Christmas in a nutshell

Our Christmas was filled with many blessings.....
We missed Dad's presence, but made some new memories together, laughed a lot, and talked a lot about Dad to keep him alive for the kids. We were lucky to have such a great holiday filled with so many amazing people. Here it is....in a nutshell.

One year ago, this was Ellie ringing the bell for Salvation Army.

It's a tradition that I love, and I wanted to keep it going. So, here she is this year helping by ringing the bell. I want her to know, understand, and appreciate the true meaning of Christmas. I would have taken Reid with me, but I was pretty sure that it would be a nightmare. Maybe next year????

Uncle Doug and Aunt Holly sent some very special gifts in the mail for the kids. Reid wouldn't let me grab him for a picture....he was too busy. Ellie was proud to show off her bling here.

Ellie excited for Christmas.

Look at that face of Reid's. Who knows what Ellie was saying.....but Reid thought it was something quite funny by the looks of it.

Merry Christmas 2009!!!!!

Figuring out how this top works. I am sure he will have it taken apart and put back together before he is 5.

Reid got this top from my mom that he is seriously intrigued with.

Reid and Uncle Kevin sporting the same haircut!

Ellie and Grandma with a very special horse from Grandma.

I guess I have to admit it....that's my brother. : ) (and I'll admit anyday that this is my sister in law)

My brother and sister in law. Hilarious. We just laugh when we get together.

Yep, this is the man I married.....

The girls....my sister in law, Carol, Ellie, me, and mom.

Daddy and Ellie leaving out cookies and milk for Santa. So exciting!!!!

Sorry, this picture would not cooperate with me....just turn your head slightly to the right to read. Santa left Ellie and Reid a nice note.

Ellie playing with the play-doh machine she got from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Carol. Fun times! You should have seen the f loor after she was done. Oh, my!

Ellie and Reid enjoying some of their gifts at Grandma and Pappy's house on Christmas Day. Oh, and by the way....the finger paint stayed at Grandma's!!!! **I am sorry Pappy, Pap Pap, and Grandma Wilson....where are the pics of you????? Don't worry, I will make up for this!

Ellie and Uncle Aaron...oh, and Ellie's baby that swims. She was so excited to get this doll. This was number 1 on her list this year.

Grandma and Reid with the annual calendar gift that never seems to get old.

Uncle Aaron...and believe it or not, Reid took this photo. I kid you not! The child loves buttons and has most electronics figured out already.

Reid and my uncle Dave (my dad's brother). We really enjoyed being able to go spend time with my dad's side of the family as well as the other family gatherings we had. It was a Christmas with many good memories in it, which is what we wanted.

These are the great-grandkids on my dad's side of the family posing with Santa who made a surprise visit.

And of course, no Christmas is complete without the "funny family pose". We are blessed, no doubt. The memories of Dad and Christmas' past were all alive and with us throughout the whole month of December, and we intend to always keep it this way. We did make some new memories together, but always promising to bring back the memories of Christmas' past as well. As I put on my necklace from Brian each day, I vow to read it, recite it, and believe it.....for it states something so simple, yet so true....Yes, "I am blessed." We hope your Christmas celebrations were blessings to you as well.

Our Itsy....Bitsy.....

SPIDER!!!!!
Looking for it......Looking for it.....
I see it, do you????? Brian is holding Reid up towards our ceiling to see our little friend, "Webby."
Intrigued by this little tiny speck on the ceiling. Hey, whatever holds his attention!!!!!

Preschool Program

I was lucky enough to be able to see Ellie's Christmas program at school on Friday. I took the day off and enjoyed every minute of watching how much Ellie has grown up! She was the "Bell" in the play and did a great job. She led the group out and was the first part of the program. I am so proud of her, and felt so blessed to be able to spend the day with her.


Ellie after her play. I was so glad she wanted to wear a dress. Last year, I could not get her to wear a dress.....she seriously wore jeans to her program last year. I decided that you pick your battles, and that wasn't one that was worth fighting.....but inside it killed me! I was glad that Ellie wanted to dress up and look nice this year.

