Saturday, December 26, 2009

Happy Birthday, Jesus!!!

We had a restful, fun, easy-going Christmas this year! The kids were all at such fun ages and we really enjoyed every minute! Santa paid us a visit, and he even took some time out to play with Griffin's Legos and leave a special construction...
This takes skill...eating treats from stocking while examining toy in each hand...
Daddy has been playing with this race track as much as the boys have :)
It was no surprise that she was very excited about her stocking treats...
She got a little vanity with a play hair dryer, brush, etc. She's been blow drying all of our hair :)
Daddy got some new boots, and the kids have enjoyed trying them on!

On Christmas Day we went to Nana and Poppy's and all of Michael's family joined us! Nana and Poppy have cute little trees for each of the kids with picture ornaments of them from each Christmas!
Collier was most excited about her new baby doll!
Blowing out the candles for our Happy Birthday Jesus cake!




The kids with Granny and Papa Dave!
Five sweet cousins!
The kids with Nana and Poppy!
One of the most special moments for me this Christmas came on Christmas Eve. Every year Michael delivers presents through a ministry here to children whose fathers are in prison. In the past he's always gone with a friend, but this year his friend was out of town, so he ended up taking Griffin. At the second house they walked in and met a lady and her three sons. Their youngest boy asked Griffin what the bracelets were that were on his wrist (he had some of those silly bands on). Griffin pulled off a cross, bible, and star bracelet and was able to share how the star lead the wise men to Jesus and how Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we can spend forever with Him. He gave the boys the bracelets and told them he wanted the bracelets to remind them of Jesus (Michael asked him what he wanted the bracelets to remind them of). Griffin called me when they left the house to tell me about it, and I was so convicted because, to be honest, I hadn't been really fired up about them going. I knew it was a good thing to do, but I had my own plans for the day, which included making Christmas cookies with the kids. I was bummed we weren't going to be able to do that until I got that call from Griffin. How often do I let my own plans get in the way of opportunities God gives me to love other people and share Him with them?
Also, on Christmas Eve night before we went to bed I was looking at the presents laid out for the kids. For several reasons we scaled back on how much we bought and I was thinking it was a bit pitiful looking. The next morning when the boys came running in the den they were so excited and Griffin exclaimed, "This is the best Christmas ever!" God just reminded me that my sweet children don't need tons and tons of presents to be excited, and that His Son is truly the best gift we can ever receive!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

I just LOVE this time of year!!! We've had such a busy few weeks with so many fun activities!! The kids loved decorating the tree this year! We had around five casualties and I had to relinquish control and allow them to put five ornaments on one branch, but they were so excited and it was a joy to watch!
How do you like Collier's outfit :)
Ta Da!!!!

We pulled out all the stops this year with some fun inflatables! Michael and the boys worked very hard to pick the perfect spot!
One Saturday we went to Bass Pro Shops where they have so many fun, FREE activities!

Anderson was in a sweet Christmas program with his 3K class--they sang Rudolph and he looked adorable in his antlers!

Blowing a kiss at the end...
Griffin's class took a field trip to a nursing home to sing some Christmas songs to the residents!
"The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head..."

When they finished singing the kids brought cards they made to the sweet people watching. One of Michael's old football coaches happens to live there, so it was really special for Griffin to bring his card to him!

Collier loves the Christmas tree!


We took the kids to get their picture taken with Santa. Collier wasn't too sure about it and at first she didn't want to sit with him, but we told her he was going to give her some cookies and so she hopped in! She was still pretty unsure, but in last year's picture with Santa she was crying, so at least we're improving!!
One of our favorite traditions is to drive around looking at Christmas lights! We loaded up in the car with some hot chocolate and had a great time!
One of our favorites...
I hope you all are enjoying the season!!!

Friday, December 18, 2009

Happy Birthday Collier!

We had a little birthday party for Collier to celebrate her turning two! The party was a Noah's Ark theme--she loves animals and since she's two it seemed appropriate! Monkeys are her favorite and she loved her little monkey outfit.
The kids each had little animal masks to wear and they decorated arks with some animal stickers!
I didn't know if Collier understood what a birthday meant, but that morning I went to get her out of bed and sang Happy Birthday to her, and she said, "I want cukcake!" She loves "cukcakes" so we got her a big cake in the shape of a cupcake. She has a major sweet tooth, and she wasn't about to let a fork slow her down!

The Jackson clan...
Sarah Kate and Brian
Jacob and James
One of her friends gave her this little tutu that plays music when you move--she likes to twirl in it!

So excited for some baby bottles!