It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Christmas

So we have been enjoying alot of very mild weather this December. It's been great, but it doesn't feel much like Christmas when its 65 degrees outside. Well on Saturday it was a little cooler, not cold, but at least cooler and we got to see "fireman Santa". Every year, the Centerton fire department drives/walks around the city and hands out little treats to the kids and lets them see their Santa. My kids love this tradition and this year did not disappoint. You can't tell, but Tucker was very happy to see Santa and get a candy cane. 

Chris also took the boys out to run some errands while Bailey and hung out at home. While they were out, they stopped by a pawn shop to look at some fishing poles. Chris just wanted to get a cheap pole to help the kids learn on. Anyways, they walked into a pawn shop and Tanner saw a pink princess bike and he immediately knew that he wanted to get it for Bailey. He told Chris about the bike and they both agreed that Bailey would love it. When they got home from their errands Tanner came and found me to tell me about their awesome find at the pawn shop. He told me that he felt the holy spirit and felt warm inside when he decided to get the bike for Bailey. It was the sweetest thing. We've been talking a lot about the act of giving and how it can bring joy into our lives. We were mainly talking about giving of our time through acts of service, but the fact that he wanted to buy this gift for his sister with no thought of a gift in return made my heart so happy. 

Then Saturday night, a random ice storm came through and we got a dusting of snow to accompany our 1/2 inch of ice. They cancelled church on Saturday night and that made for a very nice Sunday morning. It was amazingly cold Sunday morning so we didn't go out to play until the temperature came up to about 20 degrees. Even then, it was freezing, but better than the 6 degrees it was earlier that morning. 

Even though we didn't get much snow, the kids had a great time playing. 

The snow was literally melting as we played in. I don't know how it melted it with it being so cold, but it did. We played as much as we could. 

It was pretty fun and after only about half an hour, our fingers thawed. We enjoyed some hot cocoa and lots of snuggles and movies. So fun!

I also got all my Christmas baking done and that was a huge thing off my holiday checklist. 

By that afternoon, the roads were totally fine. There was school on Monday and then Monday night for our FHE we did our traditional "Minivan Express". It's always fun to watch the kids as they discover their golden tickets on their pillows before bed. 

We drove around looking at Christmas lights, singing "Jingle Bells" way too many times and delivering cookies to our friends. It was so fun. 

Also, how beautiful is the Bentonville square at Christmas time? 

 So now with some colder weather, yummy cookies and Christmas songs playing all the time at our house, its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! And tomorrow is the last day of school before Christmas break! Wahoo!