Jingle Bells are Ringing...

We have been busy at the Spence home getting ready for Christmas.  We have crammed a lot of fun and meaningful things into our weeks and the boys are really enjoying everything that goes along with Christmas.

We have made Gingerbread houses with Gigi.  I left the house to take our dog to the vet and when I returned Miller had no clothes on.  You know that everyone is having a good time when the clothes come off. =)

We went to Snowy Nights at The Big Backyard with Yaya and Dingdad.
We visited with Santa at the Bass Pro Shop...they were super thrilled to be there...can't you tell.
They seemed to enjoy the trains and guns more than Santa.  Mommy enjoyed resting while they ran around and played.

Halley and I hosted a cookie exchange for over 30 of our closest friends and I didn't take 1 single picture. It was a blast though and there were enough cookies to feed an army afterwards.

We have spent lots of time discussing the true meaning of Christmas by incorporating our Little People Nativity Set,

and our Advent Nativity Calendar.

We were also given The Names of Jesus Christmas Tree by my good friend Jennie. It is amazing!  She made every ornament and every ornament has another name for Jesus on it along with a scripture to read. Each night we read the scripture and discuss the name for Jesus on it and then place it on the tree. Such a precious idea.

We also do a paper chain that has a different name for Jesus on it as well.  That is on the little tree below.

We get giddy over receiving our Christmas cards everyday.  (I am waiting until baby sister comes to send anything...I can't afford or have the energy to do 2 in less than a month.)

We wake up every morning eager to find our Elf.  Today he flew high to the balcony above the den.  Our elf doesn't do crazy things...this momma has enough on her plate besides cleaning up the messes Elf makes.  The boys just love that he is somewhere new everyday.
We try to nap while the boys are napping but it doesn't always work out. This is where the boys ended up yesterday when mommy was trying to nap.
I thankfully called David and asked if he could come home early because I was s.t.r.u.g.g.l.i.n.g and he was so sweet and came home to rescue me (or the boys...either way, we both needed rescue). It allowed me to rest and recover some. We are eagerly awaiting our precious baby sister to make her appearance. Her stocking is hung in hopes that she will make her appearance before Christmas but she seems to be a little too cozy in my belly.

Just a little recap in the Spence household.  Hope you are enjoying this magical time as well celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

Five for Friday

A little random Five for Friday....

1.  Be still my heart...aren't these the cutest little girls you have ever seen?  They are the daughters of my best friend.  I found some 6-9 month Forrest Spence Fund onesies and she took their picture in them. Absolutely love these 2 pictures of them!

 2. My middle brother made a last minute trip to Memphis this past weekend and we LOVED having him in town. The boys wrestled and played with legos a lot.
 3. Matt took these 2 pictures of the boys with his I-phone. I couldn't believe how well they turned out. These 2 have my heart.


4.  My mom has been helping with the boys lately to give this momma a rest.  She has done so many fun things with them.  On Monday they made ornaments for the tree and today they made Gingerbread houses and reindeer cookies.  The boys love doing crafts with Gigi.


5.  So thankful for Austin's precious school, Christ Methodist.  Yesterday they had a Happy Birthday Jesus party and each child brought in a new toy to donate to the Neighborhood Center.  They then sang songs and spent time worshipping the Lord.  Afterwards they went back to their class to eat birthday cake and play games and do a craft.  It was such a sweet time.


Happy Friday friends!  Hope you enjoy the weekend!

Christmas fun activities

The Monday morning after Thanksgiving my MIL and I took the boys down to the Peabody Hotel to watch the ducks march in, see the Christmas tree, and experience the beauty of the Peabody at Christmas. It was a really fun morning and I am definitely thankful Diane was along to help.
The entire process of the ducks marching from the elevator to the fountain literally took less than a minute.  They go so fast to the fountain.  
The boys loved the Gingerbread village.  We spent a lot of time looking at each and every house and picking out the different types of candy/food they used to decorate and build it.  They were sad the train wasn't running though.

That following Friday my in-laws joined the boys and I at the Enchanted Forest at the Pink Palace.  This exhibit has been going on for over 6o years.  Some of the characters look over 60 years old but still have so much joy and beauty in them.  It is a fundraiser for Le Bonheur so we loved being able to do something fun that also gives back to a place that we love so much.  There were beautifully decorated Christmas trees, characters that moved, an awesome train village, Santa Claus, and a gingerbread village made by people in Memphis.

Austin wouldn't turn around to look at the camera.  He was transfixed by the trains flying around the track.

Our good friends the Flacks created the Memphis Pyramid completely out of edible goodies. They did such a great job.

It was definitely a fun way to spend a Friday morning.