On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve tacky light stops
Like the last two years, we loaded the family up into the Tahoe with PJ's and hot chocolate to look at the lights on the Tacky Light Tour in Richmond. The girls love it, but it always leaves them disappointed at our glaring lack of inflatables in our yard.
Eleven Failed Rainbow Loom Bracelets
Want to give the gift of utter frustration? Build patience and tenacity? Give your kid a Rainbow Loom. This is the first year the girls really spent their hard earned money on each other and us and really got each other special things. Madeline gave Eva the rubber band making monster called the Rainbow Loom. Thankfully she tackled it and is now sweating away over the plastic beast churning out creations galore. Who wants one?
Ten dozen new craft projects
It's the year of crafts! HOORAY!! I'm thrilled to have the craft closet restocked with all types of goodies from family. Should keep us busy till mid Feburary. These girls can go through some crayons and glitter.
Nine Broken Ornaments
This was the first year we spent Carmadella Christmas at the new lake house and it looked beautiful when we arrived. After dinner however, a breeze blew the tree over which caused my mom to declare, "That's it, Christmas is over." We all rushed to rescue Christmas and gathered around like the old days to (re) deck the halls.
And of course a few casualties while we decked our own tree.
Eight Pairs of Green Hands
I got a bee in my bonnet to try a Pinterest craft which resulted in my and the girls hands being dyed green for about four days. There really needed to be more supervision when using non-washable paints in a kitchen with white cabinets. The end result was not as stunning as I had hoped but I have learned my lesson when it comes to the deceitful nature of Pinterest.
Seven New Pajamas
The girls made out with new pajamas, including a pair made by my mom for each of the older two and their American Girl dolls. They could not have been more excited
Six Children Bowling
Every year since Eva and William were born, we have gone with the McAuliffes to Lewis Ginter Botanical gardens to look at the lights. This year the weather was against us on multiple attempts so we opted for the bright lights of the bowling alley instead. The kids had almost as much fun as the dads and there was pizza and beer so this may be the start of a new tradition.
Five Cousins Celebrating
It's rare to get these young cousins together and we are so excited for a new one to the mix next year. The girls adore these two and getting to be the "big helpers."
We get to see five other cousins on the Darden side on New Years day when we celebrate Christmas with them. We are blessed to have the Darden cousins so close.
Four Pooped Puppy Paws
This ol' girl is starting to slow down but loves the cooler weather, curling up by the fire next to the tree and eating ham biscuits off the buffet when nobody's watching.
Three Old Friends
My oldest and dearest friend Amy was able to come for Thanksgiving and we were able to sneak away to the Outer Banks for another friends wedding that weekend. It was a welcome retreat for some good girl time and great catching up. Amy and I talk almost every weekday morning but to see her in person is too rare and we try to soak it up when we can.
Two Kooky Monkeys
It must have been the year of the Monkey because both Madeline and Cora had Monkey requests for Santa. Madeline wanted a monkey that giggles, laughs, sleeps, eats etc. and Cora wanted a monkey purse. She spotted it weeks ago at Cracker Barrel and hung onto the thought of it since. I'm not sure why either.
One Baby In A Manger
There are so many distractions it's so hard to stay focused on that one small baby. He can get so easily lost in the tacky lights, the gift wrap, the mall traffic, the family stress, the baking, crafting and parties. It's a struggle year long to stay focused on the baby instead of all the other distractions of life. We are blessed because of the gift we were given on the first Christmas. God sent this baby to rescue us, to love us and to teach us Love.
May you experience much Love in the coming year,
The Dardens
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