Merry Christmas to all!

'Twas the night before Christmas

Caroline checking to see how Santa gets in...

Santa came!!!!
...while the children were nestled all snug in their beds, with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads...

Here's Evan...signing off for the night

Unfortunately, most of today was just a lot of housework...shopping for the food I'm making for Christmas Eve and Day, kitchen cleanup, and conquering a pile of laundry the likes of which I haven't seen in this house yet. (This is what happens when you have various Christmas festivities to attend, 4 kids home from school, weather that is not very conducive to outside play, and therefore a need to keep said kids busy with projects and inside fun. Laundry just doesn't seem to get done.) I almost took a picture of the towering pile to document its awesomeness, and would have shared it with you, had Evan not been as cute as he was when he was going to bed tonight...You'll have to thank him for sparing you. Just click on the arrow to play the clip.

A Christmas Duet and a Dual Meaning

We went to my brother-in-law's (Jim) family Christmas party last night. Fun time had by all...Caroline especially enjoyed hanging out with Grandma Orton last night. She was definitely her Grandma's shadow. Here they are snuggling and singing a Christmas tune for you...

We drove there in a car that we just bought from Dave's brother and sister-in-law (Mark and Nacibe, thanks, you two!), and the kids were all excited about our "new to us" car. They were excited about funny little things like, "Oh, look...my seat has a light by it...look, it has a hook so I can hang my toys...and I can sit next to Evan without him grabbing my books (bucket seats)!"

Henry, in particular, noticed that we now have a compass and thermometer in our car. While we were driving, he said, "Mom and Dad, its -4 degrees outside!" It was a terribly cold night, with windchills, I believe, in the -30s. Ugh! Henry then asked this question, "There's a 'NW' right by the temperature. What does that mean, Nasty Weather?" Yup, that AND North West, Henry, hee-hee!

Our kids do love each other...sometimes...

With their occasional (ok, maybe more than occasional) squabbles, quarrels and sometimes even tackles (Evan!), its reassuring to watch the kids love on each other. They can be very sweet. Perfect timing, kids; Santa loves this stuff!

Think Seth could concentrate on his game?

Henry and Caroline informed me that they were going into the homemade pot holder business. Apparently, when weaving you should wear protective eye gear. (Henry had just finished a "Grow Your Own Crystal Kit" which required the goggles.)

Watching Tom and Jerry together, snuggled on the couch

Matching Cousins

Today we had Christmas with Dave's side of the family, and it was a wonderful time. One of the gifts that Grandma Nosek gave to the kids was sweaters that she hand-knitted. They turned out beautifully, and I think the cousins were pretty happy that they were matching! Caroline was so impressed with this whole idea that she wanted to sleep in her sweater tonight. Dave convinced her to put on her pajamas, but she only agreed after Dave let her lay the sweater out on the end of the bed...so she could look at it if she woke up at night!

Breakfast with Santa

I'm doing a lot of reflecting this year...its fun to see how the kids have grown and changed over the past 12 months. Last year when we took the kids to visit Santa, we just had the older kids visit first, and then it was Evan's turn. He was not as happy about meeting up with Santa as the older kids were. (He seems to be thinking, "If I don't look at him, maybe he'll go away..." But I do believe he lasted more than a quarter of a second, which is all he lasted this year. :)

Gingerbread Houses!

Last year we made graham cracker gingerbread houses at the library. It was such a good time! This year, however, we missed the sign up.:( My friend Shannon and I were going to get the kids together to make gingerbread houses, but then I got sick. We are not going to let these roadblocks get in our way of good Christmas fun. Hopefully we'll unveil the gingerbread house we are making soon, but until then, here's some cute pics from last year...