Christmas 2011

Another Christmas has gone and gone. I can't believe it. This is the "before" picture.

And this is the "after".  In just a matter of minutes, our living room turned into bomb zone.

But it was worth it, just look at these expressions as they rounded the corner

A barbie mini van was the most wanted gift for her

And a tricycle for him

But other gifts were also a big hit.  Specifically the Nintendo DSI

And big bucket o' dinosaurs (he's growling here)

Then over to Mimi and Papa's house to start all over again

And guy stuff

Then on Monday it was down to my cousin's house to see the other side of the family for more merriment.

Katie is due in late March with baby #2

And we finally wrapped up Christmas on Tuesday when the kids opened gifts from Gam and Pop.

I know that every year I say thank you for all of the generosity that our family receives.  These pictures don't even cover half of it.  From family we didn't get to see and friends too, thank you to everyone!
Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas

I've seen pictures like this lately all over the internet and love the way they look.  And I think to myself that since I have two children + a camera + a Christmas tree ...that I too,  can have that picture.

It wasn't easy.  It's not perfect, but it's the best I could get.  

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Christmas Came Early this year...

Ray has ended his tour in Iraq and is now home for good. We all went to greet him today are so excited to have him home - just in time for the holidays.

Wacky

Happy Tuesday

It's Christmas week and the kids are going crazy.  I've lost all control.

Not so much

Remember how I said that we were taking Danny to see Santa this weekend?  Well, it didn't work out as we  had hoped.  He pretty much screamed and hid his face the whole time.  This was the best of the 3 pictures I took before we had to get him out of there. 

Tis the Season

Tis the season for fun winter stuff. The Daisy Troop had Breakfast with Santa last weekend so Natalie got to put in her wish-list early. She was kind enough to tell Santa what her brother wanted though. After she rattled off her own list of course. Don't worry, we have plans to go see Santa this weekend so Danny will have his chance to tell Santa whether he's been naughty or nice. No comment.

Then we met up with Brian, Ashleigh and Lilly at Dutch Wonderland to ride some rides and see the Christmas Light display. It was cold, but worth it to spend time with good friends.

This year Greg really wanted to have a live tree so we went to a local Christmas tree farm with a saw and walked around until we found the perfect tree.

The kids were so interested to watch Greg cut it down.

Thankful

These are faces for which I'm thankful.

And I'm also thankful for our annual Black Friday gathering at Willow's. We use this time every year to catch up and let the kids play. This year, Willow's brother-in-law, who happens to be a fireman, stopped by with his truck. Each kid got a turn in the cab.

We couldn't resist either.

I'm also thankful for the many family and friends that we weren't able to share the day with. Happy Thanksgiving!

Unhappy Valley

A few weeks ago, Greg's boss, Mark, and his wife invited us to the Penn State vs Nebraska game. Mark is a big Penn State fan, and Greg is a big Nebraska fan so it seemed like a no-brainer. That was obviously before the news broke. We decided to go to the game anyway, along with 108,000 other people.
Both teams started the game by praying together.

The Husker fans were definitely visible among the crowd.

Despite everything that has come to light this week, we still had a good time with our friends and enjoyed watching a good football game.

Final score: Penn State 14 - Nebraska 17.

Go Big Red!

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.