After our Thanksgiving travels, we were happy to be home for a few weeks in December to get through finals and another tax busy season before Christmas.
I treated myself to a Bonne Maman Advent calendar which was fun. I think it's a one and done but enjoyed having it. I bought William his annual Lego Star Wars Advent calendar. He didn't ever get around to opening it, so I just set it aside for next year.
One more tournament between finals week and Christmas; the boys played well.
This year's new addition was the entryway light being switched out to red and green and the addition of three lit trees in the guest room window.
I helped William with a service project for church to fold newsletters and stuff, seal and address envelopes for a friend's charity. It was a very time consuming project! We watched multiple movies.
I took my team to the Christkindlmarket in downtown Chicago which is a fun annual tradition. We haven't been going as a family as frequently now that Ryan doesn't live in Chicago to meet up with.
I ordered four lit trees and put three in the upstairs window and had the extra one downstairs. This matched the snow covered bushes outside. I was super impressed by the morning light when we got our first snow and took pictures of the front yard.
Later in the day I took photos of the backyard and then also the front walk in different light.
There was some Lucy shenanigans....
I made my aunt Pam's apricot braids for again this year. I made sure my yeast wasn't expired and they turned out quite a bit better. I still have a few things to improve upon.
We went to Christmas Eve mass at St. Thomas before our charcuterie evening. On Christmas Day we had a leisurely unwrapping and hang out before making prime rib for our evening meal.
We got our traditional matching pajamas. Lucy wore last year's but they were a little snug. I ended up donating it to the animal shelter since she wasn't comfortable wearing it.
