Christmas Memories

I love the little things we do around the holidays at home. It is so fun to be home doing things together as a family. Here are a few of our special times from Christmas...

Decorating the tree!

After decorating the tree, Andrew decided to build one of his train tracks underneath it. He and Forrest then used Lincoln Logs to create a little village of houses inside the train track. It was really cute! It only stayed like that a short while because a certain little 5 year old was ready to have wrapped gifts under the tree!

We made a lot of cinnamon applesauce ornaments this year! They are so easy to make with the little ones, and they smell wonderful. The children loved picking out ornaments to give to special people, and we, of course, enjoyed having a few of our own to decorate our little tree in the kitchen!

one batch of ornaments drying on the cookie sheet

Ann Evelyn working on the advent paper chain that we made for the month of December. I remember counting down to Christmas with a paper chain when I was little and loving it. So this was neat because as each ring came off, we read the Bible verse attached about the Christmas story and then Jesus being our Savior.

Christmas cookie time.... working on the dough...

adding icing and sprinkles....

the finished products! Yum!

We have all had more than our share of hot chocolate! :) The kiddos have become big fans!

Andrew - working on his Christmas list

May-May and Bubby invited us over for a Christmas movie night... very fun!

Wilson's aunts sent these cute matching frosty pjs to the kids. They were perfect because we watched the classic "Frosty the Snowman" cartoon many, many times over the holidays!

Oh, what fun!

These little ones are so much fun! I took these pictures one afternoon at lunch and thought they were too fun! What a blessing to have these sweet ones in our lives, especially with the joy they bring to the Christmas season!

Our December Trip to the Mountains

The Polar Express 2011!

We once again had so much fun riding on the Polar Express to see Santa at the North Pole! This was our 3rd year to ride, so it has become a Christmas tradition in our house. This year our old neighbors and sweet friends, the Hatfields, joined us on our ride. We have missed them since they moved to Birmingham this summer, so the kids had so much fun together (& the adults did, too)! Here is a glimpse into our night...

Happy faces on the kiddos as they wait on the station bench to board the train.

Boarded, tickets punched, and ready to go!

Kisses for Sissy as we ride to the North Pole!

Fun with Daddy!

The train slows down and the kids look out the window to see this....

The North Pole! Santa and Mrs. Claus were waving to the train as we pulled up.

Check out these smiles! Do you think they are a little excited?!

Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Ann Evelyn loves the idea of Santa but is still not so sure about being close to him. :)

Daddy needed to sit with Ann Evelyn for the picture, but the boys were very excited to see Santa, especially Andrew!

Then, it was time for cookies and milk... yummy...

What a fun night! We had an exciting trip to the North Pole to see Santa and a wonderful time with our friends!

Thanksgiving

I am a little behind :) but I did want to post about Thanksgiving before we move into Christmas posts and photos.

Andrew chose to be a pilgrim for his Thanksgiving Feast at school. He was so excited climbing in the car one afternoon before Thanksgiving telling me he had chosen to be a Pilgrim at his feast. (3 boys out of 8 chose to be a Pilgrim.) They made hats and vests to wear - and those who were Indians had made headbands and vests. It was so funny though to see how when it was time to put on their Pilgrim and Indian attire at the party, the three little "Pilgrims" wouldn't do it! I guess they saw their little friends dressed in their Indian attire and had second thoughts about being a Pilgrim. :) So Andrew isn't wearing his costume, but he still had a great time. The teachers provide the feast, and the kids enjoyed popcorn, raisins, apples, cranberry sauce, crackers and pumpkin pie!

Forrest's class at their feast.

All the 3 years old are Indians, and it is so cute to hear what Indian name they have chosen. Forrest was "Running Deer".

On Thanksgiving Day, we headed to Meridian early in the afternoon. The kids had a great time playing outside! Cousin Owen was there early, too, and they all had a fun time together. Unfortunately, I had put my camera up by the time all of the other cousins arrived. When Ann Evelyn saw 2 of her little girl cousins get out of their car, she said "Hey, I am a girl, too!" So funny! I guess she was ready to see some girls after playing with Andrew, Forrest and Owen all afternoon.

Driving the Gator is always a hit!

Daddy and Sissy taking a ride on the mule! This is another favorite thing to do at Ganny and Papaw's!

Taking a snack break :)

I like this one of Andrew, Owen and Forrest sitting on the swing and watching the horses. I am pretty sure they had been chasing the rooster right before they sat on the swing!

A fun Thanksgiving day with family!

"Thanksgiving Day is a happy day when we say, "Thank you, God!"

(a sweet song my boys sing at preschool)

My hunters!

Well, I thankfully don't have to say that I have hunters in the house quite yet. :) Just one hunter for now! Wilson had the opportunity to go hunting with a buddy today. He came home from work a little early to get his camo on and get his supplies together. We had been in the backyard playing and came in to find Wilson dressed in his camo. Ann Evelyn was so funny - almost tickled - to see Daddy "dressed up". She came in and said, "Daddy, look at you!" with a big smile on her face. The boys disappeared for a while and came back dressed like Daddy... in their camo!

I guess I better get used to the idea that these little boys are going to want to go hunting with their Daddy one day soon. I think I'll start praying for safety now! :)