I have three pages for today again. I love this pajama page so I didn’t alter it much. Just added the word-stickers.

On the back, I put the photo of me with my three boys and added the title Gilroy Gardens on top of the photo and a few more word stickers.

Second page starts with this photo of David I love.

Journaling Reads:
David, it’s likely you won’t remember tonight in a few months. But thanks to you, I will remember tonight forever. The way you screamed “awesome, awesome, awesome!!” as the train drove through tunnels tonight will remain etched in my heart for the rest of your life.

I must admit that we do a lot of these holiday events because I love them. I’ve learned a while ago that it’s best to do them for myself and if you guys like it, too, all the better. This is the only way I am always happy we went. But those times when you enjoy it just as much as I do, if not more, are the times I cherish more than anything else.

And when I look back on these days, I will not remember how tired I was or how many times you asked “how many more minutes till we’re home.” I will remember the joyful way you shouted awesome and the excitement that overcame you as you ran from one ride to another, trying to decide which one to go on first. Thank you, my son, for being my best present.

The back of that page is a photo of Nathaniel.

The third page is just a collage of all the other photos I love from the day.

More on the back.

And that’s day eleven.

I must say even though it’s simple, I love love love my December Daily already.

I knew today would be magical because I knew it was the day of our Polar Express trip. But even I couldn’t imagine how wonderful it turned out to be. On the cover, I put the actual tickets and some lettering.

Here’s a closeup

For the back, I put a photo I took up there and added some accents. Simple.

Then I added two 5×7 pages with photos on both sides. I love this photo of Jake and David and I wrote some of my thoughts from the day on it.

The journaling reads:
Today we got to ride the Polar Express train to North Pole. Today we drove all the way to Sacramento just to get on the train. Both of you wore Christmas PJs. We ate lunch at a little cafe and David gave Daddy lots of hugs and Nathaniel made cute faces.

Today, a magician made David laugh. Nathaniel ran around the train station screaming with joy. We waited in line for the Katy car and got on and looked out the window with wonder and joy. We listened to Christmas music and heard the story of Polar Express.

Today the conductor signed our copy of the book. They gave us cookies and hot chocolate. We waved at Santa and his elves. We got our fist Christmas present from Santa. We waved our jingle bells and listened to their chime.

Today we laughed and laughed and laughed. We hugged. We shed tears of joy. We hugged some more. Today we were deeply grateful for our life. For being together. For the magic of Christmas. And the magic of little kids and their joy.

Today we made a collection of new memories. They will live etched in our hearts for a long time.

Today was a most magical day.

On the back, I put this photo of both kids laughing. I love these joyful blurry shots.

The second 5×7 has a photo of Nathaniel looking at the bell.

and on the back, I collaged a few more photos from the day.

and here’s the little boy very excited and curious when I take photos of these pages:

And that’s day nine.

I originally had journaling spots on this overlay but I didn’t like them so I took them off and added some Making Memories letters.

Another look.

For my stories, I added the one photo I got with my dad and Nathaniel (my ink is starting to run out I think which might explain the off coloring on this.)

The journaling reads:

Since we took some great photos with David, I really wanted to have some photos of you with my parents, too.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Or more like, you just refused to stay in one place for more than a second. Of the forty photos I took, this is the only one where you don’t look like a blur.

At first I was bummed that the phone is covering half your face but then I reminded myself that this is life. This is how it is.

Not perfect.

You’ve been obsessed with opapa’s cell phone for the last few days so it’s perfect that it’s in the photo with you. When we look back, we will remember how much you enjoyed playing with his phone and we will laugh all over again.

Life is so much more wonderful than perfect photos. Thank you for teaching me that once again, my son.

I love you.

And then on the back, I put this photo of David’s gratitude journal:

Journaling reads:
David’s been writing one thing he’s grateful for everyday for the last few weeks. Seeing these fills me with joy and gratitude. I am so thankful for you, my son.

And that’s day seven.

Continuing with the theme of crafting+photos+stories, I made another fun page. I used my snowflake border punch and punched out some flakes and then cut them. Then I used twine to hang them like a clothesline. Then I covered them with pearl enamel and then I covered them with antique linen distress stickles and then added a pearl in the middle. The number 3 and three little stickers from The Girls’ Paperie and we’re all set.

here’s another angle so you can see a bit better.

For the back, I used the photo of the three of us from yesterday.

And there you are. Day three. Keeping it simple. Not a lot of stories so far but I know there will be many and I know there are days without photos too so I can use my stories then. I am not too worried about being specific to the day we actually did the events. This album is for the holidays so as long as it’s sometime during December, it’s all good.

Well here we are! One of the things I realized as I went through my books from the last two years is that I like having a combination of photos, stories and crafty stuff. So this year I will make a conscious effort to do that.

I wanted to start the book with the holiday spirit in our house. I took photos of all the stuff we have up and made a little collage. And so it begins…

and for the back, I love that pajama fabric so I just sewed on a tree and decorated it and sewed the pages together.

and another look:

And there you are. Day one.