Christmas 2012

It seemed like a long Christmas season this year, but it was all very fun and we are so blessed. 

It started out with Tate's Christmas program at school.  He was so excited for it and he had a speaking part that he had been practicing all week.  He was so proud to be up there and smiled so huge when he spotted us in the audience. 

He is on the very right in the black shirt

We went to the huge light show "Lights of the South" and had a hay ride to see all the lights and we roasted smores and had hot chocolate.  Then the kids (except Troy) sat on Santa's lap and gave him their lists of what they wanted.  Troy was scared to death and wouldn't let go of me, so needless to say, he did not sit on Santa's lap.  Then I mentioned to Santa that he would have to stop by our house early since we will be traveling.  He said no problem!

So on the Friday night before Christmas, we set out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.....

And the next morning the kids were so excited to see what Santa had left them!  The big present was new bikes for Tate and Adria!

Look how Troy is not even paying attention to his gifts.  He got the hang of it by the end though!

Tate's favorite gift!

That afternoon we left the house a disaster and headed up to Iowa!  We drove through the night again.  The kids do sooooooo well on these trips.  Tate even said he thinks it is fun to sleep in the car all night.  I do not think it is fun.  Not.fun.at.all.

We got up to Parkersburg on Sunday morning early and Joe took a long nap and we settled in.  The kids were so excited to be at Grandma and Papa's house.    We celebrated Christmas with my side of the family on Christmas night.

Troy thought it was soooo funny to hurry and sit in Papa's chair whenever he got up!

 

Granny and Troy

We celebrated with Joe's side of the family on Christmas morning and spent some time at their house during the week.  The kids love being at Nana and Papa's house.  They have cousins that are around their age and they just go off and do their own thing.

I love that the girls are so close in age that they get some of the same presents!

Papa and Troy are best buds!

Troy loves Nana and Papa's dog, Finley!

Christmas Eve and the following Sunday, we went to our old church in Cedar Falls.  We saw so many friends and got to catch up.  It was fun, but also made me sad because I love it there so much.

Our Christmas Eve family picture

The kids got to go sledding a couple of times and played out in the snow for a few hours.  They loved it!  I am not sure Adria even remembers snow and Troy has never even seen it!  He enjoyed sledding too!

On New Year's Eve, we packed up and headed to Dubuque to ring in the New Year with our good friends.  I love how well the kids get along and they all played so well.  We had a great meal and played cards and talked and laughed.  Then the next day we pulled out to head back to Georgia.  We got back here around 3:00 in the morning and all went to bed.  I am exhausted!

It was such and good Christmas and we were all very blessed.  It was so good to see all of our families and spend time together.  It is such a special season in our lives right now because the kids are at a perfect age to see the magic of Christmas and understand what the true meaning is.  It is so fun to watch them and see it through their eyes.