A Merry Little Christmas

Liam, Benjamin, and Nicholas are all ready for Christmas.

Daddy tickles Nick to get a grin.




Mommy and Nick are ready to go find our tree.




Liam, Ben and Daddy show off our tree.



This year's tree all decorated.
It's not as tall as previous years, but it makes up for it in width.

Kevin baked the gingerbread house and helps the boys put the candy decorations on it.

The completed gingerbread house. Daddy is quite talented.

Mommy took the day off to chaperone Liam's 2nd grade class when they went to see The Nutcracker.
It's quite different to go on a field trip as a parent rather than a teacher.

Well, it's Christmas Eve here at the Carr house. It's been a crazy couple of months. I've been busy with work, the kids, having a sinus infection, lapsing in my daily gym routine, and taking a Graduate class at Ohio State. This weekend alone brought its own challenges. Monday afternoon Liam was diagnosed with strep. Our much anticipated trip to Texas the day after Christmas has been canceled. A huge disappointment for all. But with such a large incubation window, we just couldn't take the chance that we'd be in the middle of Arkansas when strep struck Nick, Ben, Kevin or myself. Not to mention the risks of bringing the illness into our friends' home. So, the trip has merely been postponed until the next available vacation period.

With the tasks of catching up on laundry and packing taken out of the list of things to do by Christmas, you'd think that everything would seem easier. Nah! I'm still the Queen of Procrastination! I'll be cleaning until the very last moment before I have to jump into the shower to get ready for our annual Christmas Eve trip up to my parents' house. Then it's back home to get the boys to bed so that Santa can come. And finally, it's a very busy Christmas day filled with family, presents, food, and hopefully some fun. The holiday season will pass all too quickly, so I intend to enjoy every minute. And with those adorable faces greeting me each day how could I not?

Merry Christmas and a Joyous 2009!