The Christmas Story
Last Thursday, Jack's preschool put on "The Christmas Story." It is hard to put into words what an amazing night it was...probably one of my favorites since we had our kids. It was amazing to see 4 year olds learning about the true meaning of Christmas. And it was as amazing to see my shy boy up there saying his lines & singing! I was so proud!!! It was extra special because Nana & Poppy came down & completely surprised Jackson!!! They mean to so much to him & it just made the night. Thank you for coming Nana & Poppy!!

Jack took this picture of Nana!

Jack's first role was the Drummer Boy...here he is walking out onto stage...

Here he is about to start drumming.........

And the actual drumming! This cute little girl sang "The Little Drummer Boy." She was so cute!

Then Jack walked up the aisle & did his Architect line..he was carrying blueprints! His line was, "I'm an architect as you can see...making plans to follow Jesus....do you want to join me?" So cute :)

At the end the entire preschool sang "Our God is an Awesome God." They had hand movements & all :) You can see Jack in the back right with the yellow hat on.

Mommy, Daddy, and Jack after the show!

Poppy & Jack after the show...

Daddy was so proud!!

Jack & his friend Travis...he was an Angel...
Jack & Mrs. Dalton!

Sweet Kittens
Our kittens love the Christmas tree! We find them there most of the day :) These were taken on 3 different days.....they just love it! How sweet are they!??!

Christmas Lights!!!
When I got home from Texas last night, the boys had put up all the outside decorations & lights! They added a few new things as a surprise too! It looks so fun :)
Here is the house with the flash off...It's pretty cute the way Kaleb set it all up. There is the lighted path, leading to the train, which takes you to Santa :) Very cute Daddy!

The house with a flash....

The boys added these snowflakes to the house!

Colby went to each light bulb & was telling us which color it was....He doesn't have it all down yet, but he's wanting to learn!

Cookies with Nana
When Nana & Poppy were here last week, the boys made cookies with Nana. They made the dough, frosting, and then decorated cookies! They had a lot of fun!

Enjoying their cookies!!

Christmas Photo Frames
Every year the boys & I make photo frames to give out to family & friends..It's become a bit of a tradition for us! This year we made Santas, and it was BY FAR the easiest one we've done! They usually come with a million pieces. Here is Jack Jack making his Santas...he was really good at it this year!
Jack's finished products!

Colby was mostly into popping the stars out for me, but then he made one of his own (this is the one I'll be keeping for myself this year!)....

...the one-eyed Santa :)

Christmas Tree
We got our tree yesterday & decorated it all up! We got a fake tree this year :( I am sad about it, but it makes a lot of sense, is much easier to take care of, and is actually very pretty!
Love those boys!!!

Jack Jack decorating....

Colby Colb decorating....

Colby got an Elmo ornament this year!

Jackson got a Earnhardt Jr one this year!

For every ornament Jack would put on the tree, Colby would take one off & play with it!

The boys decorating...

I put up our last ornament...The siamese kitty cat, in honor of Prinney! I still miss him so much.

The tree all decorated!!

Our snowflake that holds all our Christmas cards we get in the mail. Also, the kids footprints turned into art...Jackson's foot is Santa & Colby's is Jesus in the manger...

We love Santa sign I made...

The mantle..

The stockings....including Jude & Abbey :)

A frame from every Christmas since we were married :)

Daddy's Christmas village....

I don't know what to say about this picture, except those blue eyes melt my heart!

Happy Turkey Day!!
Happy Thanksgiving! I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is here & the Christmas season begins tomorrow! 2008 must have been one of the fastest years ever. This year we stayed home by ourselves...We would have rather been with family, but it just didn't work out this year. So we had a relaxing day at home, with some rain in the morning, parade watching, and reading (ok, Mommy did the reading!). It was a blessed day with our little family. We are so thankful for our family & friends, our jobs, and all that God has provided for us. Jackson told us he was thankful for: "that God gave me down to you, for Jesus, and for Sprite & Milk" :)
The two cutest little boys I know :)

Daddy multi-tasking by fixing the computer & talking to Nana & Poppy! I couldn't get the boys talking to them...they were running around like crazy :)

Here I am getting the ham ready to put in the oven....

....and the boys yelling "YUCKY!!!!!!"

Mama & her handsome sons!

Mama & Abbey.....

The boys love the new big space...they run around & roll all over the place!

At dinner, Colby unfolded his turkey napkin & put a piece of ham in each of the circles on the napkin. I love it :) Good spatial reasoning!

And the room is finally done--woo hoo! We had it finished up this last weekend by hiring a contractor to texture & paint it, and then the carpet guys came yesterday & finished it up! We have enjoyed our day in our new & much needed room! Here is the view as you are walking into the room. We had a strip of wood put down & then the carpet....

Here is the view of the room from the door....You can see we don't have a place for everything yet....but we're getting there!

The view of the room from the washer & dryer. It is truly a big space, being 500 square feet. Definitely the biggest room in the house :)