The Van Becks: The holiday time is here!

We go from one busy month to another, but I love the holiday season. The tree is up, lights are shining and Christmas music is playing all day long! There is just something about Christmas music that puts you in a good mood.

Mike surprised us and came home early from his Montana hunting trip so we were extra thankful this thanksgiving. We had a nice celebration with Mike's family on Thanksgiving day and then spent Saturday at Deb and Tom's for my side. The whole family stayed over at their house. It was such a good time. All the cousins playing together, the adults playing cards, etc. It was a great night.

Since Thanksgiving, we have been busy getting the house ready for Christmas. Once the tree is up and decorated, I really get into the holiday mood! I just love sitting in a room lit only by the christmas tree lights. The kids had fun helping put up the tree and decorate it this weekend. We also made a trip to see Santa and go on a wagon ride. It was a cool night but all the kids loved it. Olivia was so excited to see santa and tell him what she wanted but when it came down to sitting on his lap she wasn't so excited anymore. You will be able to see from the picture that her and Izzie were not so happy!

Ethan had his first hockey game this weekend and he even scored a goal -he was so excited! I forgot my camera though so no pictures of the day at all :-( I am sure there will be many more games that I can get a few shots. Everyone else is doing well and staying healthy. Izzie is being extremely busy and mischievous lately! I can't keep up with her anymore. The worst part is that she knows she isn't supposed to do most of the things but she just looks at you and smiles and laughs - what a stinker! She is also talking much more and repeats a lot of words. Her most used phrase is probably "What's that?" She LOVES singing "Twinkle Twinkle". She says a lot of the words of the song and does all the actions. I have part of it on video that I will try and upload. Olivia has turned into such a little girl lately. She tells complete stories, sings, etc. I can't believe how fast she grew up! We had another play date with the Dusha's and Beeler's and watched Macy too - always great to get together with friends and playmates. I am also doing a kid swap this week with a friend so that we can each have some time to wrap gifts, run errands or just do whatever while our kids play together.

This weekend I am looking forward to my annual December scrapbooking weekend! I have a lot to do to be prepared for it but it will be fun and productive either way I am sure. We will also be celebrating Ethan's first reconciliation as well as Mike's birthday!

Have a great week!

Santa Photo