For Mamaw and Papaw

This is mostly for my parents as we weren't able to be with them for Christmas.



Isaberl and her princess castle



Lillee and her new Barbie Rapunzel and Three Musketeer Prince (we think his name is Louis).




Connor opening his new remote control helicopter...he was so excited!

Chase and his new ball popper....this was actually a hit for everyone.

Thanks for the fun presents, Mamaw & Papaw. You chose well!

Christmas eve in front of the tree

Last year we had a new baby and I remember being so sick and tired on Christmas eve and grateful that the house was finally quiet after all the family activity. We dressed the kids for bed and snagged a quick picture in front of the tree. We were so pleased seeing all 4 kids together in such a nice picture (you can see that picture here).

Here is our picture from this year:



Excuse the demonic eyes until I can figure out how to fix them (I have a new laptop and I don't have all my normal software loaded).

A Really Awesome Christmas

We had such a nice Christmas this year. Even being in the lean years we were blessed with gifts that were just right for the kids and for our budget!

Here are some of the highlights:

Connor was the first one up, which NEVER happens. He was up at 5:30am, which NEVER, EVER happens. First thing he did was organize all the presents into piles by name. He was ready to begin and no one was out of bed yet.

Lillee had gotten sick at midnight on Christmas Eve. She ended up in the shower in the middle of the night and this was the result of going to bed with wet hair.



She was pleased with all she received.

Isabel received a castle which transforms its decorations from casual comfy to fancy dinner with the switch of a button. The rug flips up and becomes a table set with a fine feast. So as the girls were pretend playing on Christmas morning, Isabel was explaining that this table is where we say our prayers. Both girls knelt, bowed heads and Lillee said a prayer. Al and I were so happy to hear the girls praying as part of their play!

Isabel was overjoyed with everything she received. She had been asking for a big girl bike and was beyond happy when she got it. The only sad part was she was not able to go out and ride due to the weather. She tried to ride around the house, but that proved difficult with so many people around.

At one point when we had 12 kids and 9 adults in the house, everyone broke out in laughter---I can't even remember what we were laughing about---but Connor chimed in, "And the crowd goes wild." He then grinned and waited for someone to mention his funny comment.

After presents were open and the kids had played for awhile they were bored. So I pulled out the Lincoln Logs and the wooden train boxes and we made nativity scenes. They turned out soooo cute! I was really proud of the kids. After so much discussion about Jesus' birth, I was pleased to see how much detail the kids remembered.

Mine is on the left, Lillee is in the middle, and Connor on the right. Lillee added a Christmas tree and star that she colored and cut out. Connor used Lincoln logs to make his star (on top of the chimney) and 3 lincoln logs inside to represent Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.

Here is the inside of Lillee's, there is a baby Jesus that she drew and a train person as Mary.

Then we waited for the cousins to arrive...and waited...and waited. The kids felt like they were waiting a lifetime when in fact it was only about 1.5 hours.

Lillee was beside herself with happiness as her favorite people were all at her house. She loves playing with Max and Alice and to have both playing with her at the same time was perfect.

Even with a houseful of people, we had an enjoyable Christmas; all the kids got along, no one's new toy was broken, no permanent stains on anything and the food was good (thanks Emily)!

Isabel must have told me 100 times throughout the day that she loved me...that's how I really knew that it was a really awesome Christmas.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

It's the best time of the year
I don't know if there'll be snow
But have a cup of cheer...
...Oh by golly
Have a holly
Jolly Christmas
This year!


We've enjoyed baking and serving on these days leading up to Christmas and even though we missed a couple days of giving (like on Lillee's birthday) there were days we delivered to 4 families in a night. Our list is impressive---well to us it is impressive---and we're glad to have had the opportunity to serve others and have our list to remind us of all our good works.






We have also focused a lot on the birth of Jesus and the importance of the reason for the season. We've spent weeks reading and rereading Luke 2, talking about the nativity and what it must have really been like for Mary, Joseph, Jesus and all who became aware of his birth...to see an angel and hear be told not to fear but rejoice in the birth of the babe who can save us all from our sins. We've given much this month, but we have received so much more. Our home has been blessed, our hearts have been filled and we've had angels watching over us.





Our stockings are hung, we are waiting for Al's brother and family to arrive, I'm baking my last batch of cookies, we have a Christmas party to attend tonight then the kids go to bed for Santa to make his big appearance! Oh, before Santa arrives we still have to wrap our presents, we've not wrapped anything! This should be a fun and frantic remainder of a day. Fortunately, Chase and Bel are sleeping as I type!






Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Let it snow-well, on second thought...

I think we've had enough! It snowed, and it snowed and it snowed---we hit 20 inches, officially. Which is a lot of snow for this area of the country. We had fun playing in it, we couldn't keep up with the shoveling at the speed it was coming down. Even though we spent hours clearing on Saturday, we still have a lot to shovel today.

This is the most snow I've ever seen. Growing up in NC we were lucky to have a few inches at a time. When Connor was a baby we had a 17 inch snowstorm but this one was a bit bigger.

Here are some pictures of our winter wonderland:


We're dog sitting for a Norwegian Elkhound puppy...this is his kind of weather!

The snow drifts were over 3 feet high. This is the side of our house and you can't distinguish any depth difference from the sidewalk to the fence.

Our street and front porch.

Here is my van across the street from our house. It's a good thing Al left the wiperblades up so we could find it.