~Christmas Memories 2008~

I really didn't mean to start this post with a picture of my Christmas present, but I forgot to add a photo of it below and I just had to show it off!!!:) It really is the coolest and most comfortable bike! I love it! I was having a tough time finding a cruiser bike that was comfortable (hey, I'm not that young anymore!). Dale did some research and special ordered this for me. Thanks sweetie!!! I love it!

~Christmas Eve~

Christmas Eve day was spent visiting neighbors and delivering goodies. We always go to the early candlelight church service at 5:30 and then come home and let the kids open one gift. This year we were invited to spend the evening with Reed's best friends family so we did things a little different and let them open their gifts before church. I also had Faith take a nap before church because I knew it would be a long evening for her. She actually fell asleep which was a real shocker! She never naps anymore. I had to wake her up just in time to get going to church on time. And of course I had to get some photos before we left! Even with the family complaining and the boys calling me the "Christmas police" I insisted on photos!!:)

Faith still half asleep before leaving for church.

She's wearing her pearls I bought for her when we were in China....

Faith was so sleepy, but I just love this photo of her

Faith and Mommy in their matching pearls

My Christmas blessings..........

We used the self timer to get these family pictures. It was hilarious because the dogs were jumping all over us like we were playing some kind of game.

I guess they wanted in the photo too!!

We had a really nice evening at our friends house, but it did make for a pretty rough night with Santa not coming to our house until 3:00!!! (And I have to admit I missed our cozy quiet traditional Christmas Eve) We got home around 10:00, but Reed could not fall asleep, I think from all the excitement of being at his friends house. This is also the first year for Reed to start having doubts about Santa.

We also had to say farewell to our "elf on the shelf" Tom! See you next year Tom! Thanks for sending Santa such great reports on the kids!:)
(Faith really enjoyed this elf on the shelf! It was the first year we started it and every morning she had to go find Tom. The boys had to act cool about it, but they even had fun searching for him. Although he did creep Reed out a little:)

~Christmas Morning~

Yes Reed! There is a Santa Claus!!!!!coming down stairs Christmas morning.............

Santa came!!!!!!!

Each year Faith puts a Santa hat on Christmas morning. It is a tradition she started all on her own. So so cute!!!!

The kids are always complaining about the pencils in our house needing to be sharpened. With all the homework they have we are always sharpening pencils! So I bought them an electric pencil sharpener. Here they are opening it together.

With all the excitement we forgot to let the dogs out. They were waiting patiently.

the boys checking out their new Star Wars collection

Just love those faces!

Reed working intently on his special Lego set

Faith loves her new mini from Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Hey, Mommy wants a mini too!!;)

Daddy taking a rest on his new chair back massage.

Reed summed our Christmas up as he does every year!! He says "This was the best Christmas ever!" When he said it this year Dale and I looked at each other and laughed. Honestly he says it every year. It is the sweetest thing. We said to him Reed, you say that every year! His reply was "but seriously this really was the best one!"
With the kids growing up a good part of their childhood military (especially the boys) our Christmas' were always spent in a different house, state, or country. We never were fortunate to spend Christmas around extended family (with the exception of one year when were stationed in the DC area around Dales family) Long ago it used to really bother me that our children would not grow up having Christmas memories around a bunch of family, but in time I have grown to love what has become our traditional Christmas. With all of our travels it has made for some exciting and interesting times around the holidays. One year while stationed in Spain we took a Mediterranean cruise right near Christmas time. We went with some friends of ours and together our children romped through Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Pisa, Monte Carlo, Pompeii, Malta, and an entire Spanish cruise ship. But with all of our travels we have always made sure we our "home" at our house on Christmas Eve and Day no matter where that might be. It is the one thing we felt we always wanted the children to have. There may be years that it is only us celebrating together as a family, but that's OK. I think we have taught our children the gift that home is where the heart is and that can be many places.

So here's to our Christmas 2008~our 4th Christmas spent in California!
It may have just been us, but it was the BEST Christmas ever!:)

~Christmas Cookies~

A few days before Christmas we finally got around to baking cookies. I usually start much earlier and I didn't make as many this year as I normally do. I also really let the kids take over with the cutting out and decorating. I remember last year Faith still needed quite a bit of help with rolling the dough and cutting the cookies out, but this year she was a pro! I love her little hand in this photo....her fingers are getting so long and slender.....not my little chubby baby hands anymore!

Reed and Faith working hard together. (Dean didn't want to decorate cookies this year...I guess he is feeling too grown up for it:)

Pearl wanted in on the fun too! She did manage to snatch some cookie dough!

One of our neighbors brought over this beautiful Santa cookie jar for us as a Christmas gift.

