The sweet smell of Christmas

Christmas is almost here, and the excitement is definitely building at our house! A couple of weeks ago, we decorated our tree, put candles in the windows, hung our red berry wreath on the front door, and set out all of our favorite Christmas books. Our usual bedtime favorites have been replaced with The Night Before Christmas and The Sweet Smell of Christmas (my absolute favorite holiday book of all time, ever ever ever ever. ever.) I'm slowly working my way through our Christmas list and trying to sneak presents into the house before Owen sees them. So far, so good! We will be making a quick trip to McComb next weekend. Aunt Mimi won't be there, so we're pretty bummed about that, but there is a lot to look forward to down there. Owen has loved riding around to look at Christmas lights, and Tylertown (a small town about 15 minutes east of McComb) has a really fun display in the park every year. We took Owen 2 years ago, but he was very squirmy and not too interested in all the lights. I think this year will be a different story! Gi Gi, Granddad and Uncle Jon are tentatively planning a trip to Nashville right after Christmas, so we are excited to get to see them too! Owen asks about his aunts and uncles a lot, so I know he has missed seeing them, especially after all the fun we had on his birthday.

Two weeks after Owen's birthday, we hosted a Thanksgiving pot luck with several of our friends who were away from their families. I can honestly say, it was one of the best days ever. We ate soooo much good food and just relaxed and played for hours and hours. The weather was absolutely perfect--partly cloudy and almost 60 degrees. After lunch, the big boys went into the front yard to play tag football, and the little boys (Owen and Liam) followed them outside for chase (thanks to Maggie for being a good sport and letting Owen chase her mercilessly!), coloring, and sidewalk chalk. As the evening wore on, Owen's need for some sleep (eek, no nap!) became apparent, and he went to bed. The grown ups played Apples to Apples and our new favorite pasttime Wii Fit (thanks Minor!) until the casseroles, desserts, and football caught up with everyone and we called it a night. Although we missed seeing our parents and siblings, we were so thankful to be able to spend the day with so many wonderful friends!

Have I mentioned lately how much we love this magnolia tree?

I'll try to be better about updating throughout the holidays. I am only working 5 more days from now until the end of the year, so hopefully I can use some of that free time being a better blogger. :)