christmas eve with the pinkers

christmas eve at the pinkers is another family tradition and we all went over (including oli, favz and her friend josh who is here with her from melbourne) for family dinner. i love this evening that we have each year and having this celebration with our bonus family.

we love the pinkers so much and are grateful to be able to call them family.

after dinner we have gifts and our kids were spoiled rotten by their nanna. alex got the duplo alphabet truck

joseph got his favourite characters on a suitcase - the marvel squad

and madeline got a gorgeous iridescent mermaid backpack which is amazing! mermaids for life - she is absolutely thrilled.

my favourite part of the night was watching aunty dom open her present from joseph. his class made paintings of the characters from inside out this year, teaching them about emotions. dom loooved the anger character and i thought it would be adorable to frame his painting for her to keep - and as i guessed, she loved it and said it was her favourite gift.

i love their bond, he is the luckiest kid in the world.

merry christmas to all and to all a good night!❤

christmas eve madness

christmas eve is always nuts... and this year was no exception. it was crazy town, as we marched joseph off to get a haircut at grandma's request. i can't believe it, but she pulled out the old - this might be my last christmas and you'll feel bad if you don't do it - card.

i kind of loved this little mop and was sad to see it go after he put an entire year into growing it, but also love that he was showing love for his grandmother.

won't miss this matted mess at the back though.

what a handsome little dude!

we were blessed with an act of service today too, as our friend steve came to unblock our second toilet... in the searing heat. we plan to replace the toilet soon, butwe are so grateful for him, as oli's sister faavoa arrived today from melbourne and we will have a full house over the next few days. oli was so surprised to see her, as we had kept it a secret and wouldn't stop saying how happy she was. it's so lovely to see her smile. they all got out the door and went shopping to buy things for everyone and i can only imagine how many gifts will be under the tree tomorrow!

christmas eve + tim tam cabins

as per tradition, we spent christmas eve at the pinkers house, enjoying dinner and some after dinner crafts... the last few years we have decorated gingerbread houses together - but this year after i saw the most amazing idea on the internet...

we made tim tam cabins!!!! 

it was an absolute hoot. so many laughs and such weird decorations. but we got them done in the end and would 100% recommend them over making a gingerbread house - these are way easier and much more fun.

dinner was very untraditional - tacos - but was perfect for lots of hungry people. 

then after this trifle i made for dessert by nannaleahs request, on to the presents!

i love that alex is old enough to enjoy christmas this year and is into the wrapping quick smart, smiling away, dying to see what is inside.

our monopoly loving kid got these amazing pjs from nannaleah and he loooooves them. i bet they won't be allowed to go in the wash ever. super cute!

i love that these three love each other - makes my life a whole lot easier.

now off home to wrap our presents...

merry christmas to all and to all a good night!

kendall christmas 2018

christmas with kids is the best thing ever, especially when you have a delicious new baby to cuddle. after showers and cuddles and watching the nativity video... we put some treats out for santa and the reindeer, then packed the older two off to bed.

they love their baby brother so much, it makes my heart sing.

baby alex stayed awake for a little while with us while we finished things off, and chilled under the christmas treat, before he nodded off too.

getting some zzzz's in before a hard day

finally we had everything ready to go for the morning (once doug finished putting together the bike his parents bought for joseph) and we went off to bed too.

the morning bought so much excitement from the kids, and much to my surprise, out of everything they opened, their favourite items were these cheap mario and luigi caps i got as a last minute idea from ebay. winning! they had them on all morning and were leaping all about the place pretending they were in the game. so funny and actually super adorable.

baby alex showed absolutely zero interest in christmas as expected, but looked around while we opened our gifts and had a cuddle with daddy and i. both madeline and joseph were a lot older (madeline 5 mo and joseph 10mo) at their first christmas so having a small baby that is sleepy and not doing much is new.

maddie with her christmas stocking. we all have handmade ones from nanna, even alex, yes, she delivered just in time!

doug with the playstation mini special edition that i pre-ordered for him months ago. i am so proud, i managed to keep it completely a secret, never mentioned it whatsoever and he had no idea it was coming.

dougs parents and their next door neighbours keryn and lyndon arrived for brunch and then keryn stayed for dinner as well once lyndon went to work, we had the most lovely relaxed afternoon. perfect for this mum of a small bub.

my gorgeous inlaws having a laugh. we are so lucky to have them living so close. we love seeing them with their grandkids and having them around all the time. 

what a beautiful christmas! it really is the most wonderful time of the year ♥

christmas eve

christmas eve fell on a sunday this year and it made for a wonderful sabbath! everything had to be done by saturday afternoon, so there was no dealing with shops, just a chance to be home with our family and prepare for christmas day.

our church service was at 9am, combined with the other ward that meets in our chapel, which was nice and the program was made up of musical items and reading from the scriptures. i sang guard him joseph with my friend maddy as part of it. it is such a gorgeous song, have a listen here (not us!)

after dinner, we read the story of the nativity in the bible (luke: 2) which is a long time tradition from my family, before putting the kids to bed and putting their gifts out.

i can't wait for tomorrow!

marry christmas to all and to all a good night! ♥

christmas eve with the pinkers

we had the most wonderful christmas eve with the pinker family this year, a beautiful cooked dinner, yummy dessert, gifts and lots of cuddles with the kids. we are so lucky to have friends that are family and love to spend time with them, no matter the occasion. christmas is of course though an excellent reason and we loved being there. the kids even busted out their new christmas pjs for a fashion show.

dinner with my sister in law/bestie haha

our little firecracker maddie with her christmas cracker...

and cuddles with my favourite baby boy. what a wonderful christmas eve, i can't wait for tomorrow and all it brings. 

merry christmas to all, and to all a good night! 

♥

twas the night before christmas

twas the night before christmas and in the kendall house, as per tradition there were things to do!

a few christmas carols and then luke chapter 2 is always on the agenda, this year doug's father steve read it aloud to us... i love to hear the story of christ's birth, straight from the scriptures, a simple yet everlasting account. we then watched the church nativity video, which always makes me so emotional, marys trust in the lord, the savior being born in a stable... it's so incredible. 

steve reading from our family bible

our beautiful tree ♥

maddie was old enough this year to want to leave milk and some treats out for santa, she was so cute, she picked out just the right ones, they had to be arranged "just so"... and she had to pour the perfect amount of milk. i am sure she'll get a thrill out of them being gone in the morning.

i love christmas... it's the most wonderful time of the year. ♥

'twas the night before christmas

it's christmas eve!! the best night of the year. where tradition flows thick and fast. mum and dad have come down to spend the night with us... and after reading luke 2 (about the birth of the savior) and watching the church nativity video, by the lights of the tree... we put the kids to bed ready for a long day tomorrow. (we also usually watch the first presidency's christmas devotional, but not this year. too many tired people - shall have to watch it in the next few days, it is one of my favourite things at christmas time!) there is no place i would rather be, than with my little family... 

merry christmas to all, and to all a good night!!

(from the nativity video - wise men still seek him!)