Miles Has Returned & Probably For The Last Time!

December has arrived and so has Miles our little elf. I still can't believe he continues to return ,every Christmas season, but I have a strong feeling that this will be his last year here. I will always remember the first time he arrived at our little house in Blackwood. And again when we moved to Windsor. It was so fun watching Noah and Chelseas reaction every morning in a different spot doing the funniest things. But I have a feeling that this will be Miles last year visiting us. 

Noah has been sending me Tik Tok videos in regards to "elf on the shelf" and how he sees moms giving ideas as to what to do with the elf. Noah even asked me last year if he was real and flying back to the North Pole every night to report to Santa how good he's been. Whether or not Noah still believes in him or not is fine with me. He may also be pretending to believe in Miles to make me feel better and if he is bless his heart. 

He did wake up this morning looking for him and when I told him he was on the garland on the staircase his eyes lit up. It'll be bittersweet once he goes home for good. Like forever, and when he does I will miss that twinkle in Noah's eye when he sees Miles in a different spot. Noah will be 15 next Christmas and yeah, I think this will be Miles final year with us so we better make it count this month!  

Christmas Sunday!

 

Here's hoping this time will serve as an opportunity for us all to appreciate our loved ones and to provide moments for us to reflect, reset, and look ahead to a new year renewal. So many of us want change, but I believe that in order to make that change and be happy with others is that we have to look at ourselves and be happy with who we are. Each year is a chance for us to be better. To not let the little things get to us. To even love those... who for whatever reason have caused us harm, suddenly ignores you, or just plain dislikes you for no reason. Those are the petty things that we shouldn't worry about. Even those that don't even know us personally and dislike us for whatever reason is their issue. And to be honest it's liberating to dismiss those knowing who you're true friends are-even those you have met online. 

The world is changing and we choose to change with it. We choose to allow things to affect us. And I choose joy. I choose happiness. I choose positivity. I choose love. I choose gratitude. I choose "to let it go." And man does it feel good!

However you honor this time we wish y'all a Merry Christmas and hope that y'all were able to spend time with loved ones. To seriously not sweat the small stuff. Life is short and with all that has happened lately in the media with suicides it's so important to check up on your loved ones. A simple text, a phone call or even a card makes a world of difference! Believe me, I know! 

A Disco Christmas At Industry City!

Can't believe we are already 12 days into December! Where has the time gone! Especially since I haven't blogged since the end of November. That just shows that I'd rather be offline taking in the moments of the Christmas season and just chilling. I love to write and journal but there are days when I'm just not in the mood and when I do journal/blog I have a lot of catching up to do. Plus, my hands begin to ache after typing for so long so eventually there will come a time when I most likely won't blog anymore. Who knows! But I do love this time of year and couldn't let time pass without blogging about my favorites in the city. We venture out so much in NYC that I love to take pictures of every art installation and epic Christmas decoration! On this day we went to industry city and the courtyard was all decked out with disco balls! Such a cool decoration. This courtyard in industry city always has the coolest holiday decor. Noah and I had a little photo shoot and it was the best!

Christmas Highlights of 2021!

Last day of the year and here I am scrolling through photos from Thanksgiving and remembering all the great little adventures we had. Whether it's just walking the streets of New York capturing decorative stoops to walking along a crowded fifth avenue looking at all the holiday decor. We love the city and even though we didn't get to see Santa at the Plaza that didn't stop us from getting our traditional photo. Such a special place and my how Noah has grown! I may or may not post more pics and adventures from this year in the new year but here are a few moments from the city that seemed truly magical to us! 

Holiday Train Show At The NYBG!

Tis' The Season for all things festive and because of the holidays and wanting to spend more time with my family than on the computer have lacked in publishing any posts so I am going to try to catch up and document all our little adventures we've had as of late, particularly in the city and hope that if you happen to visit new york city during the holidays that you will hop on here and get some pointers! 

One of our favorite things to do during the holidays is go to the holiday train show. Noah has been a lover of trans since birth and this year was the first time Jon went!! Noah was so excited that daddy got to see all this. They walked around patiently taking their time looking at every detail within every single sculpture. Once upon a time Jon wanted to be an architect and because of that dream was fulfilled just by looking at each piece carefully. He was amazed at all the work and creativity it took to construct these models. He was very impressed and Noah has the same dream of being an architect or an engineer when he is older. We will see what happens to that goal in the future but for now they had fun walking through the gardens and seeing all these models together. The trains have always been Noah's favorite but this year was a bit different. As he gets older he becomes more interested in looking at what these artists use to build these exquisite sculptures and was asking a ton of questions to Jon about them. I'm so glad that we were all here together getting our art fix. Love all these sculptures! 

Shining Bright At Hudson Yards - NYC!

Can't believe December is here. In spite of Covid, and an insane election year and all the negativity it brought this year has gone by way too fast. At least for me. My daughter was telling me the other day that she can't believe this year is almost over. We are all pretty thrilled that it is and because of it being the last month of 2020 we are going to make this Christmas special and simple. Lately we have been going to the city a lot to see all that Christmas brings. There truly is nothing like Christmas in New York. I have soooooo many pictures to post but instead of writing about it on this blog I post it on my Instagram. So if you still read this blog of mine hop on over to my Instagram so y'all can catch up on what we've been up to. I feel that blogs are becoming a thing of the past so I haven't been writing as much but yet I get that writing nudge and just want to share, share, share! So for those of you who continue to read and are patient with my posts thank you! 

I'll begin with visiting the lights at Hudson Yards. Can you believe how beautiful these twinkling lights are? Apparently there are 2 million lights illuminating all of Hudson Yards. This mall has so many shops and restaurants to choose from and it's free to see the lights. This place is definitley going to be on our go to place to come to during the holidays  Such a beautiful sight! Always "shine bright!"

