This is my second annual picture card "Wall of Fame." My sister gave me the idea last year to use thick ribbon hanging on the wall and attach all my picture cards.
The kids got to open a couple gifts too. They both got a couple books from Ma and Papa. J.T. got a fun Policeman book and Abigail got a cool coloring set from Auntie Barb and Uncle Bill! They also got these car travel neck pillows from us. They were being silly and wouldn't let me get a good picture of them!
Mary and Jeff exchanged gifts with our parents too. Here is my mom (with my dad looking on) opening her kitchen gadget gift.... lots of good, fun stuff in there (some things needed replacing after 36 years of marriage)!
My kids sure love their Auntie Mary and Uncle Jeff. They get so excited when they come visit!
Christmas was like the Energizer bunny this year.... it kept going and going and going..... We are very blessed to have so much family to celebrate with!
Here's Papa Walt and J.T. with a new little tractor that J.T. can take to Ma and Papa's house....
The kids each received a couple of books from my parents which were signed by the books' authors. Here's Abigail and Papa Walt reading one of the books.
We took a little break in the middle of the day to rest and have some quiet time.
In the evening, Andy's mom and step-dad and my parents came over. Abigail was very excited to get this horse, "Jackson", to go with her American Girl doll, "Nicki", that she got the night before. She also received some outfits for Nicki from Andy's parents.
J.T. got an old-fashioned barn and grain silo, plus some animals and tractors to go with it. He really liked it, even though you can't tell in this picture.
I did something I don't usually do.... I passed my camera to Andy so there is actually proof that I was here for Christmastime.
For J.T., this year, it was very much a John Deere Christmas. I think 75% of things he received were John Deere (wall clock, bed sheets, sweatshirts, light switch cover, boots, socks, night light, tractor carrying case, wind-sock, stocking cap, hat, etc). Andy also got a couple of John Deere things.... one was this stepping stone.
I received a bag full of goodies from Andy's parents, including my favorite Victoria Secret Heavenly perfume and lotion, socks, a candle, a beautiful Silpada pendant, and more.
Here's my gift from Andy: a new telephoto zoom lens! I haven't had time to get outside and try it out because it's been cold and/or raining, but I hope to try it out over the next week or so. Also, this picture doesn't show it very well, but my other gift from Andy was a bench that he made (actually he just gave me this big board on Christmas morning but then he built it in the afternoon). I wanted it to use for taking pictures of the kids outside. I plan to paint it red.
My parents got me this really cool photo backpack to carry all my gear! My other favorites from my parents were a gift certificate to my favorite jeans store and one to get a pedicure!
We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. I am so thankful that we were all healthy and were able to be home on Christmas Day. I am also very thankful for all the fabulous gifts we all received from our families.
We had a nice dinner with lots of great food! This year we all had a little surprise in store for us. As we were all finishing up dinner, Andy's Uncle Jerry stood up to make an announcement. He seemed nervous so I figured he was going to announce that he and his girlfriend Patty were engaged. Well.... he did do that, but then he told everyone that they were getting married right then and there with all of us to share in the excitement! Jerry asked me to take pictures so here are a couple of the wedding.
We all got to celebrate with a champagne toast after the ceremony. Congrats to Jerry, Patty and their kids!
And then it was on to Christmas! Santa came last night and J.T. got tools and a tool box. I can't remember the last time I have seen him so excited!
Abigail received an American Girl doll named Nicki. She's a cowgirl complete with boots!
J.T.'s tool set even came with safety goggles.... safety first! (I am not quite sure what this goofy look on his face is...)
We didn't get home until 10:30 or 11. As soon as the kids got their pajamas on, it was time to set out a snack for Santa and his reindeer (i.e. the carrots and reindeer food). He must have needed it because this morning , everything was gone!
I will post more about Christmas day later.....
Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Remember to enjoy the time with your family and friends! Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!
And the four of us... not a bad picture actually!
Andy and Abigail....
Abigail and I..... very rarely am I in a picture so it's good to show that I exist (other than behind the camera!).
Abigail was excited about the concert, but she gets shy when she gets on stage.
On Friday, Abigail's class had some fun activities in the morning. One of the things they were able to do was decorate a cookie. Here's Abigail's cookie.... do you notice she didn't spare any frosting or sprinkles?
Mmmmm, good, huh Abigail?
You probably noticed that I don't have any pictures of J.T. at his school activities.... that is because he has been under the weather with a stomach bug since Wednesday. Unfortunately he missed all the Christmas festivities at his school, including a hay ride with Santa and a pajama party. He was disappointed, of course, but seems to be handling it pretty well. We just want to get him better by Christmas, at this point! (And hope that none of the rest of us get it!). Keep us in your prayers.
J.T. was kind-of being a stinker (I don't think he was feeling very well) during dinner, but he perked up a little bit when it was time to open gifts...
Abigail got some new flannel pink princess pajamas.
Here's at the end of the evening.... showing off some of the gifts.
Every year, we do this early celebration a week or two before Christmas. It's nice to have time to relax and enjoy our celebration before the real craziness begins! We all received some very nice gifts. Karen had a theme for all of our gifts... "Family Time." We received some gift cards for lots of fun activities, DVDs, treats, and more. We also received some individual gifts.
Andy is excited about his "Power Station" which has an air compressor, can jump start a battery, and is a power inverter. I loved all the goodies we got, but my favorite gift is a gift certificate to my favorite Spa..... pedicure or massage here I come!
One of the gifts we gave Chet and Karen (which I do every year) is a calendar. Each month has a different picture that I took. Here's a quick slideshow of the photos I used for all 12 months.
Here's Santa's sleigh filled with Mrs. Claus and some elves. I am not quite sure where Santa is.... maybe he was driving the tractor that pulled the sleigh...
Here's another good one. Most of these looked much better in person than they do in the photo. This was one of those....
This was one of my favorites....
The kids had a good time and the weather wasn't too bad. It sprinkled a little but at least it wasn't super cold like it was last year.
Hannah loves "High School Musical" stuff so Abigail gave her this HSM bag with pencils, a notebook, stickers, etc inside. Each girl got to help Hannah open the gift they brought for her. Here's Hannah and Abigail....
The party went well. They all got along which is amazing! There weren't any tears so that is a good thing!
This was taken on Christmas Eve right before we left for church and Andy's Grandma's house.
This was taken on Christmas morning at Andy's mom's house. Abigail got both of these dolls from Santa. The one on the left, Lucy, is still one of her favorites.
We hosted Christmas dinner at our house. It's tough being a baby at Christmas...
It's been seven years since we celebrated Abigail's first Christmas. Time sure flies...
