December 25! Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas! 

Santa and his reindeer cleaned up those plates and downed the milk.

Emma enjoyed some grapes before opening presents. If you spent any time with her lately, you've heard her ask for 'grapes.' It's one of her favourite words, and definitely her favourite food.

They opened their stockings, and their gift from Santa.

They played a little while we packed up, then we hit the road for Lethbridge.

On the road again!

And arrived to more gifts, more family, more treats, more fun!

Here are the cousins that were at Higginson Christmas this year. Missing a few, but that's not a bad turnout.

Day 24

Christmas Eve!

We had a wonderful birthday party Christmas Eve supper at Curtis and Brandi's to celebrate William and Emma's birthdays.

It was sooo good!

And again, the kids got spoiled.

Grams made William this awesome hockey quilt.

And Emma her own birthday scrapbook.

They were so excited! Lucky kids. 

When we got home, the girls opened their last Advent gift from Grams and Papa and their Christmas Eve gift from Brad and I. 

They got a great recorded book, matching cocoa mugs, slippers and pjs to wear for Christmas Eve.

Then, they left celery, carrots, cookies and milk for Santa and his reindeer. 

How could Santa not stop at this house?

Day 23

On December 23, we had our immediate family Christmas. It was so fun! Everyone got completely spoiled, especially these kids!

So much excitement. Such happy faces. 

The kids enjoyed playing with their loot right up until bed. 

Notice their matching pjs? The three girls got a set, and Emma opened hers last. She was so excited to get a matching pair.

Day 22

We went skating twice in Hanna. The kids have gotten so good since last year!

I think everyone had fun, whether skating or being goofy, it was a fun activity to get us out of the house and away from my mom's baking ;)

Papa pulled everyone (sometimes all at once!)

I swear they were having fun, but I sure didn't capture that with this photo...

We need to get Emma a real helmet, but they're hard to come by in tiny sizes, bike helmet it is.

Twirling... just because it's fun.

Day 21

Pulling the kids behind the quad, in a calf sled. That doesn't happen in the city. 

I'm not sure if Brad or the kids had more fun. Papa was pretty excited to set this up, too. 

Back to the December Countdown!

I'm going to fly through these now. Christmas is over, and you're sick of pictures of the season, right?!

Day 20, we opened our family gifts at home and then drove to Hanna to visit my family for a few days:

Gracie got some special gifts again this year: Brad got a soccer pen, Emma a notepad and crayons and she made me a beautiful card.

Gracie got some Lalaloopsy dolls, tiny My Little Ponies, and an Aurora Barbie.

Emma got some tiny Palace Pets, a big, stuffed dog named 'Pumpkin' (Cinderella's puppy), and a Rapunzel and Blondie set.

We all got spoiled!

Brad got shorts, movies, a bluetooth speaker and a bunch of little stuff.

I got a new jacket, some Sweet Legs leggings, cool socks, a movie, and a ton of goodies.

And this was just the first of many days of spoiling to come!

Away We Go!

Wow!
The time has flown by. It's already 2015 and a new year is starting whether I'm ready for it or not.

Was I done with 2014?
I don't think so.
I feel like each event snuck up on me and left me feeling ill-prepared.

So... start fresh. What better time than now. I'm going to forget about my backlogged 2014 dayplanner and focus on getting organized so I can enjoy this new year.

I'm not saying 2014 was a bad year, in fact, it was great, but I feel like I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have. My kids are little, and I won't get this time with them back. I need to step back and re-evaluate.

Have you heard of One Little Word (OLW)?

The basic gist of this is to make one word your mantra for the coming year. You keep it as your focus and instead of making a resolution that ultimately fails, you start each day with that word in your mind. There are 365 days to make-over your mindset, a little at a time.

Baby steps... that's what I need.

This year, my word is prioritize.

Yep, sounds simple, right? Just focus on what's important and make sure that it doesn't get lost in the day-to-day.

I struggle with it.

So for me, I will prioritize my days so that what needs to get done, gets done, but that time doesn't just slip through my fingers.

"The days are long, but the years are short."

I love this quote. Gretchen Reuben wrote the Happiness Project and this is a little bit of wisdom I stole from her.

Sometimes, with little kids, busy jobs, chores, upkeep on the house and vehicles, and to-do lists that stretch for miles, the days feel long.

Really long.

I find myself thinking "If I could just make it to bedtime, I can get this done...." or

"If I can just squeeze one more errand in before naptime, I can check this off..."

And I miss things because of that. This whole year, full of days that felt long, is gone, and I can't believe it.

So.

Starting today, things are going to change.


I think it will start slowly.

Baby steps.

-Being mindful. A little less time online... less pinning and more doing ;)

-A lot of downsizing and decluttering to kick things off.

-Perhaps a little give on what needs to get done and a little more organization to keep things running smoothly.

-A little less pressure on myself and a little more commitment to my own well-being.

So, here goes.

Prioritize.

Do you have plans for the new year or ideas to help me prioritize? Feel free to share, now or throughout the year. I may need help along the way.