Road Trip to D.C. On The Last Weekend Of 2019!

The holidays continued to glow for us as we ventured out to Washington D.C. to see the temple lights and the People's tree on Capitol Hill. We try to go before Christmas Day but since Lexie flew in two days before Christmas went over the weekend. We are always so grateful to make time to come here along with eating at one of our favorite places! As usual I captured some moments of us during our day trip and it was exquisite! Even the blurry photos make this post perfect since our lives are not! Families are forever! 

Christmas Morning.

And just like that, Christmas has come and gone. Ours was purely the simplest and sweetest Christmas. The kids didn't get too much gifts and they were totally fine with it which made our morning go by so fast! They all unwrapped they're little gifts and were done within 15 minutes! I loved every minute of this particular Christmas simply because it was filled with gratitude, humility, and simplicity. I captured a few moments of the kids but this pic is my favorite of the girls giggling. It is so nice for Chelsea to have one of her sisters home to laugh with. 

Gifting Our Kids With Experiences Instead of Material Things.

Growing up I didn't have many Christmases which is probably why I spoiled my kids with gifts when they were toddlers but now that they are all older gifts are becoming less and less. I have reminded my kids that although the things of the world are nice and all, happiness with those things won't last forever, and the memory of them will eventually fade. I love the fact that we live in an area where we are surrounded by endless culture and history which is why I love going to the city and venturing out to various places in the east. The kids seem to remember moments spent together as opposed to what they got for Christmas last year, two years ago, or even five years ago.

Dear Santa, I Still Believe...

At 10 years old Noah still believes in Santa Claus and in writing letters to him which makes my heart burst! Even though he sees different Santa's in different locations he still believes he is real. I think watching movies like Santa Claus and Home Alone helps Noah believe in miracles. I know eventually he will grow out of the Santa phase and will most likely stop sitting on his lap as gets older, but I'm enjoying this time while he's still little.

Tree Hunting!

We had so much this past weekend going to Wyckoff's tree farm again. We debated on getting a colored tree this year, but oh what a mess it would make in our living room especially when we haul it in to our house! I noticed that last year when Noah and I first discovered this place. So we decided to stick to the traditional green. It's always fun to go the farm to pick and cut our own tree. A tradition we started back in 2013. I captured a few moments of our outing, and once again had so much fun making memories with my shrinking crew...

Santa At The Plaza & All Things Christmas-y!!

I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas! I mean, when did December decide to go from the first to the 24th? Crazy, but we are excited for it, and the kids are having way too much fun together. Since Lexie arrived we've been exploring, and in between our outings she's been chilling by the piano as well as catching up on some much needed sleep. Oh, the life of a college student, but for the most part we've been to the city a few times, and have ventured out some more because...Christmas lights! 

A Few More Things To Do In NYC This Christmas!

We may not live in the city, but boy do we "live" for the city! Next to New England, New York has become our second home, and place to visit because we are always venturing out there. A few friends have even asked if we've moved there only because we frequent there so much. This city all year round is magical, and energetic. It doesn't matter what time of the year you come because it is so fun, and beautiful! Christmas time is one of our favorite times of the year to go, and Thanksgiving day is when we begin to celebrate the holidays! 

Ideas On How To "Light The World."

Gifts for us have been super simple lately as they have been for the past few years. Each year gift giving for us becomes less, and less, and service becomes more and more. Although gifts are nice to give to each other and family members I love to think of those who can really use some good cheer.

Dyker Heights Lights '17

When we went to see the lights in Dyker Heights last year in Brooklyn I couldn't believe how many houses literally went all out out to get lit up! I was so impressed with the way they displayed the holiday decorations and although it was a bit over the top it sure was a fun sight to see! You can check out some short videos on my Insta stories too!

A Little Winter Christmas Concert.

Last night was Noah's winter concert, and it was amazing! It seems that the older he gets the better he, and the rest of his class sing! This concert was so well prepared for the second graders. Everyone looked so sharp, and nice and their voices sounded so awesome! I can tell their music teacher went all out in helping them by rehearsing, and I can see why these kids grow up and get into acapella groups like their older siblings, eventually audition, and make it into the major competitions as they enter into their high school choir. 

Hunting for An Evergreen!

I love these pictures for what they are, and for the sake of memory going to post a bunch of photos of us surrounded by trees because...evergreen and Christmas! Tree picking has been a tradition for us for four years now, and for awhile was debating on buying an articifical pre-lit tree this year. I did, but as soon as we put it up it looked so fake. Even when we puffed out those douglas fir faux branches it still didn't feel...homey. So we stuck with tradition and bought ourselves a real tree!

These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Things In NYC!

Hey December! We are so excited for this time of year. Time for day trips to the city to see all the decorations on fifth avenue, and all around the city. I swear they never get old. Time to finally go ice skating at Rockefeller center. We are so excited for all our holiday adventures, and for the sleep that I'll hopefully get in between. Traditions are important in our family, and we try to keep with them for as long as we can! 

Hallmark Channel's Museum of Christmas in NYC!

This past Saturday we cruised up to New York and even though thanksgiving hasn't happened we couldn't help but to go to the Hallmark Channel's Museum of Christmas to have a bit of fun, and be filled with some Christmas spirit. I love Hallmark, and have been watching hallmark movies since like forever.

"Wise Men Still Seek Him."

When I found out that the ward we moved to re-enacts the story of Christ, I literally jumped for joy. I believe in traditions, and even though we don't have enough people in our family to reenact the story of Christ on Christmas eve we always manage to read the story from the scriptures, but seeing it in person with your children, and being a part of it made my heart happy.