the house that built me: Christmas

Christmas has come and gone and I am so thankful for the sweet times we got to have with our families. It was so fun watching Caroline really get into the celebrations this year. She was belting out Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman every day. She also took her Fisher Price nativity set with her to bed for every nap and every night. And she made sure to say hey to Santa every time we went to the mall although she was not interested in sitting on his lap.

We put up the tree this year BEFORE Thanksgiving and it was wonderful having some extra time enjoying the twinkle of lights in our living room. Caroline helped me put the ornaments on. We have a tradition of adding an ornament every year with a picture of her from that Christmas. It's crazy how much she has changed in just three years!

We made it to the Christmas lights at the zoo this year. It was our first time doing this and it was so beautiful. We toasted marshmallows over an open fire and enjoyed the snowfall in various spots around the zoo.

We spent some time before Christmas in Georgia with David's family. Caroline was so excited about getting to spend some time with her cousin Ella. She woke up at 5am the morning we were headed there ready to hit the road. It was a laid back time which was really refreshing. Caroline loved playing on the tire swing that held so many memories. This swing has been in David's family for over 30 years. He played on it as a child with his siblings and now all the grandchildren are loving it.

David's dad aka Papa D worked very hard on his lights display for the outside of the house. He had strung lights set to music that you could listen to when you tune into a certain radio station. Caroline was mesmerized! You can see her wearing their headphones listening to the music.