Monday, December 31, 2007

The Day Before Christmas (aka Christmas Eve Day)

We had a full & fun day. The kids were bouncing off the walls and counting off the hours until Christmas morning. Dave baked with the girls and then I helped E-boy & Boo sting up our Christmas cards. It kept them busy and added pretty decorations to our home. Win-win! We also had other activities during the day & evening too. Some were finishing Christmas gifts and others were to keep the kids busy. We had our family time Christmas Eve time too. I love this and look forward to it every year. (I posted the pics of this in a previous post.)


Hooray!
E-boy & Boo show off their string of Christmas cards.



Outside Play!
We sent the kids to play in the snow & burn off some pent up energy & excitement.



Bugs Loves the Snow
I love this hat! Too cute!





Rose Marie's Poinsettia
Every year we buy a poinsettia at church in memory of our sweet baby girl. It looked beautiful at the front of the altar. After the services we were able to bring it home. It is special to all of us and has a place of honor in our home.


Added Christmas Decor


Painting Party
I was going to paint these myself & then realized it would make a great project for the older children. They had a blast & it kept them busy for quite awhile.


A Work of Art
Boo paints hers for Nana.


Impressive!
E-boy really impressed me with how carefully he painted & the time he invested. He painted his for Grannie.


Excellent!
Sweet Pea chose to paint hers in primary colors. The result was bold & beautiful. She gave hers to Uncle Darin.


Christmas a Bit Early
Our dear friend Tami, (Aunt Tami to the kids), sent us a package full of goodies. The children had a fun time unwrapping all the individual gifts that were packed in the box.

Happy Girls!
The girls LOVED their journals.


Big Smile
This coloring book was a big hit!


Wow!
The kids pose with all their new craft goodies. They are looking forward to many projects. Thank you, Aunt Tami!


When He Awakes......
He will be a very happy boy!








Sunday, December 30, 2007

Snip, Snip


Guess who got a haircut? If you guessed Bug-a-Boo you are a winner! It was time for our little boy to get another cut. Eventually Mama will break down and take him to the barber but not just yet. He did a great job today & it was the easiest cut to date. I think I have Handy Manny to thank for a good bit of that. Lol.




Kicking Back with His New Doo


Cheese!


Intent On Handy Manny


Sporting a Side View



Love seeing those great big green eyes again! :)


Enjoying his candy reward


As E-boy would say, "He's Stylin!"


I Love This Little Boy!







Saturday, December 29, 2007

Christmas Eve


We had a very special Christmas Eve. A few years ago we started the tradition of having a big supper & then staying at home and worshiping together. Having a little one for so many years one of us would always miss the evening service at church. We love the coziness of being together on this very special night.

The Table is Set
We ate by candlelight making the meal even more special.



Everyone is Ready!
We had a delicious meal of broccoli, marinated chicken breasts, rolls & Dave's scalloped potatoes. Scrumptious!




Pajama Photo
This year we renewed our tradition of getting the children Christmas pajamas. They were thrilled! I was excited that we were able to find matching p.j.'s for the boys AND the girls! How fun is that?!?!?



Photo #3
I took a few more but I'll spare you. *wink* As you can see Bugs is getting a little restless here. I was happy he sat still for a few. Lol.




Three Christmas Cuties
Bugs would not be coaxed back for this photo but that's okay. I love how this photo turned out!



Present Time!
Bugs poses with Boo as they wait to open their Christmas Eve gifts.



Special Ornaments
Each year we give the children a special ornament to hang on the tree. Part of the tradition is that we let them open these on Christmas Eve. Someday they will take these collections to use in their homes.




Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Bugs received a Christmas cake ornament with "Happy Birthday, Jesus" inscribed on it. He said with excitement, "Brr-day cake! Brr-day cake!" over and over.



Here's E-boy's!
He also received the cake ornament & began singing happy birthday to Jesus. It was sweet.




Boo's Turn
Boo received a Precious Moment ornament of a little girl holding a cake. The words, "Happy Birthday, Jesus" are on the ornament. See a theme?



Last But Not Least
Sweet Pea received the same ornament as her sister. I wanted to focus more on Jesus this year and was very happy to find these ornaments for the children.



Tradition
Next..........in our Christmas Eve tradition is to give the children their special books. Every year since they were born I have selected a special book for them. It is either a special Christmas book or one suited to what I want them to heart-learn or a reflection of them.





Special Book
This is the book that E-boy received.






This is Bugsy's special book.





New Ornaments
Boo proudly hangs her new ornament on the tree.



Snuggling Up
Bugs & Daddy snuggle up for the reading of the Christmas story.


Jesus is the Reason
After singing many Christmas carols together Daddy read aloud from the Bible about Jesus' birth. It was wonderful to see how the children hung on every word.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Soon after the children were tucked into bed. E-boy bunked with the girls as a special treat. It reminds me of the exciting Christmas Eve's we used to have as kids. My cousin Laura & I would whisper late into the evening too excited to sleep.




The girls received their special books on Christmas morning b/c I couldn't find them in the pile of presents in our room. Lol. They didn't mind though.

Delicious!

Dave is making scalloped potatoes from scratch. The entire house smells absolutely divine! He's making a dish to take to the party tomorrow & a dish for us here at home. What a treat! He's makes the best scalloped potatoes. Yes sir!

It's That Time Again!

A new month, a new season & a new year means it's time to change the face of my blog again! I'm brainstorming what I want to post this time. If you have any neat graphics or blinkies please feel free to send them my way. I'd be very grateful!