Our Wonderful Christmas!!

I apologize for the volume of pictures, but my family will appreciate it and I just want to hurry and get caught up and share our wonderful Christmas with all of you!!

Our Christmas card.

If you usually get one and haven't yet it's because they are late and will be on their way today.

The Sunday Morning before Christmas

Also the same day as the play

A friend of mine who moved to Wichita, Kansas was here for Christmas to be with her Parents and I had her and her 2 children over to play and chat. We had sooooo much fun.


Heidi and Dylan are best friends and us mom's are planning the wedding, lol!!!

Can you believe the smiles I get from this girl when Dylan is here?

I'm telling you it's a match made in Heaven!!

Ok, now she did that on her own, but at least it was his forehead.

Hallie had that horse shirt on too but she had to change of course.

Thanks for the shirts Kelsey!!!

My best friend Becky. She is one of my few Best Friends. It's great to have a few really great friends that you know you can count on no matter what. She even offered to come all the way from Wichita when I had my miscarriage. So sweet!

I love you Becky!!!!

Our friends Phil and Sue came over the eve of Christmas Eve. They have adopted our children as grandchildren. Their grandchildren live far away and my Parents live far so God brought friends in to help with the spoiling.

They bought the girls these teddies and PJ's for Christmas.

Christmas Eve Service

Heidi's smiles and poses just amaze me!!!

Our Pastor brings the kids up and reads the Christmas story to them from his rocking chair every year. To the left is our song leader Tom and Dylan is his grandson.

Jeremy was waving a candy cane over my head to get those smiles

And of course I wouldn't be Ellen if I didn't torture Jeremy with a family picture.

All the presents are ready!!!

Stockings are stuffed

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CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!!!

Checking out the stockings

"Oh, look I got a knew stocking!!!"

(Thanks Grandma and Pop-pop)

Hope found the mother load of chocolate candy in her stocking.

Pajama's with a robe that lights up

Movies

Real vacuums

My brother in law gave us the idea of getting these vacuums on Black Friday and cutting down the wand and drilling knew holes and VWALAH, you have a "real" little people vacuum!!

New folders and notebooks

Magic light up paint brush from Crayola

From Taid (Jeremy's Dad)

Banks with a real counter on top

(From Uncle Eddie)

Slippers, croks and babies

never mind the chocolate all over her face, LOL!!!

Testing the bank

New outfits (also in pink), Leapster 2 with extra games and
a leap frog radio all from Grandma and Pop-pop

A dear lady in our church had this precious mug made for me as a surprise. I cried my eyes out when I opened it. Something like this means more to me this year I think because of the miscarriage. I just can't help but wonder what the baby would have looked like, sounded like, characteristics, personality, etc. It haunts me. I know God will get me through it. Like our pastor said in church..."What have you gone through that you can thank God you didn't have it worse." Praise the Lord He took the baby early and not after it was born.

Christmas dinner

And a Kitty!!!!!

Well... Actually....

2 Kitties!!!!!!

Snowball and Tiger

They are the most gorgeous kitties ever. The girls were so excited they screamed!!!

We spent our day just enjoying each other and the wonderful time we had to spend together. We watched a new movie and watched the girls play and just finally had a sigh of relief that we had nothing to do for once. Life has been crazy, but thankfully the craziness has slowed down for now anyway. And... Grandma and Pop-pop are coming on the 31st,

WOO HOO!!! We had a great Christmas and hope you all did as well.

Have a blessed New Year.

OUR WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS PLAY!!

I can not believe how behind I am on my posts. It's terrible. I didn't get my last post of Thanksgiving up but, oh well. I have to move on.

My husband was the director of the Christmas play for the children and I was his side kick. My were we busy. It all came together along with a few more gray hairs!!! The kids did great!! I had to repose all the kids for pictures afterwards because being the director's wife you have responsibilities and none of those was taking pictures so I didn't get any of the actual performance, but the poses at the Inn are pretty identical. I had them redo the whole scene afterwards. It was my daughter so I could do that. Everyone enjoyed watching her yell again anyway. It was so cute. That girl can have some A T T I T U D E!!!!! but we told her to so it was okay.

The play was called "No Phibbin Mephibosheth" It was about a crippled boy who comes to town the same night as Mary and Joseph looking for food. The Inn Keeper (My oldest) is terrible to him, but nice to Joseph and shows him the stable and says, "I'm sorry but this is all I have."

The crippled boy, play name - Bo (Cooper)had a couple solo's and did wonderful. After his encounter with the Inn Keeper he is found sad and alone by a shepherd who normally takes sick animals back to the flock, but this time she brought a boy and the rest of the shepherds were not happy about it. Through a series of events they came to love and be-friend the boy and they all welcomed him to join them to go see the Messiah that had been born. Just typing about it gives me goose bumps,lol!!! It was an amazing night to honor our children and our Savior!!!

Poor boy,Bo knocks on the door of the Inn

(My daughter) Hallie - "What do you want?" (nasty tone and voice)

Cooper - "Can I please have a piece of bread? I'm so hungry, I'll work for it."

(sad tone and voice)

Hallie - "No, go away, can't you see we're packed out. We got paying customers buying every bit of food we have and there's nothing a crippled kid can do to help us."


Hallie - "Now Scram!!!"

Shepherds

On the left is Bo and Beth (play names). Beth is the one that offered to help him. In this picture Bo no longer has his crutch, but a staff because they had welcomed him in.

Our four Angels did some motions to a song

The second from the left is my middle daughter, Heidi. The video is hilarious, her friend Dylan was back in town and she decided to wave and flirt the whole time.

Our sad stable.

We just ran out of time to make a decent stable.

The whole crew. They did an amazing job and I'm glad I have 9 months before the next one starts up again. It was exhausting. My friend Brigitte and I made the costumes in a week and a half. I couldn't have done it without her!!

THANKS BRIGITTE!!!

Continuing Thanksgiving Vacation...

I'm so sorry it's taking me forever to get these vacation pictures up from Thanksgiving, but if Satan could attack us this year he most certainly has and I hope he's finished. I don't know how much more of his beatings I can take. First our cat dies, then I have a miscarriage and 2 weeks later I get Strep throat (which was just last Wednesday to Yesterday), today was the first day we felt human again. My husband and I are in charge of the children's Christmas program (which is a week away, eeek) and the kids are so not ready, but I shouldn't stress because it will turn out the way the Lord planned and the parents will love it.

I just need another vacation!!!!!

(waaaahh!!!!!)

Ok, I'm done crying now, I am trying to cut some pictures out to lesson it for you, but most of you know I like a lot of pictures. I will do another tomorrow to finish and then post my B-day pics on Tuesday, (Hopefully).

Stacking wood

Sweet Heidi and her "oh so heavy log"

Hallie was busy drawing in the dirt

and swinging

Bathing Beauties

All the nephews love to get a computer game going when Uncle Jeremy comes to visit. They can all play together on 2 different teams.

Heidi wanted no part of it and decided to fall asleep wherever she landed, whew, that was close.

Hallie decided to make herself a comfy spot to watch, Ha ha ha right, watch.

More like watch her eyelids close.

Hope playing outside Thanksgiving Day

"Look mom it's done"!!

I forgot to show you Hope's balloon with her birthday pictures and it's just too cute!

Hope fell asleep before the Turkey was done, but I woke her up.

11 children?, aaahhh!!!

"That's ok we're only taking home 3 and can we take more mash potatoes they were good?"

See ya later, tater