Christmas Day

Santa visited last night, and only ate the Oreo middles!  He nibbled on cheese and carrots, too.

He left a Wii Fit for the children

Pop found a new hat in his stocking and tried to wear it "Mark" style

After spending the morning with Baba and Pop, we joined these guys for dinner and games -

it was a very, merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve tradition is to go to church and come home and open one gift - pajamas.

Baba joined us for church and gift opening, but then she went home to get ready for Santa!

AJ received the ever-popular Hannah Montana PJ's

Sydney wore her new dress for the first time

Notice Bailey's recurring theme of penguins

Pajama bottoms and undershirts - what a surprise!

Perfect fit!

Jackson's visit with Santa

Jackson went to see Santa, and Aunt Emily reports he was very brave!

Beautiful treats

We arrived home to a treat at the front door this evening. Aren't these cookies beautiful? I thought they looked a little too pretty to eat. They were accompanied by a jar of homemade apple butter. Don't you just love Christmas?

Little visitors

I know that the kids get bigger every day, but it really hits home when we're around little ones. They love to be around small children... I think it gives them an excuse to pull out all the old toys that they used to enjoy. Logan and Elizabeth came to visit today, and our four kept them occupied while their parents got a little time to relax. Our first foray into babysitting! Logan loved Cal's jersey and cap. When it was time to leave, he looked like he wasn't going to give them back. Mom's quick reminder about sharing made him happily take them off and hand them over to Cal. It seems like yesterday that our kids were this small!

David's Birthday

Tonight we celebrated David's birthday at Red Robin.  Happy 8th birthday, David!

Here's the whole gang.

Bailey and Adam - he's not a baby anymore!

Duncan and AJ

Gingerbread houses

I'm trying to let go of the fact that the decorating, shopping, cards, etc... are all not done. Instead, I'm determined to enjoy the pleasures of the season with my family and friends.  And it's working! I let the girls make a total mess tonight WHILE WE HAD COMPANY! We worked on gingerbread houses with Alli (sister of newlywed Chris - she was taking a break from studying for exams) and Emily.  Doug and Ella were there, too, but they were no help at all.