I'm out of memory... but here's a glimpse of our December!

I've received a notice that I can't add any more pictures because I'm out of memory in my little reserved blogging space.  :)

I need to buy some space, and I don't know what to do.  Maybe research a little bit about my options.

And actually, I feel a little out of memory personally.  With the festivities of the holiday season and all of the birthdays that surround it (all 3 of my children between Dec and Jan) there are some moments when I'm close to throwing in the towel.  But I won't.  I'll keep plugging away - one baby step at a time.  There's a lot of deep breathing and asking God to take over - because I can't do it alone.

Anyway - I miss you all and I miss writing, so I thought I'd do a little post without pictures!  Although, I have some of the sweetest pictures from December.

We have had a fabulous month so far.  Even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the American season, I'm trying to keep things simple and meaningful around here.

Here are a few things we're doing at home to celebrate the birth of Jesus and establish traditions!

:: We're unwrapping a Christmas book each night to read.
Way back in the Fall - one Saturday morning - I had the kids wrap up all of their Christmas books.  I gave them a pile of newspaper and some tape and away they went.  We placed them all under the tree.  Each night, after jammies are on, we head back downstairs and sit in front of the tree.  Each child takes a turn to unwrap a book.  Sophie has been the one reading them aloud each night.  It's been so much fun watching them enjoy this unwrapping event each night!  After we read them, we add them to a basket beside the Christmas tree.

:: We're doing a Christmas devotional each day from here. 
This is a little bit above Ian and Halle's level.  But, Sophie is really into it, so we're plugging along.  I get a lot out of it too, so I enjoy doing it with whoever would like to join me.  If not, run along and play.  :)  I know they're listening from the other room, and the words spoken are still reaching the little ones.

:: We're revealing an activity from our Advent calendar each day.
We have a simple advent calendar we found in the Target dollar section a few years ago.  I went through our calendar to see what we already had scheduled (working smarter here!) and we wrote the activities on little pieces of paper and tucked them into the little pockets. I used these advent activities here to fill in the blanks!  The kids love revealing the activity of that day.

What are some of the traditions you have already or are working on establishing?  Please share!