I am behind on blogging because we’ve been busy with the Holidays and travel. We’re back now though and it’s a new year! So here is a short and sweet account of Christmas 2019.

  1. Star Wars

This year was all about Star Wars. We got Disney+ as a Christmas present for the kids and they LOVE the Mandalorian. Then on December 19th Z and J went to see the latest Star Wars movie in the theater for my brother’s 40th birthday celebration.

2. Christmas with my side of the Family

We celebrated Christmas early with my parents and all the siblings and nieces and nephews. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen our weekly “Busch Brunch” that we do every Saturday. This year we had a mega Busch brunch with all 16 of us. My mom even made Sticky Pecan Rolls which have been a tradition in our family since I was a little girl.

After brunch the kids piled on the couch and started chanting for presents.

The gifts ranged from fashionable earings to games to jewelry box heirlooms to a new Bible (teen edition for Z); there were so many wonderful surprises!

3. Deck the Halls at Church

Even though we didn’t decorate at our house for Christmas we had a blast helping decorate the church. Everyone wore Christmas PJs and sweaters and we all enjoyed a yummy hot chocolate bar and Christmas cookie contest while we were busy putting up trees and decor.

4. Puzzles

I love doing puzzles during the holidays!   This one with the marbles is something I bought at a yard sale in Michigan a couple of years ago. I took a gamble on a used 1,000 piece puzzle and it turned out to have all of the pieces! My mom brought another  1,000 piece for Christmas that I didn’t quite finish before leaving for Texas but I’ll have that completed soon. Then Jeremy’s sister in Texas got him a 2,000 piece puzzle that we all worked on while we were there.

5. Breakfast with Santa

One of my absolute favorite traditions was the annual Palmyr’s Playhouse Breakfast with Santa. I got to be the photographer again and the kids participated for the fourth year in a row. 

6. Polar Express

The kids had a blast at their school’s Polar Express Day. They got to wear their PJs to school, ride a train and play in a giant snow globe!

7. Christmas Program at Church

The kids participated in a small Christmas program at church the day that we left for Texas. This was such a special way to end things back at home.

 

 

8. Christmas in Texas

The next 10 days were spent with family. We played lots of games, opened plenty of gifts, and ate tons of yummy food.

 

We also got to visit our old church and go to the coffee shop. Even though it was surreal to see what was left after the tornado it was encouraging to know that everyone is doing well and what really matters is still standing.

So that’s our Christmas in a nutshell. I am not gonna lie, the holidays wore me out this year. I’m still very well aware of how blessed we are to be able to celebrate the birth of our Savior with so many amazing friends and family members. It was a very Merry Christmas.