Merry Christmas!

Finally, the much awaited day was here!

 He came!  He came!  The cookies, the milk, the cheese, the carrots... he was here!

 Check it out everyone!

We soaked up the fact that they didn't even notice the presents for a while :)  I want it to last!  Ha!

Little slugger :)

Uh oh, he can actually hit it off the tee... and far!

Wait just a second... did anyone else notice there is something IN our stockings?!

Hey mama, check it out...

... I think Santa read the Wish List instead of the Christmas List ;)  Ha!

Cheers to eating in 2013!  Never hurts to aim high!

Everyone was served their mid-morning snack of tea with cream and sugar :)

And everyone had their photo taken by the aspiring photographer - he was so into it!

Thank you, uncle Jeb, for believing in us!

Some of the funniest moments were after the presents were opened, just sitting back and listening... for example, to Olivia instruct George on how to do the doll's hair.  Ha!  I think he's half-listening :)

And maybe half-not listening... unless this is an actual style.  

But she sure was pretty :)

By the end of the day we were all being serenaded, mostly Christmas tunes with a few other favorites tossed in there.  (Funny side note, I think DB almost fell over when the kids called the ball in the corner of the photo a basketball - ha ha!  They know was it is now :) )

The singing was a great warm-up for the best song of the day... Happy Birthday to Jesus!

The most awesome reason for the season :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

Hooray, it's here!  Beautiful candlelight service... WITH the kiddos :)  Loved having them with us in the "mommys and daddys" church.

 Cheese!

 Hmmm... try again, cheese!

Third time's a charm?  At least we tried... Olivia and I did, at least :) 

After a great, long day, we got home from the Christmas Eve service and I made everyone pose... they don't look totally miserable :)  Love my family!

Sweet Days of December

December has been full of events leading up to Christmas, but also of family, friends, and just plain fun-to-be-a-kid stuff too!  The photos tell their own story :)

 This was an awesome adventure for us last year, too, the Christmas train display at our local library!  Once again, huge hit with the kiddos, and this year they had even more questions about how everything worked.  Love to see their little minds light up!

 This month the kiddos had a first... the first time they sang at the front of the church :)  DB and I were a little teary, it just filled our hearts to see our babies up there like big kids!  All three are in the pic, another reason we love our church is the amazing people who work with our kids.

Totally different note, not really much related to December except that's when it happened... Samuel boxing at OT! 

 My brute :)

 George and Olivia's school had some fun days leading up to the break... this was the day they dressed like Who's from Whoville.  Cutest little Who's I ever did see!

 Olivia and her friend on PJ day - gotta love Polar Express!

 Another thing on the agenda, the Christmas show at G and O's school!  Samuel was such a trooper!  (It was excellent timing, Mo and Do were in town!  Fun to have them and Omi there!)

 Smiling kiddos after a great performance!

 George loves Mo's scooter!  He had been ready for this moment since he realized Mo and Do were coming to town... and took the opportunity as soon as it arose :)

But... Mo's scooter had a bit of competition...

These twins (below) are so good about handing down clothes and toys to us, it's awesome!  But THIS was crazy!

 Permagrin!

Permagrin times three!

It's really awesome, these two are so good with my three!  In fact, every time they hand something down, my kiddos get inspired to pack up the stuff they don't use anymore and give it to other kids.  Not sure it gets better than that :)

Finding the Tree

During our weekend of Christmas fun, we also took a great trip the the Christmas Tree Farm on Sunday!  It's a wonderful little spot not too far from home, and the nicest guy was there to greet us and talk about trees.  We had the best time just roaming about!

Everyone had an opinion about which tree to get :)

Everyone also enjoyed running, and running, and running...

... and resting when just the right stump came along...

... and smiling the entire visit!  Great trip!

Santa!

Now that we've established Christmas is more than one day, we're taking in all the seasonal fun!  Another weekend filled with Christmas :)

We were originally supposed to take a weekend trip, but unfortunately the other season this time of year is the flu season, among other sicknesses.  Not my children this time, but we were sad to cancel our plans - hope you're feeling better, C!  Once we made the decision to stay, we had a few welcome surprises to take our minds off cancelling the trip... the first of which was seeing Santa!  He made a trip to our Saturday morning farmer's market and was absolutely awesome.  I'm telling you, in the words of Omi, he was beautiful!  And so incredible with the kids.  What a treat!  It was an especially nice distraction considering every time I took something out of the packed suitcase Olivia was very concerned because it was "for Atlanta!"

Hi Santa!
(Flashback two years ago, click here.)

Thursday... "a dump truck, and people to go in it"

Friday... "whatever Santa wants to bring me will be nice"

Saturday... "ummm, ummm, ummm"

Ha ha, George was so excited that he was actually a bit tongue-tied!

Thrilled!

Olivia wasn't quite prepared to sit on his lap, but was very confident in her high-five :)

She even gave a shy little "things for dance class" when asked what she wanted for Christmas!

Samuel was a bit more cautious than before, but still pretty okay with the idea :)
(Last year, Samuel was the only one to see Santa... click here.)

The Christmas Season!

We've been talking about Christmas for a while, but one thing I didn't plan on was explaining that Christmas time really isn't just one day. I tried, I did my best, talking about Christmas as a "time of year," a "season," etc.  But, no good.  Makes sense that Christmas would be one day, since every other birthday is just one day!

BUT, the first weekend in December we went to a Christmas concert and put the lights on the house.  That Sunday evening we plugged everything in, and as soon as Snoopy (with a santa hat and candy cane) was fully inflated in the front yard... Olivia declared, "It IS Christmas time!"  Who knew that Snoopy had such power?!  Ha!

Last weekend the Christmas fun continued with a parade and tree decorating. I used to wonder why Christmas was celebrated all month, but now I know... KIDS!  We are having so much fun :)

The crew after the parade - all smiles!  Small town parade with high schoolers, dance groups, local military folks, the mayor, old cars, and even the hot air balloon company lighting a huge flame on top of an open basket.  Of course the highlight was Santa on the firetruck, they saved the best for last!

After the parade we went to Omi's house for dinner and tree trimming.  

Every ornament was exciting :)

The kids did a great job being careful, too!  Thank goodness, I can't lie, every time Omi gave them an ornament I half-way held my breath hoping it wouldn't get smushed.

Samuel was up to his old tricks again... "mom, I'm just looking - not touching!"

Of course, no week would be complete without being outside!

George has been riding his bike for a while, but finally got the big wheel - yea!

Samuel would not slow down on this Wednesday afternoon!

Olivia trying out her new bike... after dance class :)