MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Oh what an awesome day! We started out the morning opening gifts here with our kids. I love love love it! It is truly one of my very favorite times of the whole year! We had cinnamon and pecan rolls for breakfast thanks to daddy! It was yummy.

Everyone wanted to open the stockings first so we did. I loved all the goodies in mine!


Mia is showing off her sassy new Princess nightgown from Grandma Roxie!

This Christmas was so much fun for Mia. She finally gets the whole Santa is coming thing. We put out cookies and carrots last night and she went to bed in a hurry saying, 'I am so excited about Christmas and Santa mommy!' This morning she was like hey mommy lets see if Santa was here! It was so cool to see her excitement! Santa brought her a Sit n' Spin. (A gift also recommended by our therapist to boost her brain alertness, as she spins alot too)

Both girls asked Santa for a Digital Camera. The boys asked for Lego Sets. And Santa delivered as usual! Thank you Santa! Mommy got a new bracelet and daddy got lots of new dvd's and a massager! ;0)

Both Thane and Seth made special gifts for us. Thane made a ceramic trivet and Seth made us a family calendar. Thanks guys! These are my favorite kind of gift! The ones with heart poured into them!

Madee got some new Pirates of the Caribbean goodies! She loves Capt'n Jack Sparrow! Yeah!

After we opened presents here, we went to Grandma Nancy's house for a big lunch and then we were off to Preston's house to exchange gifts with his family! We got Preston an autographed bat from the Cincinnati Reds! It has the whole team with the exception of Ken Griffey Jr from last season! He was speechless and it was so cute! He got Caiti a pretty charm bracelet and a cute set of PJ's! A big thanks to the whole Shelton Fam for their gift of movie money. We will have to get together soon and check out another show! ;)

From our family to yours, we are praying you had an amazing day filled with all of the things you love and the people who make your heart melt!

Christmas Eve...

Every Christmas Eve we go to my mom and dads for dinner and gifts. We have so much fun and eat way too much! Look at all the presents under that tree! WOW!! We started out with our amazing meal. Mom and dad prepared Prime Rib and Shrimp, baked sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, fresh rolls, overnight salad & devilled eggs. We also had several pies to choose from for dessert, sugar ceam, chocolate cream, peanut butter, coconut cream and lemon chiffon layer pie! YUM! It was delicious.

Mom got each of the kids a new Christmas outfit. Don't they all look so cute? In the back row is my nephew Jacob, my niece Allison, Madeline & Caitlin. In the middle are my boys, Thane & Seth. Then in the front we have my nephew Jesus, my niece Alejandra, Mia and my niece Kailey.
Caiti got Hollister leg warmers. She's rockin them out for you here! hahaha! All of the kids got lots of clothes, some games and the girls each got a ring from grandma.

Papaw did his best to keep the flow of presents even to each child. Gavin stepped in and relieved him after a bit.

Grandma Roxie was so excited to get her gift from Papaw. He got her a 1 carat diamond necklace. As you can see, she was not expecting it! ;0)

The biggest hit off the night were the Wii's! Mamaw got them before the Thanksgiving rush, and I am glad she did. It appears that you couldn't get one anywhere after then. We had trouble even finding some of the accessories! Anyway, it was so cool to see their faces when they opened them. Our family got one and my sister's kids got one as well!

It was an excellent night and I love spending time with our family. It makes me so excited to dream forward to the day I have all of my granchildren surrounding me on Christmas Eve! ;0) Not that I am in any hurry though! A BIG THANK YOU to Grandma and Grandpa for all of the gifts, the amazing food and the buckets of love they pour over us everyday!

Presents with Mamaw Nancy & Papaw Jim...

We celebrated Christmas with Gavin's mom and dad, his grandparents and Aunt Lavena tonight. It was a good evening of family and the kids loved their gifts!

Caitlin and Madeline got new iPod Nano's with video. They are so excited about it! The video feature is new on this generation of nano. The ones they got last year did not have it. Madee's is ice blue and Caiti's is seafoam green.

Thane and Seth both got Ninetendo DS's. Thane has a red & black one and Seth got the white one. They each also got a game. They have been wanting these for months!

Mia got a babydoll with a bathtub and a small trampoline. She was so excited! Her therapist said that jumping is a good thing for her and a way that her brain kick starts itself. We noticed that she was doing alot of jumping in the mornings especially on days she was going to school, and more than most kids typically do. I hope this will allow her to get it out of her system in a safer fashion. We will post a pic of her with it soon.

Snow Day....

