2008 Christmas

I hope everyone had a Great Christmas!!! We definately did here!!! I have put quite a few pictures on here...I hope that they tell the story!!!!

The excitement that my kids showed on Christmas morning was so contagious!!! We couldn't have wiped that smile off their faces if we had tried!!!! It is always so magical!!!!
Adam was helping Avery open his present from Santa!!! The kids got entirely to much, as always!! I do have to say that we did much better this year (didn't get them quite as much as last year that is). It is so easy to get carried away!!! I really have to work hard to not buy them everything I see that I know they will love. The truth is they would love anything!!!
One of the MANY new "Cars" figures Avery got!!! He is lovin' them!! He can't just play with one or two, though, he has to drag them ALL out!!!! And he can tell you the names of all of them. It is TOO cute!!! Adam and I got a Digital Camcorder for Christmas so we are going to record him naming them all. I'll put it on here when we get it done!!!

Lily fixed her hair herself on Christmas morning!!!!!!!! She was so proud of herself, and I was pretty proud also!!! She is learning. I wonder how much longer I will be able to fix her hair for her!!!!

When the local book store went out of business, Lily found this HUGE, REALLY NICE train set. Adam and I were contemplating a train set for Avery for Christmas anyway, so we got this set that was originally $100 for $40. Since Lily is the one who found it and showed it to us, this was Avery's present from her. We got it back in August and she has remembered it since, so when it was time for Avery to open it, she was right there to watch his reaction and help him with it!!!! It was so cute!!!

Avery did pretty good at opening his presents this year. Once we got them started for him, he would rip the paper off!!! Of course, he had Lily to help, also!!!

Lily LOVES snowglobes. We really discovered it by accident. Adam got her a couple of miniture ones for Easter last year, and she LOVES them. So after some talking, we decided to start getting her a big, nice snowglobe for Christmas every year. We thought it would be a good collection to start for her!!!! We got her a princess one this year, and to say she loves it would be an understatement!!! You can tell by the picture how much she loves it, and is taking care of it!!!!

We took about 50 pics, so I can't post them all. Needless to say we had a GREAT Christmas, and I am so SO glad to have my house back to normal!!!!

CHRISTMAS AT MY MOM AND DADS

My parents are as bad, if not worse than us about getting the kids WAY to much for Christmas!!!! Their dog's name is Sarah!!! Lily named her. Shorty (our dog from when I was a teenager and still at home) had to be put down back in the summer. Sarah is their new dog. They got her in October, and she is SOOO much a puppy. Quite a change for my mom and dad who were used to Shorty who was quite old and would just lay around and snuggle. I LOVE Sarah, and I have to say that when the day comes that we have to put our dogs down, we will definately get one like her!!!!

Lily helps my dad play Santa. Now that she is starting to read, she can do it almost completely by herself. She just has to be slowed down a little!!! She loves helping him, and has done it since she was big enough to walk!!! SOOOO cute!!!

CHRISTMAS AT THE GOODS

We always have Christmas with Adam's mothers parents. They are so full of life, and wonderful to be around!!! They made this Gingerbread house for the kids. They did such a FANTASTIC job. We tried making one last year with Robb and Cindy (Adam's brother and his wife), and to say that we weren't all that successful would be an understatement!!! So it is even more impressive to me now, just how good of a job they do on these things!!!!

Robb and Cindy's kids Zane, and Kendra with Lily and Avery!!! Kendra is 5 months older than Lily so they are close. Almost like sisters. They can play and be best friends one second, and be fighting like sisters the next. I am so glad that they are so close in age, though. I hope that they will always be a good influence on each other, and be there to keep each other in line!!!!

CHRISTMAS AT ADAMS PARENTS

Of all the stuff that Avery got from Adam's parents (Ken and Ginny) he spent the entire night playing with a box of "Cars" Mac and Cheese. He doesn't even like Mac and Cheese, but he is just in LOVE with this "Cars" stuff.

Lily got this wardrobe!!! Adam's dad (Ken) built it for her. It is SOOO wonderful. It is built with one hanger pole on the left side and two on the right side. She can put her dress up dresses on the left side. And all her doll clothes on the right side. Then there is a drawer on the bottom to hold all her "accessories". This is SUCH an awesome piece!!!!! She can use it forever. I think I was more excited about this than anyone else. Just call me sentimental. I just think about how awesome of a story it will be for her to tell her grandchildren!!!!

Well, I hope this wasn't too long for everyone to read. I had a lot of stuff to catch up on!!! We will be back to the daily grind on Monday. I have enjoyed having Lily home for the last two weeks, but I have to say that I will be glad to get back on a schedule. It is probably going to be a rough week, trying to get the kids used to getting up early and going to bed early again!!! Here's praying for an easy transition!!!!

We love you all!!!!