Snow Adventure!

Wednesday was a great day to get out and enjoy some of the snow. We are thankful that we can sled in our backyard!

Eden, Eliza, Emmet & Ephraim on their sleds.

Eliza is quite the trooper. She'll sled down and then take her sled back to the top. Eden on the other hand, gets to the bottom, turns to the top of the hill and yells "Daddeeee!"

Another shot of the kids coming back up the hill.

Eliza taking Tiger the cat for a ride.

Emmet and Eden getting pulled back up the hill together. Their actual conversation was something like this:

Emmet: "Eden, can you burp."

Eden: "Burp."

The kids think this is hilarious that the girls say "burp" instead of actually burping.

4 kids + 2 sleds + 1 lawnmower= country fun

The girls were falling off of the sled too much so they got a ride on the lawnmower and the boys are on the back. And then I wanted to ride on a sled since it looked like so much fun.

This photo was taken while we were being pulled through the backyard.

Ephraim and I.

And look who is left bringing all the sleds to the garage. Thank you Eliza!

Visits to Great-Grandparents

We were able to spend some one-on-one time with both sets of Great-Grandparents over Christmas. Here are a few pics from visiting Elmer & Elizabeth.
Getting some candy!

Playing on the floor while the adults visit.

Eden had just gotten done holding Grandma's necklace but I was too late to get that precious shot.

Sitting on the bench at Great-Grandpa Gene's house.

Christmas Day presents . . . oh the excitement!

Here are our Christmas Day photos!

Playing Clue Jr., Ephraim's new game.

Playing Emmet's new Farm game.

Hot Wheels time!

Relaxing with a movie.

Mommy & Eliza

Eliza got books, pajamas and a Snap 'n Style doll outfit.

Eden got books, pajamas and a Snap 'n Style doll outfit.

Ephraim got a Hot Wheels set, pajamas and Clue Jr.

Emmet got pajamas, Hot Wheels track and a farm game.

A special present from Ephraim with special wrapping paper.

We had a great Christmas day and it was a pleasure to spend it with our families.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We hope that you were all able to celebrate the birth of Jesus with your loved ones. We know we were able to do just that! In fact, we're still partying throughout the next week.
Here are a few more pictures from Christmas Eve Day.

Daddy reading one of the Christmas books to the kids.

Getting the nativity scene set up.

Eden and Emmet packing up the stable. Eden's word for Baby Jesus is "Je Je".
Here are two of our best Christmas Day photos. We were home for Chrismtas Day and invited Seth's parents and my parents over for lunch and to watch us open our presents. Uncle Paul came too!

The kids got three presents each. It was kind of liberating to know that they each only got three, but you've got to set a limit and I kept it simple. However, with only three gifts, there is the pressure to make sure you get them the perfect gift. You'll have to wait for the next post to see what the kids got.

Christmas Eve

The stockings were placed on the couch in a rush,
The kids were locked in their room,
Screaming to get out.
There were stockings to reveal on Christmas Eve Day,
We didn't make the kids wait until night.
The stockings never seem big enough
For the little things we find to give.
Here are a few snapshots of the fun!


Sitting in front of the couch, trying our best not to peek.

Uh-oh. We have a peeker or two!

Trying to be good and patient!

The kids were so excited they could hardly talk. Their favorite presents were the stick ponies. One for each of them.

Checking out their gifts: a few DVDs, underwear for the boys, stick ponies, Hot Wheels cars, space ships, Pretty Ponies, puzzles and a few books.

What's next?

Reaching for more.

Emmet and Eden with their ponies.

Eliza kissing her pony.

The boys got glow-in-the-dark stars.

We followed up the evening reading Follow the Star. It is a children's book about the camel who carried the wise men's gifts to Baby Jesus. Christmas Eve Day was a great day for our family to enjoy each other.