These are a few pics we took at the Christmas Parade. It was cold, but the boys managed to enjoy it anyway.
Archive for Christmas
Six Christmases
We spent over a week in Louisiana for Christmas. Nana and Pepaw were nice enough to put up with our family and all our stuff, too the whole time. While traveling from place to place to place, we had a great time visiting all our families.
We started out at Nana and Pepaw’s with all the family. The boys love seeing their nine other cousins, and pick up right where they left off the last time they saw them.
Next was Christmas at Mammaw and Roy’s with more family and even more food and presents!
Christmas Eve was spent at Mama Nance’s and Daddy Wayne’s, where the boys participated in the annual Christmas play put on by the grandkids and now great-grands. Jonathan was the “Little Drummer Boy,” Aaron was the shepherd, Caleb was a wise man, and Levi was baby Jesus. We also received a visit from Santa.
Christmas morning, we opened Santa presents and had our family Christmas with Nana and Pepaw. The boys must have been extra good last year, because they woke up to find an Ipod Nano and 2 Nintendo DS’s. This was the first time we spent Christmas morning with them, and they made it extra special. Pepaw even cooked us some pancakes for breakfast!
Before lunch on Christmas, we spent some time with Ma and Pa; and the boys got electric scooters. Levi got a ride-on/walk-behind lion. We had lunch with my aunt and uncle, and then we headed south to Nenaw’s house. There, the boys had a blast shooting fireworks.
A few days later, our Christmas with Mammaw and Papa Don was cancelled when he was put in the hospital. We took the boys out to spend a little time with Mammaw before she went to visit Papa in the hospital.
So, that’s the short version of our week of Christmases. The time flew by and we ended up loading up two truckloads of presents and even more memories to bring home. Thanks everyone for the gifts, memories, and for sharing the most wonderful time of year with us.
Christmas Book Countdown
A couple of years ago, we began a new tradition to count down to Christmas. Each night of December, the boys took turns opening a Christmas book. Of course, this was Levi’s first year to share in this experience, and he loved ripping open the paper. His brothers had fun with it yet again, and many nights we listened to Jonathan and Aaron read a story. These are moments to treasure forever. Here’s a sweet snapshot of one of our storytimes, and a few of Levi’s first Christmas book unveiling.
Christmas Un-Lighting
Back in November, we pulled out all our Christmas decorations, put the tree up, hung the stockings over the fireplace, and hung lights on the house. After untangling the cords, plugging them up, and making sure no bulbs were out, Jeff and my Dad climbed up on the roof to hang our icicle lights. When they got them all straight and neat, we plugged them in and only half were twinkling. So we pulled them down in disappointment and decided to wait until next year to do lights on the house again. We had fun that evening decorating the tree with the boys, anyway. Here are some pictures of our Christmas preparations.
Christmas Card Photo Shoot
A few weekends ago, we took family pictures for our Christmas card this year. I took my camera along to take a few pics of the boys too. The location was a great place for boys. They played and climbed and ran and rolled. Awesome place for pictures. We will definitely go back again. Enjoy these pictures of our beautiful boys!
Christmastime is Here!
And we started spreading the cheer this week. The boys’ school participated in Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child this year so we decorated and filled 3 shoe boxes for the boys to contribute to the cause. They really put a lot of thought and time into their boxes, and had so much fun painting their own Christmas wrapping paper. Ma and I assisted them as they worked on their masterpieces, and Pa served as the official photographer.
Jeff and I spent some time with the boys talking about how blessed our family is to celebrate Christmas, and we explained this project was one way to share our blessings with others. The boys are really beginning to learn the true meaning of Christmas, and are understanding the Gift God gave us on that first Christmas morning. And they were so excited to pass the gift of God’s love along to 3 other boys from another part of the world. I am so thankful we had this opportunity to teach the boys about the most important reason for this season, and also for the leadership in the school they attend for taking a stand to give other families the very same opportunity. We truly are blessed!
Christmas in April
Although Christmas was months ago, we thought we’d share our pictures finally. Life’s been busy, the computer’s been down, and I hardly ever sit down at it. That’s all the excuses I can come up with. Anyway, here are all the folks we visited back in December.
Nana & Pepaw’s
Mammaw & Papa Don’s
Mammaw & Roy’s
Mama Nance & Daddy Wayne’s
Ma & Pa’s & Santa Claus
Christmas Cheer
December kept us extremely busy, but we managed to still have a blast during the holidays. Here are a couple of activities we did to spread the Christmas spirit within our family.
A friend of ours works at an art museum in Memphis and invited us to one of their kids’ nights which included lots of holiday crafts and games. Though very crowded, we were able to find some hot chocolate and cookies, make snowflake ornaments, play in fake snow, and win a drawing for a free Christmas tree and a trip back to the museum.
Aaron’s friend, Lucas, invited us to a Christmas parade one night. Of course, we couldn’t pass up the offer. The boys love watching parades, catching candy, and running around with new friends. Here they are!
Time Flies When You’re Havin’ Fun!
It’s been almost 2 months since we’ve updated our blog, and so much has happened since then! We’ve celebrated Thanksgiving, my 28th birthday, Nana’s 50th birthday, Jeff’s 29th birthday, and Christmas. With all this going on, we’ve attended numerous parties and parades, baked dozens of cookies, and travelled thousands of miles. Hopefully soon, this blog will be completely up-to-date with all our new pictures and stories of our many, many exciting adventures.
Here are just a few random pictures of where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to . . .
While back in our hometown for Thanksgiving, we were able to join with Jeff’s brothers and sisters to throw a surprise 50th birthday bash for Nana. All the grandkids-12 last time I counted-had fun gathering around the table and helping blow out the candles.
The week after we returned home, it was my turn to have a celebration. The boys took me to Spaghetti Warehouse in Memphis; and after dinner, we dug into a huge brownie topped with ice cream, of course! As you can see in the picture, Jonathan, Aaron, and Caleb were enjoying the finger-lickin’ yummy dessert!
As soon as all these birthdays rolled by, it 
was time to start preparing for Christmas. What better way to get ready for Christmas than to meet some of our favorite wintery friends. Caleb’s school was fortunate
enough to get a visit from Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. To top this off, the kids boarded a winter train and took a short ride to a petting zoo full of live animals. They thought this was so much fun and weren’t quite ready to end their day, although hot chocolate and cookies were waiting inside for them
!
Caleb’s class wasn’t the only one gearing up for Christmas. Aaron and his buddies from school had activities every week it seemed. We made a stocking at home to hang on the fireplace in the hall at school. His class also made ornaments and painted Christmas t-shirts to wear for their party. Many other moms and I volunteered to help with painting so I was able to capture the moment on camera. Aaron loves for me to come to his school 
to help, and I love to be such a huge part of his Kindergarten experience! So it works out well.
Jonathan’s class didn’t get to play quite as much as the other two. He’s in second grade, and they have a little more work to do; so I don’t have any pictures of him at school. He did, however, have a Christmas party; but, much to my utter disappointment, the camera’s battery was dead when we got ready to snap some pictures.
I hope these pictures will suffice for now until I can get the time to post again soon! Keep checking back for more Christmas pictures and for our vacation pictures.
Christmas Pictures
Christmas zoomed past us this year in a flash! Here are a few pictures from the many we took of all our activities that took place over the whole week. Enjoy!
Nana & Pepaw’s House
Mammaw & Roy’s House
Mama Nance & Daddy Wayne’s House
Christmas Eve: Feeding the Reindeer
Santa Claus’ Visit & Fun at Ma and Pa’s House
Mammaw & Papa Don’s House
