color schemes. The blankets are so soft! 

 

Hadley received the following Christmas gifts: Hungry Hippos game, Barbie doll, Super Tips markers, foam soap, bath bombs, bath dropz, makeup set, Playdoh, glue sticks, erasable colored pencils, Kidz Bop CD, Disney band aids, Mini Starbursts, and Lindt chocolates.

Savannah received the following Christmas gifts: Monopoly Junior, scrunchies, mechanical pencils, erasable pens, watercolor colored pencils, three jigsaw puzzles with 300 or 500 pieces, Rainbow Loom bracelet kit, Starbucks gift card, emoji band aids, Twix candy, Lindt chocolates, and Reese's Cups.

This year Savannah and Hadley asked to buy gifts for each other and for Mommy and Daddy. Each of us made a Christmas wish list and received $25 for gifts. Then, Tal and I took the girls on individual shopping trips to buy candy and small gifts for each person in our family.

The girls and I bought these gifts for Tal:

Tal and the girls bought these gifts for me:

Hungry Hippos

Monopoly Junior

Putting on make-up

Thanks to Tal for cooking our Christmas meal, as well as for cleaning the kitchen and washing the dishes. It was Tal's Christmas gift to me! 

2020 Photo Calendars

For Christmas gifts, I made Shutterfly photo calendars for our family, Gran, Grandma Barbara, and Grandma Judy. On PicMonkey, I uploaded some of my favorite photos from 2019 and then created the collages below for the calendar pages.

To make the calendars more meaningful, I personalized the pages for each family or individual. For instance, my mom's calendar includes pictures from her trips to NC, as well as pictures of her with Savannah and Hadley.

On the front cover of each calendar, I included the following quote:

"The best things in life are the people we love,

the places we've been,

and the memories we've made along the way."

Creating the photo calendars was a labor of love, and I hope they bring fond memories of our 2019 adventures!

Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach, SC

 Pawleys Island, SC

Our 12th Wedding Anniversary

My Birthday

Grandma Barbara's Retirement

Sunflower Field

Outer Banks of NC

Outer Banks of NC

Jockey's Ridge

Outer Banks Lighthouses

The girls and I have visited all 7 lighthouses along the coast of NC!

Grandma's Girls

Sisterly Love

Family Photos

Cousinly Love

Illinois Road Trip

NC State Fair