Our Christmas.........

What a wonderful Christmas we had! . We started our celebration by spending Christmas Eve with Bill's parents. We had a great dinner, thoughtfull gifts and a good time visiting .

Then we had Christmas morning at home. Lily made it untill 5:55 am and then came in our room saying "I just can't sleep anymore." So, an early morning it was. Lily loved all her gifts and Santa really brought just what she wanted.

Christmas afternoon was with my parents where we enjoyed another round of gifts, more food and more visiting. Christmas dinner was at my parents with the whole family and it was so nice to just sit around, talk, eat some more and watch the kids play. What more could you want for Christmas?

If you asked Andrew what his favorite part of Christmas was, he'd answer his new Toy Story Train. He has been so devoted to it since Saturday.

Lily would be torn. She has loved playing with her Nintendo DSI and her new Walking Go-Go (or something like that) puppy.

I must admit that at this time I find Christmas a fair amount of work. Yet, when I look at these two faces, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

All in all, Christmas 2010 was awesome. We saw all our family, had a great time and really celebrated
and then we slowed down and just hung out :)

Soooooooo excited

Lily and Andrew are so excited about Christmas. They are practically humming with energy and joy. It's rather precious and endearing......though we've had a few rough spots. Those are to expected. Today we head over to my parents to do some holiday baking. Tomorrow we have some family time at home and then up to Nana and DanDan's for Christmas Eve celebrations. Then it's Christmas morning at home and finally, Christmas dinner with the whole family at my parents. Should be awesome. Here are few pictures of the holiday fesitivities.

Mr. Kringles was found haning upside down this morning. If you are seven years old, this is hilarious.



If you are two, putting on a Santa hat and yelling "Merry Christmas" is hysterical



If you have been playing around the house most of the day, getting out to see the lights is a blast

All I want for Christmas is....................You!

After a more stressfull work week than usual, I have to say it's time to count my blessings. I'm so very, very lucky to have my family. It amazes me that Bill and I built our family through international adoption and we given the extreme priveledge of raising these two healthy, vibrant, engaging, energetic, sweet and funny children.

Getting cozy during the storm...........

So here we are waiting for our first major round of winter weather. Fortunately for us, we don't have to go anywhere today. Dinner is in the crockpot, kids are playing and Bill and I are relaxing.

We stopped at the dollar store yesterday and the kids wanted these Santa hats. Then they happily posed this morning Who knew this would result in such cute pictures? Forget the fancy clothes and a professional photography appointment. Next year it's cheap Santa hats, pjs and pictures with our own tree.



Well, I hope this message finds you home all cozy just like our Miss Allie.

Elf of a Shelf

The day we put up or Christmas tree, our Elf on the Shelf showed up. Mr. Kringles and his new pal, a dog named Jingle Kringles have brought so much joy to Lily. She loves looking for them every morning, is totally convinced they travel to the North Pole each night and often tells us she hears them moving about the house. A few days ago, Lily swore that some tracks in the snow were not from a rabbit or a cat. They were from Mr. Kringles and Jingle Kringles. Andrew isn't really into all of this yet, but I imagine he will be next year. It's such a sweet tradition and I am so happy we started it. It really is a bit of holiday magic.

Visiting with Santa

We've had two visits with Santa already. The first one came as a bit of a surprise as the kids and I were out running an errand and both kids said "I want to see Santa." Now at the last minute, Andrew had second thoughts. When he was offered to sit infront of Santa on a reindeer, he took it. Then yesterday we had our FCC holiday party. Andrew was in a grumpy mood and I didn't really think we'd get a photo with Santa. Surprisingly, we actually did get a few good shots.