Getting ready...

for Christmas has been a little tough this year! We are still in la-la land from our amazing trip to Turks & Caicos...and are in complete denial of cold weather, Christmas decor, etc. Not to mention, all of our Christmas decorations are in storage (poor planning on my part! oops!). Thanks to my Mother-in-Law for sending Jack & Reagan's stocking (usually hung at her house) and my friend Sarah for other decor, we are all decked out for Christmas this year! Last weekend, we purchased our "petite" tree (we are used to BIG trees at our old house) and decked the halls with the help of two little elves! I'm usually picky about my decor but this year, I've let the kids do it all...and let me tell you, it's so much less stressful! ha! And Jack has become a master at cutting out paper snowflakes which are adorning our windows now!

We also have a new addition to our holiday family...Fred! He's our special "Elf on a Shelf" and the kids are loving him!! Every morning, they wake up and search for Fred...he even wrote them a special note this week telling them how proud he is that they are sharing their toys and going to bed on time.

Our fireplace & little tree

"THE" tree

Introducing...Fred!