Christmas Eve & Morn

On Christmas Eve, my folks came with us to our church's candlelight service. Papa D & Gma Julie were at church, too, as they were staying with Trevor & Amy for Christmas this year. Then, after the service, my folks, my kids & I came back to our house for dinner & my folks brought stockings for all 4 of us to open! Nate was in the worship band so he came home a little later, but, was still able to enjoy the service & time with the family. The service was wonderful & the worship portion was lead by Amy & she did a beautiful job! We had a good dinner & a lot of fun visiting with my folks. Christmas morn we awoke & opened our gifts amongst our immediate family, then went down the street to the Doyle's house for yummy brunch & a good visit with the in-laws & cousins. The fun is ongoing as we are havin' Gma Julie stay with us for a couple of days (Papa D had to go back to work so traveled home yesterday to Huntington Beach) & on New Years we will celebrate Christmas, again, with more extended family...whew!:)

Christmas Eve with Papa Tom & Gma Kris

Chloe checkin' out her dollhouse with daddy on Christmas morn.

The kiddos dressin' up on Christmas morn in Eli's new play clothes.

Eli lovin' the step-stool & train table he got for Christmas.

Papa D takin' a snooze with the grand-kids after a lot of Christmas fun!

A Gift of A Bible

Sharing the Good News...awesome!

You're not supposed to eat baby Jesus!

Chloe: "You're not supposed to eat baby Jesus!"
Me: "Ummm...ok" (Is she serious?)
Chloe: "Luke ate baby Jesus...you're not supposed to eat baby Jesus!" (Luke is a friend of Chloe's.)
Me: "Oh..." (I am desperately trying to understand.)
Then she shows me what she made for us in Sunday school this am; a manger scene with a peanut as baby Jesus (see the photo below). Does this mean I can't eat anymore peanuts? I love peanuts!! But I love Jesus SO much more!! We have some great conversations.:)

Christmas Party

Chloe's class put on a great Christmas party this am. Good folks, good food, good music...& Santa came & gave each of the kids candy & a book. Chloe went right up & sat on Santa's lap...I was so excited that she wanted to see him & didn't get scared (last year there were tears) & I thought it was pretty stinkin' cute that she asked him for a giraffe for Christmas! Tonite, Chloe & I & another family/friends from Chloe's class are delivering presents & food to a family in need that Chloe's class adopted for Christmas. It is so awesome to give...we are so excited to be apart of something that is so much bigger than ourselves.

Chloe sitting with Santa.

The kids waiting patiently to see ol' St. Nick.

Yum, yum...

Chloe's class with Santa, including Teacher JoAnn (far right) & T.A. Tianna (behind Santa).

In her class, Chloe made Nate & I this candle for Christmas. It is made on a CD, with bent in votive candle holders around the outside, a whole votive candle in the center & glitter sprinkled all over the top...pretty neat; we love it!

Chloe also made us this Christmas tree in her class that we proudly display on our Christmas tree. I love all the homemade crafts!!:) Merry Christmas!!

Pretty as a Postcard!

Our yard was heavy with frost this am (it was 29 degrees...it would have snowed if it were raining). The first photo is looking out onto our house side yard & the duck pond. The second photo is the front/side yard near our garage. So beautiful!! We are feeling better from the flu bug that we had & are looking forward to caroling tonite with our church fam.

Rainy/Sick Day Activities

Chloe had her first sick day home from preschool, so far this year, today. Yesterday we began making this paper nativity & we completed it today. It doesn't look like much, but it took us A LONG TIME to make...it was shocking to me just how long (let's just say that my mad skillz did not help us & my 3 1/2 year old was having no trouble at all...I think I need to trade in my skillz!) Anywho, we are feeling much better & are looking forward to our Christmas party on Thursday!!:)

This project we did over a week ago. The kids helped make some paper reindeer (tracings of their hands & foot)...pretty cute! We plan on baking some fun holiday treats later this week (I have been meaning to for the better part of a week now so I better hop to it!)

Happy Holidays

We are lovin' the Christmas season. This week Chloe has her class Christmas party (Santa will be making a fun surprise visit!) & we will be helping to deliver presents to a family that Chloe's class adopted for Christmas this year. Our family has had a lot of fun shopping for this family in need & we are so glad to see that Chloe has been learning more about giving. I am so thankful that we serve a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Nate's B-day

We had a birthday brunch for Nate last weekend. It was a lot of fun. Lots of fam came to wish my awesome husband a very happy day...and it was a VERY happy day!:)

Yep, Nate is wearing a yamaka...his mom bought it for him while on a trip to Israel last month.

Chloe lovin' to dress up with her cousin, Hailey, & Eli havin' a blast at daddy's b-day party.

Such pretty girls!!

CHEESE!! I think that smile mighta hurt...:)

The fam

Happy Thanksgiving

I was remiss at photo taking at our thanksgiving festivities so this is the only photo we have. Grandpa was taking all the kiddos out for rides around the prop. We had a great time, with a great time of visiting & some wonderful food!! We are so thankful for our loved ones, our health, our many blessings & most thankful for our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ. We are all decorated for Christmas & have completed all our Christmas shopping...now onto the wrapping. Tomorrow we celebrate Nate's birthday with a big birthday brunch...so more photos will soon follow.