Christmas Cookies and Cinnamon Rolls

Let's count down the days, y'all! It's coming! Christmas is almost here! Can you feel my excitement? ;)

Here's our sweet little Santa Baby under the tree. He is the best gift under the tree for sure! I had to give him a big smackaroo on the cheek! He better get used to it. :) Okay, okay, I will eventually stop kissing him on the cheek when he is older. :)

Oh, my goodness!!

Friday night, I went to bunco with one of my dear friends, Brandi. She finally got to meet Jackson, too! We had a great time and I enjoyed getting to know some awesome ladies!

Our Sunday School class ladies had a Christmas cookie decorating party on Saturday, so I decided to make some sugar cookies ahead of time. I broke out the vintage cookie cutters my mom gave me. I love them.

I had such a good little "helper." He loved playing with the wooden spoon.

He wanted to play with that ball of dough before we put it in the fridge. So funny!

Oh, I am certainly not The Pioneer Woman, but I do love taking pictures of food!

There were eight ladies there, so it was pretty busy. It reminded me of a bakery. Some of us were icing cookies, some were mixing and rolling gingerbread cookies, etc. We were experts. :)

Carolyn, me, Kari, and Kelsey! So fun.

Here's our cookie display! Lots and lots of sweets! I only took a few home.

I was apparently in the baking mood, so since we needed to bake our annual cinnamon rolls, I was so excited to get started on those!

The pot on the left is the best aromatic mixture you simmer on the stove. Mmmm, the smell of Christmas. The dutch oven has the cinnamon roll dough right after it rose.

Rolling out the dough.

Russell cut it all and we put it in pans.

Like sew.

All done! YUM! Can't wait to give to family members again this year. It's the 4th year to do it and we love it lots.

Last night, I really wanted to try harder with the sugar cookies and glaze. I have never really perfected it like my sister, Kelly does. Russell helped me ice them and I think they turned out great. We will share them with family soon!

Today, I have been wrapping gifts like crazy and I am still not finished. But it is oh so fun! Another post coming soon!

  

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Celebrating Christmastime

It's truly the most wonderful time of year! As much as I would love to be caught up on my blog, it's not the case. But oh well! I will be behind, and that's okay. :) Here's more about what we have been up to.

Russell's company Christmas party was last Friday night. We were so excited to go on a date night. Jackson enjoyed spending time with our babysitter, too!

Thank you Demi for taking this picture! I just love my tall, dark, and handsome man!

Jackson was so interested in his book. He had no time to look at the camera. :)

We loved the snowman tree!

Bo and Jennifer are so sweet. Russell works with Bo in the office. Bo and Jennifer have a sweet baby girl who is about a month younger than Jackson, Ava Claire. She's so cute.

We always love spending time with Tony and Amy at the company party!

We played a few rounds of "family feud" and it was hysterical. Very fun!

Saturday, we took Jackson to his 1st Christmas parade! He was so amused with it all from the fire truck sirens to the high school band playing, "Majesty." We were so excited that they played that awesome song that I grew up singing in church!

The three of us!

The floats were so cute!

My favorite was...

You guessed it!

A Christmas Story!! Oh, so fun!

We went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. The waitress thought that Jackson was so cute and she gave him a kid's menu to look at and "color." He was such a big boy! We never tire of Cracker Barrel. It's one of my favorites!

Russell and I helped at our church's local Christmas Store.

I had to snap a pic of Ali, Erica, Rylie, and Jonathan. They were helping so much with gift wrapping.

Love Angie!

Rylie loves Jackson! She is one of our babysitters and is so sweet.

So glad to run into Leah and Jake! They are such sweet newlyweds! It seems like only yesterday when Russell and I were only married three months and now it has been seven!

The next day was Sunday and our sweet boy wore his Christmas attire. :) He is our wonderful baby boy and we adore celebrating every day with him!

More updates soon!

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 1 John 4:9

Sleigh Ride on the Square

We are truly savoring every moment and definitely taking way more pictures than the average person should. Ha! We absolutely adore making memories and documenting it all!  

One day last week, the weather was absolutely perfect, so we took pictures on the square.

Jackson loved looking in the window! Love those vintage toys!

Peeping in the window. Love this of my boys!

Jackson was very interested in everything. Oh, I love my sweet boy!

It's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you!

So fun.

He was so proud of sitting up. Sweetness.

Lights!

We are looking a little bright!

Looking at the tree close to downtown square.

Showing Jackson the ice rink.

Love our town!

Okay, so do y'all have all your shopping done yet? I have to admit, I don't. But that doesn't matter. What truly matters, is remembering that Jesus' birth is the true reason for all our celebrating!

Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Jackson and Santa Claus

The Christmas countdown is on, everyone! Here are a few more special things we did with Jackson to celebrate this Christmas.

I always wanted to tell Jackson all about the ornament my Daddy gave me on my first Christmas. It was special to put it on the tree together.

Sweet, sweet times.

Last week, we also took Jackson to meet Santa for the first time. It was interesting to see how he would react. I didn't know if he would burst out crying or what. :)

Jackson did a great job! He and Santa Claus became friends. :)

Look at that! We were so glad Jackson was happy.

Friday night, we attended our Sunday School Christmas party. We got to visit with some sweet friends, exchange gift cards playing dirty santa, and eating yummy food. I made shells and cheese and peppermint fudge.

We also sang Christmas songs. Chad played guitar and Guy played keyboard. It was so fun!

Saturday, we ran a few errands and also mailed a letter to Santa.

Yes, it may be a little silly, because obviously our baby can't write. HA! But I read that there is a small chance Santa may write back. Why not?

It was very chilly! Jackson was so tired and he didn't know what to think.

Jackson was my little helper.

There it goes! Look at that hand! My heart!

This week, I have really enjoyed simmering this mixture together. I call it the smell of Christmas. I posted about it here.

Sunday, we missed church because I had the stomach bug. NO FUN. We did get to see the service on livestream and it was absolutely wonderful! Luckily, I am 100% better. Thankfully, no one got it.

Anyway, on to another subject....

Soon, I will post more!!

John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. John 1:8