Randoms...

I have several random pictures that didn't make it into other posts that are just too cute not to post.  A couple are from a neighborhood Christmas party:

This was from visiting Santa at the mall.  I didn't buy the mall package because it was CRAZY expensive so we just snapped an iphone pic:

These were terrible pictures but it was from their cute little performance at school where they sang some Christmas songs:

This was a picture taken after Christmas when we went to Build A Bear to use a gift card that sweet Aunt Lisa gave her.  She chose a horse!

This was a cute one taken before Austin's Starlight Christmas concert:

These were taken at Bounce U on a Mommy/Addi day after Christmas:

Christmas Day...

Christmas morning came and I, of course, was the first one up.  Austin is a teenager and NEVER chooses to get up early if given the opportunity to sleep in but I know that there will be a day when Addi will be waking us up at 4 AM but this year, I had to wake both of them up!  I had already woke my grandmother and was on my second cup of coffee.  Plus, we had places we had to be later (my parent’s house) so we needed to get started!  After all, we didn’t want to be rushing through the opening of all these presents after so much time and energy had gone into shopping for them and wrapping them all—right?   

I woke Austin up first and told him to stay in his room until I got Addi up.  Once I started to wake her, she sat right up and was READY!  Craig, on the other hand, was not enthused.  He doesn’t share my child-like excitement I guess—at least not to the extreme that I do.

Addi ran into the living room and was so excited to see the presents that were unwrapped—the giant cardboard castle for her to color and her pink princess scooter.  She immediately took off through the house on the scooter.  It was pretty funny.  Down the long hallway she went around the column in the living room and back again.  Over.  And over.  And over.

Finally, we had to tell her that we needed to open some other presents.  She and Austin went through their stockings and then they started on a gift from Santa that was for our whole family.  There were clues that led them all over the house—from the dryer to the bedroom pillow, to the refrigerator, to the cabinets, etc..  At the end of the scavenger hunt, they found a present and together they opened it to find a Wii.  We FINALLY got a wii.  There were also 4 games to open too—most of them dance games.  They were excited.

It was at this point that Addi finally noticed the benches that Santa had made in his workshop that matched her table in the living room.  Previously we had some flimsy chairs that the kids would sit in and they were constantly flipping them over and falling out.  Craig, being the talent that he is, decided he could make some very sturdy benches that would match the table once he stained them.  They turned out beautifully.

The kids got lots of great things.  Austin got a very nice Fossil watch and a flat screen TV and wall mount.  He also got some practical things such as a new wallet, new cologne, and some jumper cables for his car.

Addi got a Columbia jacket, my little ponies, lite brite, Barbie golf cart, several Barbie dolls, perfection game, mosaic crafts, Barbie clothes, Dora reader and books, and black boots. 

Mamaw seemed to enjoy getting to see the kids open all of their stuff!  It definitely just brings joy to see a little one’s excitement.  Mamaw opened a few gifts from all of us too--including a Bunn coffee maker which she plans to take to the lake!

Craig opened cologne, trimmers, a drill, and a new saw from all of us.

I opened a new watch, boots, a Columbia jacket, and a wireless speaker for the living room so that we can play music from our phones via Bluetooth.  It’s very cool.

The living room was a HUGE mess but we got most of the paper picked up before we had to get ready to go to my parent’s house for Christmas, part TRES! 

It’s always chaos at my parent’s house on Christmas Day but it’s the good kind of chaos.  We walked in and the smell of sausage and bacon frying instantly overtook us.  Ummmm…  I had only had coffee at home and no one else had really eaten either in the midst of the craziness but we were HUNGRY and breakfast was almost ready.  I love the tradition of getting together on Christmas morning at my parent’s house to sit down to breakfast together.  We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, my dad prayed, and then we ate.  And ate.  And it was GOOD.

We had a houseful with my dad’s parents there too as well as my dad’s sister, my mom’s mom and the four of us, my brother, and my sister’s family (four and one on the way).  It was a packed house but there was plenty of food.  It’s so nice to all be together but there’s never a dull moment and it’s never quiet!

After eating, the kids were of course anxious to go back at the present opening thing again!  Mass chaos erupted as a 6 year old and two 3 year olds tore open into mounds of gifts.  It was impossible to see everything much less photograph it.  I do know that Addi got a bracelet maker, a lap desk, two stuffed unicorns, Barbie doll, InnoTab, and several games for the InnoTab. 

Uncle B also got the kids a karaoke machine to share so they had a great time holding the microphones and singing.  If I didn’t say it before, it was LOUD.  Fun though.

We are blessed—not because we got to open lots of presents but blessed because we had a house full of family together to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Blessed.