Christmas 2011

Back to blogging!  It was a very long and very busy December!  Finally, all the candy has been eaten, the decorations have been put away, and I have time to share a few pictures from the month.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with friends, family, and a few unexpected surprises!  We started off the month with parties, parties, parties! We had three birthday parties, two Christmas parties, and a Disney Character breakfast that kicked off our celebration season all in the same week!  Whew!  Here's a few shots from Avery and Brady's birthday parties!  I don't know how my friend Jamie does it with both her children's birthdays and Christmas all in the same month! Brady's birthday was a cowboy theme, hence the hat!  Avery's birthday was at our gymnastic gym and the kids had a blast!

We won honorable mention for our outdoor Christmas decorations for the second year in a row.  I'm not really sure why.  I think our house looks lovely, but we don't do anything elaborate, especially compared to others homes in our neighborhood.  I'm beginning to think one of the ladies on the Neighborhood Christmas Committee has a thing for Jacob.

The Christmas Tree by day, but I really love the Christmas tree at night!

The week before Christmas we hopped on a plane to Mississippi to spend time with the families.  We started off with Jacob's family.  Brenna had a blast with her cousins Ella and Leah.  It was like a non-stop Christmas party for her.  We also got to see my niece Ella's Christmas Dance Show while we were there. 

Can't forget the pooches!  Their part of the family too!


Wake up Uncle Jake!


Family pictures in front of Mimi's beautiful Christmas tree.

Next we headed back down south for a visit with my family.  Unfortunately, Brenna started to run a fever on the ride down and we spent most of our time with them sick and at Stat Care.  But, Brenna loves Christmas lights and she was thrilled to see Mawmaw house!  It was covered wall to wall with decorations, lights, and music.  Here are two of her nine Christmas trees that were scattered throughout the house.

We came home on Christmas Eve to find some delicious treats from our friendly neighbors!  The sugar cookies were a special blessing, since that's what we left out for Santa.  Brenna opened a few gifts from Mom and Dad and then we hit the sack early in anticipation of Santa.  Like always, he delivered!  Brenna loved her new kitty cat bike and soccer goal!

We had a quiet new years on our street.  We have a new family that's moved in.  The Walker's have 5 children, all under the age of 7, and baby #6 is due any day!  That more than doubled the kids on our street with just one family!  So for New Years Eve we had all the kids on the street over to play in the back yard, while we got to visit with and get the know the new neighbors.  Each night in bed, we say our prayers and then say what we were thankful for that day.  I said "I'm thankful for the playdate with our new neighbors."  Brenna said "It wasn't a playdate Mama, it was a party!"  With that many kids, it really was like a party!

I look back over this year and see all the blessings that God has given us.  Happy New Year to everyone and may God bless!