Ellie and Thatcher. They have known each other since they were babies....and now are in the same class at school. Too cute.

Ellie and my mom. She wouldn't have missed this!

Ellie and me after the show.

Ellie and her Pappy who came to see her perform.

Ellie and one of her teachers, Mrs. Harrison.

Ellie and her teacher, Mrs. Thomas.

And what's better than to top off the day at Applebee's for lunch???? We had a great day, and it was just what we needed to get us all geared up for Christmas.

Reflections

So, have I told you all before that we have the BEST sitter???? We have always been so blessed by our caregivers. Sooooo lucky. My sitter took this "photo shoot" of Reid the other day. She has these great windows that are just Reid's height, and he has a habit of sitting near one and waiting for me when he knows that I will be pulling in the drive to come get the kids. I love these pictures. Thanks Jen, for all you do. We love you!


Serious man here......very serious.
Waiting for Mommy with his dump truck near by.

Love the reflection....and the chilled out pose.

Looking for Mommy, still.

" Could it be her coming?????"

This would be the face Reid gives you when you ask him for his "Mad Face". I love it.

Sweetness with a bit of ornery mixed in!

Ornery with a little sweetness in this pic.

There's my boy. Feeling blessed all around. It's nice to have some "reflection" this time of year....and I am grateful at how far Reid has come. Love you, big guy!

"Spirit"

Mom came over for dinner tonight....and Reid wanted to show her all the important ornaments on the tree. His favorite one is "Grandpa singing". We have an ornament that has our extended family recorded singing the "Doxology" together. We always start our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners by singing this. The ornament is from last years Christmas gathering with Dad leading the singing. Reid LOVES to hear the music.....and I love to hear him say, "Grandpa singing." Helps keep Dad close in our hearts....and his spirit seems a little closer to us, too.

Reid and Grandma listening to "Grandpa singing".

Reid is holding the speical ornament in his hands and is pushing the top to make it work. We all enjoyed hearing "Grandpa singing" tonight. I am so glad we have this memory to hold on to.

"Proud"

My 4th graders are amazing.....They were all in agreement that it would be better for them to partake in service projects for our community this year for Christmas instead of having classroom gift exchanges. Awesome. We have had a really mild start to our winter....and all of that changed....today. The day that our first service project took place. Naturally.

So, we bundled everyone up, headed out with our handmade Christmas ornaments and chain links, and walked downtown from school to decorate the tree. **sidenote...we were told that we "may" want to have a ladder if we wanted to put a star on top...."may" being the key word. So, we got there (oh, just as another sidenote....it was a whopping 20 degrees out....and major winds) and saw how big the tree really was. We needed a ladder just to decorate to the top....which we didn't bring. So, to make a long story short, we borrowed one from the local bank (along with one of the male bank workers...whose wife works at school with us) and we got this thing going. The kids were so excited....it was really a lot of fun. I am really proud to see the spirit of Christmas flowing freely within my kids. It seems to make the season even brighter yet.

The proud sign hanging near the Christmas tree that was made by our kids.

Starting to decorate......look how BIG that tree is! We couldn't come close to getting the star on top!

Brrrrrrrrr!

Then, to make the day even more fun, Ellie and my mom came to school this afternoon to hear the primary grades give their Christmas concert. Ellie loves to come visit, and I was lucky enough that Mom could bring her down this afternoon. Here she is showing off her drawing she made on my whiteboard. This girl loves to draw! I hope it continues! She takes after Uncle Kevin's art ability.

A close up look. Notice Santa???? : )

What a fun day for us all. I feel lucky today.....and even a little more blessed than yesterday!

And as we drew closer to the sitter's house to pick up Reid, I looked backwards, and found Ellie like this. Poor thing! She was so out of it....she didn't even mind being uncomfortable! It was a very Merry day!!!