We love the Wii!!

Colin opening the Wii. Thank you Mimi and Papa!

This gift was at the very top of Mason's Christmas wish list. He was so excited. 

I'm not really sure who was more excited, Derrick or Mason. Derrick quickly discovered old Nintendo games could be downloaded to the Wii, so of course Tecmo Bowl was the first. This is him and Kade trying it out.

Oh, Holy Night

Christmas eve nativity. Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus, two sheppards, (one wouldn't cooperate with his costume), and three little angels.

An expectant Mary and Joseph. Derrick's father narrating.

One little Sheppard.

One pretty little angel.

All three heavenly angels.

Yummy Traditions

Every year on Christmas eve, we make sugar cookies to leave for Santa. This was the first year the boys were really old enough to actually help me rather than just making a mess. 

Rolling the dough.

Cutting out the shapes.

Frosting and decorating.

We're ready for Santa. Yum Yum!

Gingerbread House

Derrick's mom gets talked into buying one of these gingerbread kits by my kids every year, I think. Now I'm guessing we will probably always do it. The kids love it and they are always so proud of it. They don't last very long in our house though. This one had all of the candy eaten off of it that same day and the frosting all picked off the next.

"Santa Scary!"

This is so funny! We weren't really prepared for this photo. We had some clothing difficulties and hair issues, Olivia is terrifed and Colin is smiling sort of crazy. Later on this Santa moment will definately be one of the most memorable and laughable.

Mr. & Mrs. Clause

Mrs. Clause reading to the children. They all gathered around her in a big crowd waiting for Santa to arrive, and she was so adorable.

Finally jolly old Saint Nick came in through the doors and Olivia lost it. Screaming her head off. She took comfort in the arms of a total stranger until I could get to her, totally petrified.

They sang a few Christmas carols with the kids and then it was time for pictures. My boys really enjoyed this. Maybe Olivia will too, next year.

More Snow!!!

In the ten years that I have lived here, I've never seen it snow like this in December. It's so exciting. It was such a thrill watching my little ones faces light up when they looked outside this morning, and the fact that school was cancelled made it that much more fun.

Olivia wasn't too sure if she liked the snow as much as the boys though. She is quite the little princess and didn't even like the snow on her hands. She would not wear gloves and I had to fight with her to get that hat on. She's so cute!

This is Derrick hard at work, bulding our snowman in his dress shirt and slacks before heading to work. 

Tada! I thought it might be fun to have a pirate snowman, so we gave him an eye patch and a bandana. Mason didn't really like that idea, but humored me for one picture.

The kids named him Snowie. They are so creative.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Derrick says he can't remember it ever snowing here in December. We were all so excited when the snow started falling in the morning and then it just kept coming.

We didn't actually get lucky enough to have the snow stick much at our house, so we drove 20 miles North to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Mason told Derrick's mom, "You have way more snow than we do!"

It was so much fun wathcing them make snow angels and building snowmen. It definately makes it feel a lot more like Christmas. I really hope we get some more.

Oh Christmas Tree

This year we have two Christmas trees. The first one is in our living room. It's more formal, I guess only because there's no t.v. We really don't have anything too formal in our home with three kids and all.

The second tree is upstairs in our family room. It's definately more for the kids. They helped me make the paper chain and most of the orniments are theirs from over the years.

Beauty Shop

I thought these pictures were so cute of Livvy and her very best little neighbor friend playing beauty shop. My neighbor does hair and it looks like her little girl will follow in her footsteps. Olivia hates when I try to fix her hair, so I was very suprised when we walked in on her sitting so patiently letting her friend brush her hair.