The Second through Eighth Days of Christmas!

I realize that I left my last post hanging after talking about how I was giving my gifts throughout the 12 Days of Christmas, and then didn't post anything else after the first day…oops! I have stayed true to my plan and I have had a blast! Not only have I enjoyed it, I think/hope that everyone else has enjoyed this idea, as well. Like I said, I didn't go in any real order, so I have managed to keep everyone guessing just a little bit, which isn't a big deal, but I feel like it adds to the excitement! With that being said, I’ll pick up where I left off, and showcase my gifts to everyone!

My second day of gift-giving brought me to Emily, who I might mention is about to embark on a new life journey! Tomorrow she will be starting a new job as a church secretary after an emotionally taxing past year at her now old job! I won’t go into specifics, but the whole ordeal was much more than any sane person should ever have to endure. As fate would have it, her co-workers/friends mentioned that their church was looking for a new secretary, and they thought that it would be a perfect fit for Emily. She and I sat down on a Sunday afternoon to fix up her resume, and about two (maybe three?) weeks later, she interviewed and accepted the position!!! I am immensely excited for her as she begins this new journey, and I know that all will be well because she has lifted the entire process up to God. He led her to this opportunity, and I am certain that He will guide her through anything else that comes her way! Okay, back to her present!!

This year, Emily has really started tapping into her inner Cowboy, and I decided that she needed more orange in her wardrobe to help her! I think she loves her new orange shirt and infinity scarf!

The third day of gift-giving was for Gina, who is sadly nearing the end of her wonderful maternity leave. She goes back to work this coming Monday, much to her chagrin. Well, she isn’t totally opposed to returning, but I think that she would much rather stay home with sweet little Jakub! (I don’t blame her, but that’s just me, and I’m pretty biased on the matter!)

As you can see, Gina received a NOW CD, a Hobby Lobby gift card to help her build up her cake-decorating arsenal, and an infinity scarf! (Yes, that was one of my DIY gifts this year, in case you were curious. They have kits at the store, and if you like to sew, I highly recommend buying this kit from the Prairie Quilt online store!) She was delighted with her gifts, which makes me happy to see!

The fourth day brought me to Andy, who still loves big brotherhood. His gift was slightly random, but was much enjoyed by him! I really didn’t know what I was going to give him, but I settled on his hula hoop and “Despicable Me 2” after some well-placed hints by him and Gina. For a short while, I was convinced that I was not going to be able to find a hula hoop in the middle of December, but good ol’ K-Mart pulled through, and he loved it more than I ever thought he would! Hooray!

Andy's pal, Jayden, stepped in to help him showcase his gifts :)

The fifth day of gift-giving was for Cody, who is growing up more and more before my eyes! In the last month or so, he has started learning how to play basketball, and I couldn’t be more excited for him! He, like the rest of his family, is in love with OSU, so I combined his interests and gave him some OSU-themed athletic gear that he can wear to basketball practice, or just around the house on adventures. He (and Kyle) also received a DVD player for their room, so I decided to give him a movie for the two of them (or the entire family) to enjoy, and I got him a copy of “Planes”. He seemed to really enjoy his gifts, which delights me to no end!

I initially planned to use the sixth day to give Cole his presents, but he had other plans by falling asleep before I made it over to his house. I had no intention of waking up the child at night just to give him a present, so I decided to give little Jakub his presents instead! He was also asleep, but since he is 2 months old, it isn’t the end of the world. (He’s still in the ESP phase, if you catch my drift!) As you can see, he received some diapers & wipes (as a belated gift from when he was born), a baby book, and a couple of outfits. Obviously my favorite of the two is the blue onesie that says, “My Aunt Rocks!” :) I love this sweet boy, who is starting to get more of his own look!

Scotty was the seventh day gift recipient, but he didn’t feel up to being photographed because of some allergy problems, so I’ll talk about his gift when I start my next installment!

Today was my eighth day of gift-giving, and I used it to give the very awake Cole his gifts! I struggled to decide what to get him, which is the biggest downside of him having a December birthday. Also, he is happy with almost anything, so I struggled even more! There is nothing like seeing a two-year-old open presents, and such was the case for Cole! I got him some Play-Doh, a Color Wonder book, and a Cars picture book. Cole was overjoyed to see his present, and thanked me repeatedly! How cute!!

Like I said at the beginning, I love this strategy, and I am fairly certain that my family loves it too! Everyone is able to experience the excitement of receiving a gift, but not all in one swoop. This could be the best for the little boys, who are always inundated with gifts on Christmas day, but are able to slow down and really feel the excitement of receiving their gifts! I think that that could be the best part of this, along with reminding everyone that Christmas isn't really over after Christmas! I hope that this finds everyone well and recovered from whatever your Christmas festivities may have been! :)