Ringing in the New Year

We knew that Eli would want to be in bed at his normal time of 8pm but we told Carter that he could stay up until midnight tonight and ring in the New Year with us......

.....yep, he made it to exactly 9pm on the dot!

Say Cheese!

Carter loves his new digital camera that Santa brought. He has been shooting pictures all day..including a family shoot he did of Brian, Eli, McGraw and myself this evening. Wonder where he gets his love of picture taking??

Home Sweet Gingerbread Home

Last night Uncle Jeven, Aunt Julie, Mimi, Carter, Elijah and myself created what can only be described as an award winning Gingerbread house. We had so much fun I am sure this will become a holiday tradition. The boys enjoyed sampling the candy and sugar that was readily available. Our little home boasted two entryways one complete with a garland of greens and lights, many windows all decorated with lights, a festive wreath and shrubs all decorated. Julie must be complimented for her fabulous piping on the roof all complete with lights done by Jeven and myself. The result is too pretty to eat. Enjoy!

Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas at home. All I can say is that we must have the best behaved boys on the planet because Santa was beyond good to them. Carter was up very early and patiently waited for his brother to wake up to open gifts. Even McGraw found treats from Santa.

Thank you to all of our family for coming to our home to celebrate the holiday and thank you for all the wonderful things that were gifted to us. We are very lucky to have such wonderful family around us. Love to you all and Happy New Year.

Christmas Eve

We had a very quiet, low key Christmas Eve this year. Instead of doing our normal Christmas Eve visiting we stayed in since our little Carter was sick. We were all in our jammies and cozy by 2:30 in the afternoon and were anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival. Carter and I scattered the reindeer food that we made at school and Carter got the cookies ready for Santa all by himself. With the last of our Christmas preparations finished we were all tucked in by 10:00pm.

School Christmas Party

Today we celebrated Jesus' Birthday and the Christmas season at school. The whole day was about fun and we had a great time singing Christmas carols, eating birthday cake and other delicious treats, making reindeer food and collecting a special gift from Mrs. McAtee and Miss Marie.

The Party!

So many tasty treats to enjoy....yummy.

Carter and his daddy work on mixing some reindeer food for Rudolph and friends to enjoy on Christmas eve.

Carter and his mates gather around to sing Christmas carols which included Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Carter's personal favorite, Jingle Bells.

Mrs. McAtee and Carter share a Christmas hug before the end of the party.

The Crafts!

The finished reindeer food all packaged with instructions included.

Carter's hand crafted candy cane complete with the history of this minty treat. Nice scissor work , Carter!

Our little Angel. This was one of our gifts from Carter.

Carter's Christmas card to us.

The inside picture was colored by Carter and is some of his best work yet.

This was the other gift Carter made us....a wreath of his hand prints. The red berries were hand dotted by his fingertips!

It was a fantastic party that was enjoyed by all alike. What a perfect way to start off the week's festivities!

Christmas Party

Our neighbors hosted a Christmas party last night and a great time was had by all. Food, friends and fun all with a special guest.

Behold the power of Santa! The kids loved him.
Carter collects his gift that was in Santa's bag...a new Transformer.

Refusing to leave Santa's lap. Carter talked his ear off.

Elijah did much better with this Santa. He was still a little afraid but knew he had to get close to get his present.

The kids pose with Santa. Notice where Carter has positioned himself.

Thank you for a fun evening, Torrisi Family!!

Snow! Snow! Snow!

The boys have been enjoying the round of snowy weather that has come our way. Although they were hoping for a little more of an accumulation Friday's storm was just enough to get out and shovel, sled and play. Eli was much more receptive to this past snow and moved around and played more. A good time was had by all.

School Update:The Christmas Crafts

Last week Carter finished his last full week of school before Christmas vacation. Carter and his class spent their days finishing up their ornaments and Christmas crafts. The religion theme was The Angels tell the Shepherds, the topic was Christmas Fun, the shape remained the star and the colors were silver and gold. Below are some of the lovely things we decorated our house with.....

A stocking for Jesus.
Christmas bells....the one in the front adorned with multi colored beads is from this year.

Candy cane....Carter's favorite treat of the season.

The gold glitter star is from this year....last year's is behind. Notice the pattern of grouping the ornaments together.Green glitter pine cone.

This Tuesday will mark the final class day before Winter break. The class is having a birthday party for Jesus and all family invited to attend. Check back for an update and pictures.