This horse-drawn carriage ride is a really fun, free activity here in Spokane. We did it 2 years ago when Maeve was a newborn snuggled up in Conor's coat. This year, I took the girls right when the rides started at the beginning end of the season. We went twice and had a lovely time. Following our loops around downtown we bought hot chocolate. I feel like I'm knocking it out of the park when it comes to Christmas activities this year!

On Saturday, I really wanted to do something fun and out of the house. We've had sick kids all taking turns for what feels like forever and just a lot of tasks to manage. We went downtown to ride the carousel and look at the lights and happily it was also the tree lighting celebration so there were booths with crafts and hot chocolate as well as live music. We browsed a toy store and watched the big evergreen get lit. It was a really fun evening, one I think we will purposefully repeat next year. I can't wait to get our tree and decorate it!

Christmas was so good this year. We've really found our stride for what feels right for our family. It was such a leisurely and relaxing day. Holly and Greta were both so excited and grateful for everything - Santa brought them gum and that made all their wishes come true! They are really easy to please children and an overall joy. This Christmas, I feel like we had a good number of gifts. Not too many, except for Maeve. We gave Holly and Greta slippers on Christmas Eve and a game on Christmas Day. Not much, but honestly, just right. My favorite gifts given and received were the gifts that Holly and Greta gave to each other. They were so excited to shop for one another and then SO excited to watch their sister open their gift. That was one of the very best parts of Christmas!

My second favorite gift was Maeve sleeping through the night on Christmas Eve! Woo hoo! While it hasn't lasted she did give us a few nights of uninterrupted sleep and they were wonderful! 

Holly unfortunately got a tummy bug on Christmas Day in the afternoon, which affected our Christmas dinner plans. While that was disappointing, it seemed that nothing could take away the magic of the day. It was so peaceful and relaxing and lovely. Truly, it was what we needed.

I really, really enjoyed our Sunday service on Christmas Eve - it was so beautiful. It made me wish that our church always did a worship service on Christmas Eve regardless of what day it lands on. I appreciated the reminder of what the central focus of this holiday is for. I'm grateful for Jesus! I've learned a lot about the atonement this year. I read the book, The Peacegiver, this fall and it shared the atonement and Jesus in a really approachable and relatable way. 

Here's some snapshots of my beautiful family! Holly is getting so tall and grown up looking!

Staying true to the baby code of honor, Maeve cried when Santa held her. Greta whispered to me, "that's a fake Santa," when she saw the big guy with a fake beard. Can't pull the wool (or beard) over her eyes!