I am now almost 3 year behind in seasonal blog posts since the 2023 Holiday season is only a couple of months away. I have never been this far behind. I have considered letting these few years go and just try to go forward with seasonal updates starting in 2023. But I just can't!! I enjoy going back through the pictures and memories too much. I still use this like a family scrapbook and I don't want three years to be missing. I may look back at these early childhood years of my mothering and realized the past 3 years were the busiest and most physically demanding years of all and wonder how I got anything done at all! I guess I won't know until most of my kids are grown, but I wouldn't be surprised if turns out to be true. I'm really going to try to speed through these posts and just put a few notes on the pictures. I'm not sure how many details I'll remember from 3 years ago anyway!
We're still going strong with our Thankful Turkey tradition! I just love to see what they say. The additions from 2 year old Xan are so cute!! Juice, the Thankful turkey itself, frogs, colors! <3 I also take a close up picture of our feather that says friends with all the little individual names of the people we were close to that year. It's so sweet to read it back now and see who we still keep up with and who was special for a season.
The Friday after Thanksgiving is the Daugherty Thanksgiving gathering. Since my grandparents had 2 kids and their kids just had 2 kids each it's always been a bit smaller than the Kearley side. But since everyone stayed nearby we usually had everyone for each Thanksgiving growing up and even now we're usually only missing just one of the grandkid families at each gathering. This was our first Thanksgiving without Papa. There was some discussion on how we should handle the seat that Papa would always sit in. It was eventually decided that Mama should sit there, of course! It felt silly that we had even considered anything else. It was hard not having him there, but it is important to move forward and still honor his memory. We know he would want us being together and enjoying our time together. Mama had her annual cookie decorating ready for the great grandkids. As you can tell they all enjoyed it but Xan was especially pleased with the activity.
Near the beginning of December we had our Little Heart Christmas Party! We look forward to going each year. I don't remember much about it other than the kids had fun and enjoyed having lots of good friends that attended.
The whole year of 2020 was still deep in COVID regulations. It wasn't working out to see Santa like we usually did. The library usually offers an opportunity and do a great job with it, but the Library was shut down still. So Pappaw put a hat on and played Santa for us and for the year of COVID that was good enough. ;) This was also the year that I had lost my job right before the holidays. As a result, Christmas was going to be pretty light, but we had so many wonderful friends and neighbors gift us presents and hand-me downs that it turned out to be a huge Christmas! This huge bag full of presents showed up on the porch from our neighbors and the kids were so elated!! Santa was really real to them that year even though we didn't get to see "Santa". Our community is such a blessing to us!
It was a lovely Christmas Eve! We started with stockings and everyone was pleased with what they found inside! Later we played with some Christmas slime our friends had given us. It made their hands pretty cold since I insisted it be played with outside, but they all had a blast playing with it despite the cold. We finished our Christmas Eve with a chilly Christmas light Hayride graciously hosted by our friends, the Combs. We all enjoyed it so much! Thank you friends!! A great day overall and we were ready for Christmas Day!!
Christmas day finally arrived! So much joy! Jane loved her barbie dream house (which only lasted a year at our house because it was so big and rarely played with after the first month or two) Atlas was thrilled with his new video games, Xan was overjoyed with her dinos and Flynn was still wondering what was going on. I'd be telling him for a month not to touch the presents and then he seemed to be thinking, "Wait... now you're telling me to open them?? Are you sure?" After we finished presents and got to play with them for a while, we headed over to my parents house for dinner and a fire. So grateful for another wonderful Christmas.
Down the highway in Valley Ranch they were holding an event called A Holiday To Remember. We had heard good things about it so we decided to check it out while Scott and Anna were in town for New Year's. There was ice skating, tube sliding, bumper cars and train rides! The kids had a blast!
Merry New Christmas!! Our last celebration of the holiday season had arrived! I love that celebrating Christmas on New Year's Day with my family extends the holidays another week, but by that time I'm also feeling very ready to move forward into the new year and get back to our routines. It's just right! I love our tradition of Santa hats and Christmas music while we open presents. Sooo many presents, such happy kids. I had to add the picture of Atlas already looking like he's writing computer code. He wants to be a game designer and his brain already thinks in code. ;) Another great holiday season is in the books! We are so grateful for the blessings God pours on us! He is good.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
