Another blessed Christmas

One of the things I like to do after Christmas is to put all their toys in front of the tree and take a picture of them with it.  It's fun while their toys are still so big.  I honestly think the day after Christmas might have been just as much fun watching them play with their toys as Christmas day was.  They are at a fun age right now where they both really play with toys.  It's so fun to see how they interact with things.

Since Christmas, they have put on lots of concerts, played lots of puzzles, fed the babies multiple times (even Troy has fed the babies), and have had fun playing with each other.  I hope they have great memories of Christmas when they're older.  I hope that they cherish each tradition we do as a family like I cherish the traditions I had growing up.

 

Christmas at dads

To finish out the Christmas season, we went to dad's the Friday after Christmas.  Dad just had surgery, so he wasn't feeling really well at all.  Brian and John woke up Saturday morning and split firewood and carried it to the house so that dad or Bobbie wouldn't have to do it.  The kids loved taking turns riding the tractor.

 

 

 

 

 

When it came time to open gifts, Troy got a cool truck, Kaylee got a talking Ernie doll and they got a set of drums.  

Our Silly Elves

Our elves came to visit us Dec 1. It was a lot of fun each morning finding where they were. They did some pretty silly things while they were with us. They took a bubble bath, they rode Troy's fire truck, we caught them playing soccer and football. They ate all of our pop tarts one night, they rolled our tree with toilet paper. One morning, one had on a jersey and one had on a skirt. It was a lot of fun to see what they were up to in the mornings. They even watched the elf movie with us a couple of nights. I can't wait to see what they'll be up to next year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Night

We went to grandma's house Christmas night.  The plans were to have a late lunch, early dinner.  Brian was going to fry the turkey.  As soon as we got there, he sat up the turkey fryer and turned on the oil.  We were waiting on the oil to heat up and one of the kids asked when we could open gifts, so we went ahead and opened the gifts.  In the mean time, the oil go too hot and broke the thermoter, so all the mercury from the thermoter went into the oil.  Chad had to go to his house to get oil so we could start over.  Even after all of that, dinner was delicious.  We had turkey, mashed potatoes, orange salad, dressing, corn and rolls.  Yummy!

 

I love watching all the kids get so excited about their gifts.  We gave Blake a dart board, and you would have thought it was the best gift ever.  He even posted it on Instagram, which in teenage terms is a BIG thank you! 

 

Troy got Thomas puzzles and Mickey Mouse books.  Kaylee got two Minnie Mouse dress up figurines.  Brian and I got meat...we love getting that gift every year!  It's a gift that lasts us all year long.  Everybody got socks!

 

Jaime gave their mom a new phone and Brian and I gave her perfume and a phone case. They spent time getting her caught up on how to use an iphone.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Christmas morning

Brian woke the kids up Christmas morning around 7.  Our family tradition is to read the story of Christmas from Luke 2 before we open any gifts.  The kids were very good this year while reading.  They sat still and patiently waited.  Once we told them they could look at their gifts, they didn't waste any time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took Troy shopping for Daddy Friday night.  We walked all around the store for Troy to find the perfect gift.  When Troy saw the Christmas "zebra cakes", that's what he wanted to get his daddy.  Little Debbie zebra cakes are one of Brian's favorite snack food.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa was very good to the kids this year! The swingset was a huge gift and a blessing to us.  I know that the kids will play with it for several years.  Troy got a work bench complete with every tool known to man.  He has been very cute playing with it too.  Every time Brian grabs his tools to do something, Troy has been right there with him with his tools.  Troy helped Brian hang the swing outside with his tools.  Kaylee got the art easel, a doll house, baby dolls with accessories (bottles, pacis, etc).  They both got slippers, guitars, a couple of games to play, puzzles, books and so much.  It was alot of fun to watch their excitement!