Christmas Celebrations

On Christmas Day we started the day with a beautiful worship service at church. After church, we opened our stockings before heading off to celebrate with my mom's extended family. Our day was filled with food, games, reconnecting, laughs, and more food. We had a great day! I am so grateful for my mom's family and the wonderful time we have together.

The next day we finished celebrating Christmas with our kiddos. We continued our tradition of the "3 gifts of Christmas." Ava was ecstatice to get a Knuffle Bunny! She loves the Knuffle Bunny books - you'll have to check them out if you've never read them. She also got Felicity's foal called Patriot. Hannah flipped out with excitement when she received Felicity's horse named Penny. She also got a scrapbook. For their third gifts we gave them a Barbie house built by our friend Keith. They were over the moon when they discovered it hiding under a blanket downstairs. Hannah is so eager to help me decorate it. In the evening, we celebrated Christmas with my dad's family. It was a busy couple days but filled with lots of joy and happy memories! We will be having a belated Christmas celebration with Doug's family on New Year's Day since his brother and family were away for Christmas.

Joy and peace to you!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve morning we made our usual trip to the mall for a last minute visit with Santa Claus, followed by lunch with my brother Dan and his family. In the evening we celebrated Christmas with my family. It was wonderful to watch our niece Alissa experience her first Christmas and watch the joy radiating from all of the kiddos. The evening was a great start to our Christmas celebrations.

It's Great to Be on Christmas Break!

Pumpkin pancakes and games with Hillary and Joey

Our gleeful bathing beauties

Time for homemade pedicures

Pretty toes ready for Christmas

Gathering with friends around the "Rockefeller Center" Christmas tree (I had to put that in, Sue)

Being entertained with carols and giggles...

...and more giggles

Hannah knitted her first scarf

Ava decided to sing while she worked...she used the vaccum as a microphone

Sleepover time with Lia

Hannah's Birthday Hoedown

For Hannah's 8th birthday, we invited some of her closest buckaroos over to our corral for a root-tootin' and foot stompin' cowboy hoedown. We waited until Christmas vacation to have her friends giddy up on over. After playing Hot Horse, cowboy tag, and scarfing some grub, the buckaroos took a crack at creating their own gingerbread farms. Cow cakes topped off the afternoon. It was a rip roaring good time. Yee haw! Now I'm done with the cowboyisms. :-)

If Hannah stays friends with this great group of cowpokes, I would be a happy and blessed mama!

Two junior cowpokes crashed the hoedown...can you spot them?

Megan, Hannah, Tyler, Sydney, Chloe, Grace and Pieter

Chow time!

Hot Horse...aka Hot Potato

Twins! Hannah is modeling her new hat from Chloe

Gingerbread farm