We had a wonderful holiday season. Starting at Thanksgiving on, it was blessed. Even amidst both sides of our family being sick and passing all the love around to each other, it was still wonderful. Most of the farmer’s family was here on and off at some point throughout the holidays and we expect them back for New Years. I got to see all of mine, as well, including some I hadn’t seen in ages.

The farmer, the kids, and I had our Christmas on Christmas Eve because Sunday mornings are hectic. The farmer always takes Sunday off and has some local guys milk for him so we can make it to church in the city and just enjoy a day without cow udders. However, there’s still feeding to do and that takes a while–especially in winter when there’s ponds to break and hay to put out. I get the girls and I ready while putting my make-up on and trashing the kitchen. It’s chaos. Absolute chaos.

So, Christmas Eve it was. We didn’t hear any complaints from the kiddos.

Sidenote: I’ve been working on my indoor photography skills.  It’s not going so well. But, I trust I’ll get it figured out.

Wrapping paper–such a frustrating non-essential.

“What do we have here?”

Taegan was so excited about her puppy surprise. Little did I know that Luxe would have a strong affection for it, too. I’ve been playing referee since it came out of the box.

Figuring out how many puppies we are now the proud owners of is the most fun part.

One…“Awwwwww!! It squeaks!!”

All in all, out popped 3.

I’m not completely sure what’s happening here, but I’ve got it on good authority that she’s trying to will her present open with her mind. “I command you…open yourself.”

It kind of worked. Taegan ended up opening that one.

This next one was fun. Taegan’s been asking for a tablet for probably a couple years now. I kept putting her off, but I found an exceptional deal and got one. She opened this last because small packages are never as fun. She didn’t say that, but I know how a child’s mind works.

She still has no idea what it is. This is one of those moments when you’re not sure if you can actually believe what the box says. It might be too good to be true. The farmer told her to close her eyes while he took it out of the box.

“A tablet! A tablet?” She’s been sharing it with her sister, too, which is super sweet.

On Christmas day, we did our normal Sunday routine: Chaos followed by a long drive until we arrived at church. Then, we ended our 3 Christmas celebrations at my mom’s. Lunch was amazing!!! Ham, smoked salmon, sushi, mashed potatoes, fresh veggies and dip, a cheeseball, crackers, rolls, pickles, olives, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cherry pie, and apple pie. She had me at sushi.

Well, she had me anyway, but sushi was a high point.

It was a wonderful holiday season. And I’ll end with Taegan’s words, “That was a good Christmas!”

P.S. I feel like 2016 has had an overall feeling of “bleh” for a lot of people. I’ve seen a lot of those memes where a man is climbing a ladder just to dramatically fall down it in reference to the past year. Goodness knows, for our little family, it’s been one of those “personal growth” years when the difficult makes you stronger and your faith grows by leaps and bounds. But, it’s wrapping up well and I look forward to a new year full of new possibility. I hope you do, too.

Much love and warm wishes,

She’s Dairy Made