Christmas in Arvada

Our first Christmas in our new home came and went quickly.

Rudy, the kids' elf, came and visited...he was funny and nice and sometimes teetered on a bit naughty.

We spent the vast majority of the holiday season sick.  But poor Porter was more sick than I'd ever seen him.  He was thrilled when Rudy came and sympathized and he insisted we try out Mrs. Claus' tried and true recipe for health - 1)Take your medicine, 2)Eat 2 Christmas chocolates, 3)Do something kind, 4)Watch Christmas movies until you're cured.

Here are a couple of the kids' favorite Rudy shenanigans:

The kids made Christmas wish lists for Santa.  We sent Emma Rose's off early because she drew a picture of our new blue house so that Rudy could find us, but here's Porter's:

We told Porter that he's too young for a $600 phone, and that it would be a Christmas miracle if Santa were to bring a new trampoline since our builder, Taylor Morrison, messed up and left us with a huge hole and drainage problem in the backyard.

Porter still believed that if anyone could pull it off, Santa could.

We enjoyed an early Christmas celebration with Grandma and Grandpa as they were in Alaska for Christmas.

...and that night, Rudy enjoyed sharing Lea's (Emma Rose's American girl) new trundle bed.

I love this picture - outside of my lap, this is Daisy's favorite spot in the house when it's cold outside:

Corey and I went to Devil's Thumb Ranch to celebrate our 12th Anniversary.  It was lovely!

When we got back, Corey had to work for 5 straight days, so the kids and I each cast votes for how we would spend the time together.  Porter even created a daily agenda to hang on the refrigerator.  This is how it went: 1)Christmas Crafts, 2)Christmas Cookies, 3)Game Day, 4)Skiing, 5)Swimming.

It was a fun-filled week!

The kids were so excited that Rudy was down for game day.  They thought it was hilarious that he beat the Reindeer in a game:

...And even more hilarious that Duke wanted to join us for hide-and-seek:

We had a beautiful day of skiing in Keystone:

Christmas Eve morning was our final agenda day.  The kinds enjoyed a Candy Cane breakfast before heading to the pool.

They set their cookies out for Santa that night (plus some celery for the reindeer).

On Christmas morning, Emma Rose's sweet voice rang out, "he came!!!" when she saw that her stocking was full.  But before the kids came downstairs to open their stockings, she made the sweetest little speech: "Guys, Christmas is more than just about Santa and presents and stuff.  It's to celebrate that Jesus was born and that he loves to give nice fings to other people and so we have to sing Happy Birfday to him and be kind to each other."

Santa even brought toys for the cats, as requested by Porter.

And Porter got his Zombie Strike:

But when all was said and done, as we were picking up trash, Emma Rose found one more little unwrapped gift addressed to she and Porter, from Santa.  It was a treasure hunt:

And here's how it ended:

The rest of Christmas Day was spent at Nana and Papa's with all the Leavitt cousins.

And this is how the rest of Christmas break was spent!

Merry Christmas.  My heart is full.  I am grateful for the birth of Jesus, for my amazing family, for surviving and growing in 2016, and for the many new adventures that 2017 will bring.