Christmas Happenings!!!

Christmas is so close and we are ready!!!!  The gifts are all wrapped, grocery shopping is complete, the puzzle is being worked on each cold, winter day, I spruced up the greens yesterday and I'm finishing up some laundry!  We are excited to have Christmas Day so near!!!!


December has been a month of fun outings!  Here was one with a bunch of church friends that met at Clarita's house for a brunch!  Everything was so pretty!!!!!

This doesn't happen often anymore.  Austin has really been enjoying the "opening books every day" before Christmas!!!  Ashlyn and him opened many books and we've spent a lot of time reading them!!!!!  Austin's favorite is the Franklin book!!!!  Many of these books I got at thrift stores and it didn't cost that much money!

 I made a few batches of these Gingerbread Men the past few weeks!  They are easy to mix, bake them in a pan and then cut out!  The first time we topped them with icing.  The other times I drizzled them with white chocolate.  The chocolate was much better!!!!

We love to put puzzles together and you will often find us into the late nights trying to find just one more piece!!!!  This puzzle is really fun!!!!

The Lapp's Structure Banquet was last week and we are forever grateful to all our hard working employees!!!!  The men in the shop, the folks in the offices, in the lots, in the trucks, etc!!!!!!  Thank you all very much!!!!!

Here is another outing we did!  Mike and I had planned a date night to go to Longwood Gardens but when I called about tickets, they were sold out.  Mike was then into just being at home and so Ashlyn and I decided to go to the Point of Grace concert!  We last minute called up Linda and asked if she would like along!!!  It was a great concert and these ladies have been a favorite of mine for many years!!!!  Ashlyn didn't enjoy the concert that much because that meant her and Sophia couldn't talk and she had to just sit still.

We stopped for pizza on the way!!!

On Saturday night, we planned to go see Christmas Lights with church friends.  Flauds backed out because of sick kids but us and Merv's still went.  The "Christmas on the Mountain" was not what we had in mind but it was free and filled with many lights!  The kids enjoyed this very cold night!!!!

 And here we all are at church on Sunday morning!!!!  We walked in to this nice surprise!!!!  Clarita found some free trees and made a quick photo display at church!!!  You know I'm all into things like this and it was so neat!!!!

Love these people so much!!!!!

The kids had a birthday party for Jesus in Sunday School!!!!  They had balloons and party hats and what a wonderful celebration it was!!!!!

Our December church services have been about ADVENT and they were so good!!!!

We are now officially in Christmas vacation mode!!!!  The kids are sleeping in this Monday morning and I am happy about this!!!!

And now on December 23, the weather feels like Spring outside!!!!  Ashlyn and Austin jumped into their swimsuits and played in the living room!  The sun was bright and warm!  Matthew and I worked outside and it felt so good to get things cleaned up outdoors!!!!

And this is a month of winning for me!  I got a call saying that I won a gift basket from Hillside, a $20 gift card from Heritage Design and a camera bag from Di Images ... all this month!!!!  I am so very blessed and it's fun to receive and to give!!!!

It's now Christmas Eve Day and I have just a few things to clean up around here yet and then we are looking forwards to a family night together tonight!!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!!!!