Christmas 2014

This year, Christmas snuck up on me. It barely felt like the holidays because we had been traveling and next thing I know, it was already December and I didn't have my Christmas cards made yet! 

The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas went by so quickly because there were so many holiday events going on and not enough time. We ended up going to a lot of things and it was fun to see how Koala was now old enough to participate and enjoy the events.

There was of course our annual trip to see the zoo lights. I love that we have such a great zoo right here- it was voted the best zoo in the US in USA Today. And the lights are always pretty to go see in the winter. 

The best thing about the zoo membership is that you get unlimited entrance to the zoo lights Mon- Thurs and one admittance on the weekend. This is great because we can go without having to feel like we have to spend all evening there to make it worth it. This year, we ended up going twice and the weather was nice both times! 

Koala enjoyed the pretty lights and was such a ham- she would stop and pose in front of statues or lights and wait for me to take a picture. 

The Botanical Garden also had their annual weekend holiday event. They mostly have local artists/vendors selling their work but Santa comes to visit and they offer free carriage/hay rides. Koala loved the horses and had a blast riding on the hay ride! Luckily there weren't many people there so she was able to ride it a couple times. 

One of the local churches had A Night in Bethlehem where they have live scenes from the Bible, real animals and a Bethlehem 'marketplace' with crafts for the kids. 

Koala seemed to like petting the animals- camels, donkeys, goats and sheep. I was also surprised at how she was excited to participate in making the crafts as well. One tent was where they made a wreath to wear. I thought it would be too hard so I didn't go in but Koala really wanted to do it and went in on her own. She did such a good job making the wreath. The part she did turned out a lot prettier than the part I did. 

Santa came to visit a local suburb and there were more free carriage rides so we went to check it out. Koala was more impressed with the horses and a balloon than Santa lol

Unfortunately, free means long lines. The line for the carriage ride was too long and it was too cold. But since I promised Koala a horse ride (always keep your promises to kids. They'll remember when you don't), we drove to a mall and rode in the carriage ride there. She had a blast- hot chocolate while we waited and pretty lights on the carriage ride. 

Of course, Christmas isn't about Santa and horse rides. Koala participated in the children's play at church. 

Even though she didn't practice, she enjoyed being on stage and she seemed to follow the cues like when the shepherds talked about the sheep wandering off, she wandered off lol. She also was very interested in Baby Jesus and was gentle and even gave him a kiss. 

I was in charge of desserts for our Christmas lunch at church so I did a little baking- Reese's pieces cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter filling), thin mint truffles and a red and green velvet cake with buttercream frosting and crushed candy canes on top. 

Although the desserts did not come out as pretty as I wanted, they were more tasty than I expected- people kept saying how good they were. I guess ugly good tasting desserts are better than pretty bad tasting desserts lol. One day I'll perfect both and have pretty, yummy desserts. 

This year, I wrapped family presents in reusable Christmas bags again (which I apparently tied too tightly which made it hard to open lol. Oops). I like how easy they are to 'wrap' presents and they look good. Plus I love that they are reusable and better for the environment than wrapping paper. 

For Christmas, Koala decorated her first gingerbread house which was part of our second annual gingerbread house competition. Once again I didn't think she'd enjoy it as much as she did. She was really into decorating and using the sprinkles. Every now and then she snuck a bite of the toppings lol. 

Koala's gingerbread house. She had a little help from mommy and daddy. 

The finished houses. 

I love the holidays and all the fun activities so I'm a little sad that the holidays are over. Only 356 more days until Christmas 2015! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I LOVE thanksgiving! And this year I was especially excited for the food after being in Korea for so long. 

My Turkey Veggie platter 

I made a cornucopia based on this link from Pinterest. 

My cornucopia turned out to be smaller than I thought so I had leftover pizza dough and I made cheesy bread too. 

This is the cornucopia prebake.

Cornucopia & rolls: my brothers said I should have had more color contrast but I didn't feel like preparing something to put in the cornucopia 

I was also inspired to make more mini pies. This time I made pumpkin pie (for the first time! Thanks Maria for looking up the recipe for me when I shopped for ingredients!)

My mini pumpkin pies prebake, midbake and post.

My brothers deep fried a turkey for the second year in a row- tasted even better than last year 

Pre and post pics

The finished products (fried turkey and baked turkey- both were delish!) Koala approved of the turkey. She didn't really eat much but she ate a lot of turkey!

And the sides! Ah my favorite! I was sooo stuffed & satisfied after eating. (Garlicky Butternut squash, green beans & green bean casserole, mac n cheese, ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, chap chae)

Carbs, carbs, carbs! Yesterday at my doctor's appointment, I was given my slip for my glucose test for my pregnancy. Thankfully, they said I could do it next week which meant I could enjoy all the carbs I wanted for thanksgiving! 

Decorations were simple this year: gold chargers and pumpkins!

Aside from being thankful for the food, I have many things to be thankful for- so many things but I'll list just 5.

1) I'm thankful for my Hubby. This year he went on a business trip- I think the first trip since we had Koala. I realized how much I need him and how much he helps out around the house. I'm thankful for him because we make a good team together. He's a good husband and dad. 

2.) I'm thankful for Koala- she is such a gift from God. She brings so much joy to our lives and makes me laugh even when she's dramatically crying. 

3) I'm thankful for Baby Boy and that he is healthy and the pregnancy is going well. I can't wait to meet him and see how he grows.

4) I'm thankful for my parents. They are so sacrificial and loving and I'm thankful that I live close to them so that we can spend time together. It was great being able to travel with them recently. I love that they adore Koala and love to spend time with her. I'm so thankful for my mom who watches Koala all the time and offers to help me out when she knows I'm tired, even though she's probably tired herself. She says that she is amazed at the mom I am and I say that I'm only the mom I am because I'm trying to be half the mom that she is. 

5.) I'm thankful for my siblings and the friendship that we have. I hope that Koala and Baby Boy can share that type of friendship when they grow up. 

Oops that's 5- I'll just list 2 more:

6.) I'm thankful for my friends who go the extra mile! Too many examples to list and I don't wanna forget anyone- I should thank them personally! 

7.) I'm thankful for my new job. Hubby told me that I don't complain about work anymore and I told him it's cause there's nothing to complain about. I'm thankful that God opened up this job at just the right time. 

I'm thankful for this time of year that I can remember all the blessings God gives me! I know I should be thankful everyday! 

Give Thanks!