Winter Wonderland

Finally, the weather predictions were right! We have six inches of snow on the ground! It was so beautiful to watch the snow fall late Sunday night. I have never seen it snow so hard with such big flakes...we had the ground completely covered in just 45 minutes...that does not happen in Georgia!


Monday morning, we got to sleep in and then we got ready to play in the snow. There is a ton of snow, with a layer of ice on the top, which means perfect sledding conditions. We met up with the Riveras, Macenzie, and Abbie, for a fun afternoon of sledding. We had a great time!



Afterwards, we came in for some chili, hot dogs, and snow cream, and to play with Macenzie and Abbie. It was an absolutely perfect day. I was snowed in with my very favorite people, with no where to be, and nothing that had to be done. What an unexpected day of fun!



It is now Tuesday, and the snow and ice are not melting, with no sign of it getting better in the near future. It is not supposed to go above freezing until Friday. What a fabulous way to spend the week with my family! We have already been out playing and sledding this morning. Joshua has even started sledding by himself! I could not ask for a more perfect way to spend my week!

Drew sledding with Brandon

Mommy sledding with the kids

Merry White Christmas to All!!

Christmas is finally here! There is nothing like watching your children walk down the stairs on Christmas morning and seeing their smiles...it is priceless! This year, Drew came in our room to get us up, but we had to wake up Anna Caitlin and Joshua...they were exhausted! As we came down the stairs, a special surprise was waiting in the living room by the Christmas tree...Santa brought a puppy!! Anna Caitlin was super excited and focused all of her attention on sweet Macie. Drew was a little bit more mellow...he did not feel very good. He was very excited about his flying Batman and his Iron Man shooter (once he felt better, he became a big fan of Macie!!). Joshua was not a huge fan of our Macie. Macie thinks that Joshua is his size, so he must be a toy for her to play with. Joshua's new favorite phrase is "no, no dog." But Joshua was very excited about all of his Elmo toys and his car ramp.


After we went through our Santa gifts, each child gets to open three presents, just like baby Jesus. Anna Caitlin loved her doorbell and Drew loved his Spiderman DS game...Joshua really liked just ripping up the paper! Grammie spent the night with us, so we were so glad that she was there to celebrate too!



After we finished with gifts, we went over to Uncle Brent and Aunt Shanna's house for some yummy breakfast and to see what Santa brought Macenzie and Abbie. And this year, we got a VERY special treat. It started snowing!! It snowed all day long and we got our first white Christmas in over a century.



After breakfast, we headed over the Mama Judi and Papa Johnny's house for lunch and gifts. We enjoyed spending time with them and the Brown and Jones families. We gave them a very special gift as well. A DVD with pictures of all of our families over the years...they loved it! And as usual, the kids loved their gifts over there as well. Anna Caitlin got a laptop, Drew got a remote control Iron Man, and Joshua got a cool guitar! Mama Judi also gave us another very cool gift...a Disney Cruise with the family next Thanksgiving! We are so excited, we cannot wait!



Merry, merry Christmas to all! May you always remember the reason we celebrate and may God bless your family throughout the coming year!!

Our first White Christmas...


Christmas at Mama Judi and Papa Johnny's house...


Playing in the snow the day after Christmas. Drew was inside with a 101 fever :(



Anna Caitlin told us Macie likes the snow so much because she has been living in the North Pole for the past three months...



"Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord."

Twas the Night Before Christmas

After the long wait, Christmas Eve is finally here!! Christmas Eve is alway spent at Grammie and Granddaddy's house. This year, all five of the grandkids spent the night with Grammie on the 23rd, so they could wake up there on Christmas Eve morning. They had a great time watching Christmas movies and eating popcorn and Coke floats. And it gave Mommy and Daddy a chance to get everything ready for Christmas at home!



The kids were so excited all day to open presents!! After a yummy Christmas dinner, it was time to get started. When Drew got his second present he said "Mommy, you mean we get to open more than one??" He was SO excited! Grammie, like always, outdid herself with the gifts. Some of our favorites were Anna Caitlin's Wii drawing game, Drew's Mario games, and Joshua's spinning car ramp. I love to watch the excitement on their faces as they open things. And I was so proud of how grateful they were for everything as they always thanked Grammie for every gift that they opened.



We did not head home until around 11 to get ready for Santa the next morning. All three kids stayed awake the whole way home in the car! When we got home, we put out reindeer food and got ready for Santa to come visit. There is nothing like watching Christmas through the eyes of children!

It's me, Mario!!



Grammie, I love all of my presents!

Joshua tries out Drew's Buzz wings.

Me and Mom...

Christmas Celebrations

We absolutely love everything about the Christmas season at our house, and we start celebrating at the beginning of December. This year, our first Christmas party was with the Walls and the Poythresses. We made a yummy homecooked meal and spent the evening watching the kiddos play. It is so much fun to watch them with all of their cousins...they have the best time! And next year, we will have a new baby to throw into the mix! Hmmm...boy or girl....we will either even out the girls or the boys will keep the the lead! Each little one got the same present...a Grinch or Max stuffed animal and a very special Christmas book to keep. We love starting new traditions!

The next weekend was very busy for us. We volunteered at WestRidge for Hope for Christmas. What a great thing for my kids to be able to experience. Everyone is not as lucky as they are and does not get to experience the things they get to do. Anna Caitlin was my helper elf and helped hand out gifts. On Sunday, my baby girl sang in chuch. She has come so far! For those who have watched her perform for years, at her first singing debut (probably around 2 or 3), she hid her face down and would not look up the whole time. I could not even get a good picture! This time, she stood in front of a whole LOT of people and sang right along with the motions. I am so proud of her!!

On the last Thursday before Christmas break, we got to celebrate Anna Caitlin's class party. She had a blast! She made ornaments and picture frames, and played a round of Christmas bingo. She loves all of her friends in her class, and especially her very special teacher!!

We love Ms. McMath!

Anna Caitlin and her buddies Sarah, Gabby, Kade, Julia, and Delaney.

Last Saturday night, Jonathan had a very special surprise for his favorite girls. He bought us tickets to go see The Nutcracker down at the Fox. Anna Caitlin was SO excited. She does not get alot of alone time with mommy and daddy. We took her to a fancy dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, where she got to experience some YUMMY chocolate cake!! Then, we headed downtown. Watching her expression that night was priceless! She sat on the edge of her seat, and kept looking at the two of us with a huge smile on her face that would just melt your heart! Afterwards, she told us that was the "most awesome Nutcracker she had ever seen!" Love that sweet baby girl!!

On Sunday, we had our annual Christmas dinner with the Rivera family, which is always fun!! We grilled out steaks and hung out while the kiddos played. As usualy, Drew spent the night tackling Brandon and wrestling with him. Poor Brandon! And Anna Caitlin and Bella spent the night playing dress up. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!

On Tuesday night, we celebrated Christmas with some of our oldest and best friends. We always have so much fun when we get together. We all cooked and brought food, and even hired a babysitter to entertain the kids in the playroom. After dinner, the kids all did their annual Christmas gift exchange, which they always enjoy! We had a very special guest this year, Oleksander, who is being hosted for Christmas by the Frachsieurs. He had a blast playing with all the other kids!

The grownups even got a chance to play this year! Mr. Scott brought some fun Christmas games for us and the McLendons brought The Game of Things, which was so much fun! There is nothing like spending an evening laughing with friends!