Merry Christmas 2008!!!

Christmas Morning! As you can see, we started off a little slowly. By morning, both kids had ended up in bed with us....Gabe woke up at 4am coughing and Kate at 5:30 "scared of the dark." Then finally, seeing the sunlight peek through the curtains, Kate sat up and announced "It's Morningtime!" She was very excited to see if Santa really came...and immediately began to wake up her little brother!

"WAKE UP GABE!!!!!"

With both kids finally awake I had to tell them that they couldn't leave the room until Grandma & PawPaw arrived - in a few minutes. What??!?

Santa came! We had such a wonderful Christmas this year! Kate was so cute passing out gifts to everyone and was equally excited to watch others open their presents as she was to find one with her name on the tag. I took lots of pictures (of course) but am only going to post a few.

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Santa even brought Baby Monkey a present! Monkey loved his new little red wagon.

Time for stockings!

And last, but certainly not least...time to look in the back yard!

WOW! Thank you Santa for our new trampoline!!!!

Gabe had a special surprise awaiting him too...a 4 wheeler! Unfortunately though, it doesn't have any traction so when he pressed the button the tire would spin but not move. :( Very disappointing!!! Gabe thought that perhaps he should push it to the gas station and see if maybe it was just on empty.....no luck.

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One of Gabe's fun new "toys" - a car shaped bowl and spoon!

He drove his applesauce all around his table top.

Then when I announced it was naptime he took off to the back and tried to hide in the crate with Bailey....such a funny little boy!

Now it was time to get all dressed for Christmas dinner - and fun with the cousins!

Kate, Gabe, Hannah, & Zane

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And here's my little "stud muffin!"

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Kate taught Hannah a few new dance moves.

More presents!

Kate picked out this bird for Hannah - I think Uncle Lane might like it more than she does. :)

Grammy & The Grandkids

Christmas Eve

Santa is coming!!!! Kate has been looking forward to Christmas for a month now....and it's finally almost here!!! Unfortunately, mommy woke up sick! :( I had planned on spending the day baking cookies with the kids, doing some last minute wrapping, talking up Santa's flight, looking at Christmas lights with the family, and enjoying a festive evening at my parent's house. Well, waking up feeling like I had a bad case of food poisoning, the day didn't exactly go as planned... But, because I LOVE CHRISTMAS, I decided to make the best of it and, running on about 50% of normal, we still managed to do all of those things.

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Breakfast! Gabe has recently discovered that he loves yogurt! Of course, as you will see, I think he wears about as much as he eats. :) But the funny part, I left him for a few minutes to put clothes in the dryer and when I came back, the picture on the right is what I found. Gabe had climbed onto his tray top, ripped off his diaper, and just squatted there smiling at me when I walked back in. This kid has quite the personality!!!

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I had hoped to include Gabe in the cookie baking this year, but being sick, I honestly just didn't have the energy. So instead, while little brother was taking a nap, Kate and I headed into the kitchen to bake cookies for Santa & Granny Annie.

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Gabe's 1st Widgeon!!! This arrived in the mail today! I have loved these cute little coats ever since teaching preschool years ago! I can still picture a few of my kids in them....and now Gabe has his very own! Needless to say...I was very excited! Despite the fact that it was 75 degrees outside, Gabe & I played dress-up after his nap. :)

The sun has set....time to look at Christmas lights. This neighborhood in our town has always done a fantastic job with their lights, but this year might just have been their best year ever!




And thanks to Mrs. Lucy, we got to ride in style in her golf cart!
Kate & Gabe both loved every minute of it!

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The prize winning house was complete with Santa & Mrs. Claus, a live band playing Christmas music, and SNOW!!!!

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After the lights we headed over to Grandma & PawPaw's for more food and fun! Gabe was so excited about his new train and Kate loved her new little table (not pictured) and her Barbie movie! This is going to be a Barbie year at our house! And to think, I hated Barbies as a kid!

