Playing in the Snow Part 1

Some things don't need to be explained. Just enjoy the pictures. 

Dec 26th!

We woke to a winter wonderland the day after Christmas, which was also Adam's Birthday! It was beautiful. At 7:30 Adam and I left to go to church. (He is the praise and worship leader so we felt like we needed to try and make it.) 

 The scenery was amazing!

 The church looked so beautiful covered in white. We made it to church safely and Adam did a great job. There were exactly 31 people there that morning. It was a tiny quaint service.

 

By the time we got home the kids were awake and anxiously waiting for us so they could go out and play.  I love the look of wonder on their faces. I wish we could all look at everyday with such awe and innocence.

I am trying to catch up with the holidays... It is all coming soon. I just want to capture every thing about their first Christmas season. 

Playing in the snow, Grandpa's house, skiing, and Pierson's Birthday are all coming!

A White Christmas After All

Their first snowfall came on Christmas day! Beautiful! 

Can you tell that Pierson was in a hurry to get outside and see his first snowfall?!!!

 He was almost panicked trying to get his gloves on! So cute!

 Awe struck!

 The girls were in the bath when we discovered that it was snowing. So we bundled them up quickly and brought them to the door to see.

. 

First snow sighting! Priceless expression!

 She couldn't go out in bare feet so Daddy let her reach out to try and catch a few flakes!

 Even Uncle Ian was excited!!!

 Maylin just couldn't take it she had to go get bundled up so she could get out there and experience it too!

We all got a little wound up after realizing that it was snowing.  Daddy tried to teach the girls the happy dance!

 And like perfect little puppets they mimicked every move he made!

 Laughter all the way! If you can't "hear" the joy in this picture you need to readjust your heart. : )
Once we got all of the wiggles and giggles out of our system the kids finally made it to bed.  And the dogs...

they have never been so relieved! (These are two tired puppies!)
Christmas 2010 has come to a close. We look forward to celebrating a new year with friend and family.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Christmas Dinner Table

It was a casual Christmas Dinner but a nice quaint one.

 The adult table.

 The kid table. (light courtesy of Pierson's exploring backpack.)

 The adult table.

The kids table! 

Oh how they make me laugh (notice a few of them were still actually in their pajamas!) How wonderful is to have such a laid back family to spend Christmas Day with! 

Christmas Morning Part II

Unwrapping presents with 5 kids is nothing but...

 FUN!!!

 It is even fun letting them help you open your own presents!

 Stockings Stocking everyone!

 After the dust from the wrapping paper settled it was time to check out the "cool factor" of all the loot! Pierson and Maylin make pretty awesome little rock stars! : )

 Runaway brides!!! Kylie and Darcy took off with their veils and dresses. Before we knew it they were heading to the woods! lol

 Never fear! Pierson was there with his "exploration backpack" to hunt them down!

 Chaucer was even enjoying his Christmas present! A DURABLE squeaky ball!

Christmas Rush

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring... uh, actually their were five little creatures stirring who needed to get to bed so that Santa could come! Uncle Ian and Daddy did story time with the kids at 11:45 Christmas Eve. Yeah, it was a little late. But with our family traditions of fondue after the Christmas Eve service it is hard to get to bed any earlier! 

 Pierson was very excited about leaving milk and cookies for Santa. He even left a note for him. If you click on the picture to enlarge it you can read his note and the note Santa left for them!!! Around 5am Pierson came to our room and with WIDE eyes said, "Mom! Santa ate da cookies!"I jumped up and said "HE DID! Show me!" Fortunately Pierson wasn't ready to be fully awake so after we checked out the cookie crumbs he easily went back to sleep. I was a little worried thinking we were going to be up for the day!

With five little ones five years old and under we were up at 6:00 am waiting patiently for the Mom's and Dad's to get the camera ready... Right?

  Ummm nope! Not these sleepy heads! Fortunately we were smart enough to ask Santa to leave their presents in a box in the foyer so the last child up didn't miss any of the excitement. Who might you ask was the last one up?  That would be my little Maylin! At 10:00am we started making A LOT of noise to wake her up. (Much to her dislike). Before long she was all smiles and ready to take part in the chaos of Christmas morning. While the Mom's went to bring in the presents from Santa the Dad's kept the kids wrangled in the back bedroom. Here they all are smiling big for Jesus' birthday... 

 

Wait a second. Where's Caleb?

There he is! That silly little boy was hiding under the bed!

With all of the kids lined up waiting with anticipation we got the camera's ready to go!

5,4,3,2,1 GO!!!!

 

Hurray for Santa ! We are so glad that he gets so excited about Jesus' birthday that he brings all the boys and girls who believe in Jesus presents! (That is the best explanation we could come up with to explain why Santa didn't visit them in Taiwan. And it helps keep Jesus in Christmas! Something we to easily forget.) Merry Christmas everyone!