Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Another Beautiful Day on the Lake!


Jamie got to join us this Wednesday!!




Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Day!

We waited and waited and waited for Griffin to finally wake up, when he did, he bolted out of the bedroom!
He kept digging through his stocking hoping for a Batman Cave and look where it was!  We got a big chuckle out of that!
 When he spotted it, he was thrilled!  He's had lots of Batman adventures since!
 Look!  Santa ate the cookie and the reindeer nibbled on the carrot!  Santa even left a note!
 Griffin took this photo of us on Christmas morning.  :)
 The Jones grand kids...we took this photo to surprise Marcia and Bob.  We haven't had a photo taken of the grand kids together in ages!
 Opening presents with Uncle Corey.
 With Grandma and Grandpa.
 Putting together Lego's from Great Grandma Dz!
 What a gorgeous sunset!
 I put together the nativity I got from Mike and Kim--LOVE IT!
 A video date with Uncle Chris, Auntie Annie and Jeanie. 
 Friday liked the presents!
The night was finished off with a fun Christmas movie!

Christmas Eve Night

We started out our night with Christmas Eve candlelight service.  It's definitely one of our favorite Christmas traditions!  We go to the church we got married in--and that Jamie grew up in....very special!  The pastor does a great children's sermon each year.  When the lights dim, the candles begin to be lit and we sing Silent Night.  It's wonderful!  To add to the wonder this year, Ms. Paisley sat on my lap during the lighting--she looked so beautiful with the candle light on her face!

Then the wrestling began:
 Here's our wild birthday cake that we made for Jesus.
 Look at how well we coordinated!

 Paisley was THRILLED that she got a princess!  Jesi and I were lucky enough to be princesses later with lots of cute crowns!
 What!?  A Leapster Explorer!!
 DUCT TAPE for Hunter!!
 Bella the beauty!
 Grandma got a beautiful grandchildren's bracelet!
 Griffin picked out these socks for Grandpa.  Yes, he was serious.
 Trying to get a group photo (as a distraction)...
 WHAT?!  Santa dropped off a BAG!
Why didn't we see Santa?  (Hunter was afraid he was dead, then remembered he could be invisible, so yelled outside, "Thank you!  If it's OK, we'll take this bag inside!")

 Bella relaxing despite the chaos!
 Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!
 Fun time with Matt!  These two are always up to something fun!
 Cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. 

Christmas Eve Day

We enjoyed a nice, lazy Christmas Eve morning at home, we talked to Nonna and Poppa and opened gifts via video conference:


 They loved their recordable storybooks from Griffin, he did a wonderful job! 
 The neighbors came over with treats that we immediately indulged in!  They also brought Griffin a special treat--a big ol' box of s'mores fixings!
And, we made a birthday cake for Jesus.  It got a little wild with the confetti inside and sprinkles on the outside, but the sugar allowed us to stay awake even longer on Christmas Eve!
Then we got ready (and I discovered I left all of my make up and getting ready things at Molly & Justin's--EEEK!  Luckily, I was able to find some duplicates and didn't look too scary!!

The Eve of Christmas Eve

After Griffin and I got back from our fun adventure in the cities, we picked up Jamie and headed to the local planetarium.  They were showing "A Christmas Star" followed by a viewing of the winter night sky, then finally a laser light show set to Christmas music.  It was lots of fun!

When we got home, Griffin thought it would be a good idea to "rest" by the Christmas tree, so that's where we slept!


Saturday, December 24, 2011

Blessed

Today I am overwhelmed with feelings of being so blessed by heart could burst....after all I get to see Chritmas through a child's eyes.



Skating on the lake together

Our church Christmas program

Macy's 8th floor

Cutting down our Christmas Tree

Winter marshmallow roasting

Visiting Santa (we saw Santa 3 times!)

Bell ringing for Salvation Army



 Decorating Christmas cookies with residents at a nursing home

The Santa Express

At the Planetarium watching "A Christmas Star"

Cozied up by the Christmas tree watching Daddy drive his new remote control car from Mary

 Opening presents

Making a cake for Jesus's birthday

We slept by the tree on the eve of Christmas Eve