I have been trying to catch up with Christmas posts for several days now. (I started this the day after Christmas) We haven't been doing too much of anything, just enjoying this time off together from busy schedules. The kids are enjoying their Christmas gifts and staying in their pjs until noon!
Dean babysat for Faith this afternoon while Reed was at a friends house so that Dale and I could go see the movie Marley and Me. It was so so good. I read the book and loved it so I wasn't sure how I would like the movie. (usually if I read the book first I think the movie isn't as good) Well, I loved the movie. I recommend it especially if you have a dog as part of your family. Just a warning though........bring tissues!!
I'll try and post Christmas photos tomorrow!!

~Merry Christmas~

~Wishing everyone a peaceful and wonderful Christmas~(this is the photo I sent in everyone's Christmas cards this year. This was the first year I decided not to torture and bribe my kids stress over trying to get a Christmas photo like I do each year. I took this before Thanksgiving and decided it would do just fine.

We've been busy the last couple weeks enjoying all the wonder and simple pleasures this time of year brings. Here are a few photos of Faith taken by the tree this past week.

Faith experienced her first Nutcracker performance this year!

Faith picked out her outfit for school this day and I thought it was too cute! Her Christmas elf shirt,plaid skirt, black leggings and boots, and of course her black hat! And don't forget a candy cane!

A gift of rosemary to bring to her teacher

May you always experience the wonder of it all~

HO HO HO!!!!!!!

I got such a kick out of this post that my friend Portia wrote about with her children's terrible experience with visiting Santa. I laughed so hard when I read it! It got me thinking back to the last 13 years of my own experiences with my children and Santa Claus. We have always been very fortunate to have wonderful Santa Claus experiences each year. With the exception of one that is!!....Faith's first Christmas home. I also cherish the photos I have of each of my children's first photo taken with Santa. Each Christmas I set them out to display. For the last few years I have been meaning to get matching frames for them and this year I finally did!!

Dean's first Santa photo at 4 months old. I remember being so excited to get this photo taken of our first child with Santa! We went to the mall in Dallas (where we were living) and he was just the most perfect Santa. Just like you would imagine the real Santa to look like. He held Dean right up just like a doll. I love this photo.

Reed's first photo with Santa at 5 months old. This was at the Annapolis mall we went to while living in Maryland. Again just a great Santa I thought and I loved the nautical theme. I was so glad I took the boys when they were babies to have their photos taken with Santa, because this was the only time they actually sat on Santa's lap. After that our visits with Santa became them standing at at least a foots distance!

And here is Faith's first official photo taken with Santa at 2 years old! This was at the mall here in California. The same mall she has been going to see Santa now for the past 4 years! This just amazes me that we have been in one place this long! She adored Santa and she still does. Each year she is so excited to go and see her old friend. She talks to him like she has known him all her life! My favorite experience of her with Santa was last year when Santa actually came to the house to see her. You can read about it here.
Faith's first experience with Santa (her first Christmas home) was one of those Santa nightmares!
We were living in England and I REALLY wanted to get that photo of her with Santa. Finding Santa in southern England was not so easy. I had just about given up on getting that photo when I heard he was spotted at our local nursery/pottery shop that we loved going to. We anxiously took Faith to see her first glimpse of Santa................

It didn't go too well!!! I have to say he was the scariest Santa I ever saw and Faith thought so too! He also reeked of alcohol! I can't believe I was that desperate to get Faith's photo with a drunken Santa! Bad Mommy! She refused to sit on his lap which was way out of character for her, but can you blame her! Yep, that was a Santa experience I am glad she can't remember!

The boys were only 2 and 4 years old when we packed up and headed to Europe to live in Spain.
The base where we were stationed always had a nice Christmas party for the kids and of course Santa was there! As you can tell by the distance that Dean is keeping and by Reed's face they were always leery of Santa.

A Happy Christmas to all and to all a good-night!!!

Our annual Gingerbread house~

I decided to keep things easy this year and went with the gingerbread kit with everything included! Boy was this easy! I assembled the house.............even Pearl wanted in on the fun!

And let the kids go at it..............

Faith was more interested in trying to see what she could get away with eating.................

here she is attempting to eat the frosting

before Reed grabs it away from her

ohhhhhh man, I wanted to eat that!

It was fun to stand back and watch the 3 of them work together........

for the most part they worked really well together .......................

with the exception of a little arguing like when Faith decided to lick each piece of candy before putting it on the house.......

what is in your mouth now Faith!

everyone working hard!

Their finished house! I love your little lamp posts you made out of candy canes with gum drops for the lights. Great job! :) And next year we may have to get Faith her own to slober all over decorate! :)