2008 Christmas

We had such a great Christmas. The actual day was a blast, but so were all the activities leading up to it.
On Dec. 14th, we celebrated Christmas with John's family. Since we were going to Little Rock for the actual day and John's parents were in town, we got the Nelson/Hannon crew together. Everyone came to our house for a non-traditional dinner of lasagna, salad, bread, apple pie, and many, many cookies. We exchanged gifts with one another and everyone got cool stuff. Uncle Sam surprised the girls with sleds and Emma has asked almost everyday when it is going to snow. The girls got Barbie stuff, super cute personalized plates that are worth a separate blog, pj's, etc.....John's parents are taking us and the Hannon's to Cozymel in May for their retirement celebration. We have know about that, but they did wrap up masks and snorkels for all of us. (including Brooklyn!)

On the 23rd, we packed the whole family (including Belle) up and headed to Little Rock. We were able to go hang out with Kate and Travis later that night after the kiddos went to bed. We hung out talking and having drinks for a few hours. We miss them!

Christmas Eve was very low key. John and I took the girls to Walmart to pick out a cake for Jesus' birthday. I would have liked to make it with the girls', but there was to much cooking going on that day. We thought they would enjoy picking it out. They picked out a cookie cake with pink icing. We also picked up a new puzzle while we were there. Emma is addicted to puzzles right now, so this was an inexpensive activity for the afternoon.
At 5:00, we went to Immanuel's Christmas Eve service. Emma loved that she got to go into "big church" with us. It was a sweet service and special time to worship as a family. We then headed over to my sister's house for dinner. It was so very yummy! We exchanged gifts with Sarah and Jason (my sister's husbands kids) since they go back to their Mom's house for Christmas morning. We headed back to my parent's house to get ready for bed. The girls got Santa's treats ready and then PaPa read Luke 2 and Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Emma did not wake up until a little before 8 which was perfect because Zia (Cathy), T, and Claire were coming over at 8. We woke Brooklyn up and headed downstairs to see everything.
Santa brought the girls the walking Sleeping Beauty horse with the Sleeping Beauty Barbie to share and then got Brooklyn some really cool dot paints and Emma some new markers. Their stockings were full of all kinds of fun things. Probably the biggest hit of all of Christmas were the Tinkerbell flash lights that have different pictures to put on the wall.
Everyone did their stockings and exchanged gifts. The girls got a dollhouse from us as their big gift. My parents supplied many rooms of furniture for the house. They also both got scooters from GG and PaPa. Zia and T got Emma a GiGi Sweet Dreams Devotional and Brooklyn a super cute sleeping bag. The girls had a great time!
We finished opening gifts and then had our traditional breakfast of sausage/egg/and cheese casserole, glazed bacon and monkey bread.
It was a beautiful day, so we all went outside after breakfast to let the girls ride on their scooters. We layed everyone down for naps (except Emma who got to have undivided GG and Papa time) and John, Zia, T and I headed to the movies to see Marley and Me. I LOVED the book and have been waiting for the movie. It was really cute and I do recommend it, but I still say the book is better.

Some of our extended family came over later that afternoon to visit for a bit and then we all headed to Hunan for dinner. We wanted to get out and no other place was open, so Chinese it was. We saw the Tokar's there again and the girls got to say their goodbyes.

We hung out on the 26th for a bit and then headed back home for the weekend. It was a Christmas full of many memories. Emma and Brooklyn were so much fun to be around and really very grateful for the toys they received. Claire was precious and sat there and took it all in. Next year will be full of fun with a 2, 3 and 6 year old running around.

Here is a little recap of our holiday! YOu can click on the collage to see it bigger.

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread Party

For the past 7 years (I think), the Elleman's have hosted a Gingerbread Party. We all bring our goodies to make gingerbread houses or any kind of edible creation. You can bake your base before, but everything must be assembled at the party. Allyn and Aaron always make a yummy meal and the best part is the attire for the
evening: pj's! The same 7-8 couples come each year and the majority of them are couples that we only see a few times a year. It is our favorite party of the season and something we look forward to each year. At the end of the night, we all cast our votes for our favorites and fun prizes are given.

We have never won, although we always think we will! :) This year, our creation was inspired by Brooklyn's love for Snoopy. We decided to make Snoopy on top of his dog house at Christmas. It really did turn out cute, but before the voting began it all collapsed. Sad! BUT, Brooke and John were fast to take pictures before the collapse.

We sat with Brooke and Finley this year. They made an incredible ski lift that should have placed. I voted for them!








First prize went to Cory and Amanda Rogers. It was a very intricate log (pretzel rods) cabin. Cory is a builder, so we all think it is a little unfair that he is a part of the competition.









Second prize went to the Thompson's. They made a sailboat and it was my favorite. The funny thing about theirs is that the mast is made out of edible panties. Apparently, fruit roll ups were heavier than what they wanted. :)







Third prize went to Jim and Catherine (Aaron's parents). They made a Mouse House and it was very detailed and creative.

Christmas Crafts

We made these cute foam magnets last week. I did most of the cutting, but Emma assembled everything. She is the one that decided what to make too. I had seen the idea in the fall for fall magnets, but we never got around to it.







You guys have probably seen this reindeer idea before, but we have never made one. I just love them! I love that we will have something 20 years from now to see the size of their little feet and hands.

I know the question on the top of everyone's head is whether or not our children actually own clothing and get their hair brushed? If we are home for the day, I don't even bother dressing them. If I did, it would end up on the floor because all they do is dress up. The "at home" days are the days we end up doing crafts and taking pictures!