here comes santa claus!

we are counting down the days,

it's that time of year again...

my step feels lighter; smiling at strangers becomes a real sport (by golly, i will smile and spread some holiday cheer on that person before they do it to me...yes, i will:) people seem nicer and i turn each corner wondering what i'll see in preparation for the upcoming holiday.

it's that time of year that our kids dream about the big guy climbing down the chimney, or use the magic key that mama bought at hallmark last week bc who knew their was a magic key for santa?

we talk about elves and whether or not they will dance on their heads when they sleep. peyton has made it clear that she does NOT want any dancing elves in her room the night before christmas and beckham fiercely agrees with this idea.

magical dancing elves not welcome.

after a busy holiday work season for myself, i think it's time to 'snow' myself in and drink in the magic of the holidays.

we have been cooking and scurrying around like crazy people...but starting yestersday...the babies and i sat in the middle of the cold kitchen floor amidst crinkled tissue paper,spools of velvet and glittery ribbon, scissors, tape...

hmmm, maybe i shouldn't have bought that last spool of ribbon. we didn't need it...

we used the dickins out of it!

we unraveled and unraveled and created little homemade gift tags for homemade gifts. when my bottom was numb from the cold and sitting in one spot for so long...the kids took the gifts they had wrapped with their little hands and used too much tape on, and placed them under the tree.

proud little smiles were etched on their sweet little melons and promises were made not to spill the beans to the daddy.

peyton thinks she's hot stuff because she has secrets. honestly, though it's just tearing the girl up that she can't tell anyone what the presents are. it may be the cutest thing i have ever seen. and the funniest but she's good at keeping her mouth zipped...i'm proud of her!

a big pot of shrimp chowder, fred clause and good girlfriends later...and we have ourselves an official christmas vacation!!

so for now and for the rest of the week, we are tying bows and wrapping gifts, cooking, laying on the couch under big blankets watching christmas classics.

traditions, hot cocoa, and oprah's favorite things-oh my! spending this time with my babies and doing these traditions together...nothing will be more important than that until santa arrives! not nuttin' i tell ya!

we are filling our time with driveway picnics, playdoh, lazy breakfasts of cheerios with a budding pirate!

a special christmas performance by our little guy had his mama in tears and his sister bored out of her mind...

at one point peyton and i moved closer to the stage to get a photo and while i tried 'quietly' to get my little guy's attention, beckham spotted his big sister and only had eyes for her. a smile lit up his face. he seemed so surprised to see her ...and thrilled. i just cried a little more and prayed they would love each other like this until the end of time! they will.

we drove through the old community that lights itself up like a christmas each and every year

it's fabulous...and a tradition and i am all about traditions!!!

we've had breakfast with santa too!

if beckham looks scared out of his mind...it's because he was a tad nervous!

but the airplane toy santa gave him made up for any fears!

tongue depressors painted white, some orange and black felt, a few bells and buttons and...hello, one of my new favorite ornaments on the tree! we did these for our girl scout daisy troop and i love how they turned out.

(thanks, jenn for the idea! xo)

mommy had other ideas and one was to decoupage a glass ball...i love how it turned out, but it was a PITA. can you figure that one out?

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and a few sneak peeks of a couple of my recent holiday shoots. i'm behind in getting these out, but i promise to have a sneak for everyone this week!!!

this lovely and beautiful family! had such a great time on this super gray day that turned out to be a great shoot! these boys had me at hello!

and their mama and daddy are pretty cute too!

and another family that almost, i mean did get rained on...our friends and so i thought it was pretty funny...

their the newest member of their super cute family...little lucy!

we love us some lucy!

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enjoying this year and feeling so grateful for what we have and for our health. most importantly, our health! i hope all of you have a happy, comfy and safe holiday! whether you celebrate christmas or not...may you have love in your life and happiness in your heart.

xo