BUMMER..........sigh! We were scheduled to travel to Dayton, Ohio today for a cheer competition, but the 'blizzard' forcast scared the other parents off. So, we were a little upset. It was going to be a great day out and we still made it a great day. I was able to wrap some gifts, the kids cleaned their rooms and this evening we met Caiti's boyfriend and his family for dinner and a movie. We enjoyed a great meal at Tapatios and then went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was a cute movie and we had a blast! Here is a big shout out to the Shelton Fam! Thanks for a fun evening! :0)

We love these snow comics!! Hope you enjoy them!

Another Funny Movie Starring Our Kids!

Try JibJab Sendables!

Mia's Preschool Christmas Performance

Mia was so cute in her Preschool Christmas program! They were angel's telling the good news of Christ's birth. They are singing 'I'm Glad That He Was Born', to the tune of 'The Farmer In The Dell'- soooooo cute! The sound is not so good, as we were in a huge church, but here are the words she was singing:

I'm glad that He was born,

I'm glad that He was born,

I'm glad that Jesus came to us,

I'm glad that He was born!

They also did a fingerplay like the B-I-B-L-E except it was the A-N-G-E-L. Mia gives you a gracious bow at the end and shows her sass, as usual. And yes, the laughter is because of her being such a ham! LOL! Enjoy!

Find your gift and use it to bless others...

Do you know that God has given us each a wealth of talent? He has given each of us a marvelous gift that we can use to serve the world! When we tap into that gift, we will find power beyond all measure to impact the lives of others and to forever change our own! Please be as blessed by this video as I have been. I watch it almost everyday. When I am feeling down or uninspired I just watch Paul as he sings from his heart in such humility. The truth is we all have something equally as powerful and wonderful inside. Do you know what yours is? Have you already been scared by the sheer beauty and ease at which you can use it?? The truth is, that sometimes we can be overwhelmed by such a gift and the responsibility that comes along with using it. Oh, dear friends, trust God to bless you, as I know he will, when you walk in His Power, with Faith that your gift will do it's job in this world. He will reward you for being faithful. Step out today and shine your light. Be inspired by this and bless others today!



Watch the judges faces as Paul's gift is revealed. :0)

Visiting Santa!

We loved our visit with santa this year! The kids were eager to tell him what they wanted.

Thane, of course wants a Lego Set.

Seth also asked for a Lego Set.

Mia asked for a 'big present, not a little present.'

These girls think that they are 'too BIG' to sit on Santa's lap anymore. I beg to differ, but did not win the battle. ;) So, they did agree to stand 'near' Santa for the group shot above! LOL What a fun evening!

Snowball fight!!! hahahahahaha

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Christmas Cookies...

We have a family tradition where we make lots and lots of cookies around the holidays!! We jumped right into December by having a cookie day!! Check out our Cookie teams!

kailey- tina- kailey.mia.alej.zues- roxie- madee

caitlin- alej - seth -allison -zues -mia

mia - jacob & thane - karen - mia & sofya

And of course we must have supplies! Check out just a few of the ingredients we used!

Grandma Roxie loves making cookies with her mini-chefs! lol Aren't these aprons and hats the cutest? I found them and had to buy lots! The boys had plain ones and the girls had gingham with lace trim. Mia wore all of them I think! She kept saying I want this one-It's my favorite and then 5 minutes later she'd have a new favorite! hahaha!

Mia, Grandma & Zues

We made Coconut Orange Chews, Chocolate Chip, Peppermint Snowballs, Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter, Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Oaties, Stained Glass cut outs, Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk & of course our World Famous Sugar Cookie cut outs!!! We also made a few candies like chocolate covered pretzels and dipped peanut butter crackerwiches! Mmmmmmmm!!

When it is time to decorate them, everyone gets in on the act! Even my brother in law Carlos! What a hoot!

Mia loved decorating her cookies and couldn't hardly wait to eat them up! I can't blame her though, I think I ate 2 or 3 that 'accidentally' broke while I was decorating them! ;)

Here is a glimpse of the decorated sugar cookies! We love them so much! I of course had to make a few cookie heads! Check out Caiti and Madee in cookie form! lol After this phot was taken, I had to add more 'hair' lines to Caiti as I was informed that 'she has way more hair than that'! hahahahaha


We hope you enjoy these pics and maybe that you could even join us soon for cookie day!

Parade of Lights.....

Wow....what a fun evening!! Caitlin marched in the Parade with her school band in our Holiday Parade. She did not get to play a Tuba, but she played it's cousin the Barritone. We decorated it with lights and Poinsettia flowers. We found a Santa hat & Santa apron for her to wear! She looked so cute. It was freezing outside this evening though and we were all bundled up! Check out the kids waiting for the parade to begin! Preston was also in the band and we went out to eat with his family after it was over. What a good time. :)