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Before bed we had one last thing to do...leave cookies & milk for Santa nd magic oatmeal for the reindeer! Santa, please stop here!!!!! We've all been really good this year! :)

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Merry Christmas!!!

We hope you are all having a very Merry Christmas today! I will update the blog with pictures soon! Until then, let me leave you with a simple prayer that helps us keep in perspective the true meaning of Christmas!

For unto us a child is born,unto us a son is given; and the governmentshall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God,the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Santa's Christmas Prayer

The sleigh was packed, the reindeer were fed,

But Santa still knelt by the side of the bed.

"Dear Father," he prayed "Be with me tonight.

There's much work to do and my schedule is tight.

I must jump in my sleigh and streak through the sky,

Knowing full well that a reindeer can't fly.

I will visit each household before the first light,

I'll cover the world and all in one night.

With sleighbells a-ringing,

I'll land on each roof,

Amid the soft clatter of each little hoof.

To get in the house is the difficult part,

So I'll slide down the chimney of each little heart.

My sack will hold toys to grant all their wishes.

The supply will be endless like the loaves and the fishes.

I will fill all the stockings and not leave a track.

I'll eat every cookie that's left for my snack.

I can do all these things Lord, only through You,

I just need your blessing, then it's easy to do.

All this is to honor the birth of the One,

That was sent to redeem us, Your most Holy Son.

So to all of my friends, lest Your glory I rob,

Please Lord, remind them, who gave me this job."

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Playgroup Christmas Party

Today we gathered with our most amazing friends for a fabulous Christmas Party!!! I really am so thankful to have met all of you over this last year and look forward to many more Christmas parties together over the years!

After a little bit of playtime, our guest of honor arrived: SANTA CLAUS!!!! He read the kids a Christmas story (you wouldn't believe how still and quiet all the kids were!) and then each one took turns sitting with him, telling him their wish list, and then he gave each of them a gift. (Shhh - Thanks Mr. Scott for coming to our party!)

I actually got a smile out of Gabe today!!!! And as usual, Kate was 'all-smiles' for Santa. I think she sort of knew it was Mr. Scott but certainly wasn't completely certain because she never called him by any other name than Santa.

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After a yummy lunch and a bit more playtime, we all headed outside for a crafty dessert. Kate made these in preschool and loved it so I thought it would be fun for the whole playgroup.

Sugar cones + green frosting + mini m&ms + powdered sugar = Yummy Christmas Trees!

The "big kids" and the "babies"

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Gabe dug right in to this yummy/messy treat...and LOVED it!

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Kate decided it was too messy to pick up so she chose to go head first!

And let's not forgot....today we celebrated two very important birthdays: Mrs. Jennifer & Monkey! That's right, according to Kate, today is Monkey's birthday and Jennifer was kind enough to play along and let Monkey help blow out the candles.

Can you believe we actually pulled off a group shot with this wild bunch?!?

It helped that they were all exhausted from a very fun Christmas playdate!

Age range = 12 to 38 months, with Madeline & Kate being youngest and oldest!

I told you they were exhausted. Well, after the picture all the kids filed off the couch one by one....except Gabe. My sleepy little boy was just about to close his eyes and nap on Ashley's couch had we not headed home soon after this shot.

And finally - a group picture with the mommies!!!

Meet our playgroup of 7 mommies and 9 sweet babies!

Thank you so much Mrs. Ashley, Bryce, & Ava for, once again, hosting our holiday party and letting us partially destroy your house! We had such a great time today!!!

Oh, and thanks for the candle! It smells good enough to eat! :)

Carols in the Park

Tonight we bundled up and braved the cold weather to join my parents and their church for their annual Carols in the Park! We all gathered around the gazebo and were led in classic Christmas carols. Kate & Gabe enjoyed the music until....grandma & pawpaw arrived! Then it was time to run around the park!!! :)

Kate wanted to pose with this boat in the background. Gabe & Madeline are always so sweet together. They really enjoyed their cookies & Mrs. Sarah's fudge!

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