New Year's Eve

This year we spent New Year's Eve with my family. Jeff and I usually have a low key NY Eve, but this year we all got together because Jamie and Whitney will soon be moving to the great state of Texas and we all wanted to gather one more time before they headed out. So here are some pics from the day.

First we have Gabe and Josh ... two clowns who were most certainly mumbling things under their smiles here! :o)

Here is a fun pic of all of us cousins. Unfortunately, we are missing our Shanna though. She had to work.  I don't know when the last time we took a pic like this was. I love it! I just wish Shanna had been able to be in it!

Here is a pic of all of us!

Here is Randal and his girlfriend, Heather. The fun thing is here is that I actually know Heather from several years ago. She was one of the athletic trainers while Jeff and I were coaching at the high school!

Mom and Randal were having some mom and son time when Jenna decided to jump in.

Later, it was only Randal and Heather, the Cecils, and us left. Here they had a rousing game of Mario Cart going.

Then, we ended the evening in true Shanta fashion. Growing up, we used to always make confetti. There have been years where there was so much you coudnt' see the floor! Holly decided that we needed to continue the tradition this year. She scaled it down quite a bit as she knew Jeff would be a little OCD about the confetti pieces on the floor! ;o)

The girls with confetti in hand awaiting the count down (at 8:30 mind you!).

 3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

 Little Ray got excited and streaked through the room!

I am excited for 2012. I am counting on it being another strong spiritual growth year. I have big plans for us as a family and I just pray that with God's help I can bring us to a new place as a family. A family with much more peace and thankfulness, much less complaining and anger, and much more love and bonding!

Christmas Part I

Well, this is really Christmas #2, but I don't have pics from #1 yet so I'll start with this celebration. As usual, we celebrated with just our little (not so little anymore) family on Christmas morning. The tradition is for the girls to wake up and immediately come to our room. Jeff and I run out to the living room to get the lights on and breakfast started. And, then before the girls can come out, we read the story of Jesus' birth and say a little prayer. Then we let the kids bust out and see what delights have arrived for them. We always fill their stockings and also get each of them a "big" present in addition to some presents. These are the boys' big presents ... little mini coupes.

The girls got bikes this year. Well, Jens got Emma's bike revamped and Ems got a new one. Both girls were in love with them!

This was the "coveted" present. We gave the girls each $10 to spend on one another. Emma bought Jenna this same doll but the Cinderella version. Emma immediately asked Jenna to buy her the Bell. Of course, Jenna couldn't keep it a secret, but we did try to throw Emma off. She was super excited when she saw her Bell doll!

Micah was more interested in the vacuum cleaner. :o)

A book for me and Emma to read together and then the movie to watch!

Noah was interested in the wrapping paper.

Emma and her photog skills. Pretty good! :o)

It was so beautiful outside that we had to take the new bikes out for a ride. The boys tagged along... actually we chased them around!

In the afternoon, my family came over to celebrate. We played games and watched the kids enjoy the new toys.

Cousin Ray

Jeff had Luke this year in the gift exchange. Luke loves all things Star Wars, so when Jeff got this pullover hoodie that looked like a Jedi piece if clothing, we thought that Luke needed it fore sure ... despite the pattern. Luke's such a great sport and put it on immediately! We quickly swapped this out with one of his real presents! :o)

Holly and Ray also had a fun gift for Jeff and me. Evidently when they got here, Holly went around our house and hid several different clues. We had to do a scavenger hunt to find our gift which ultimately ended up being Mario Cart! Fun!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of any of our Christmas traditions new or old! This year we added family puzzles and Christmas morning cinnamon rolls to our list of traditions. Next year, I've got to remember to do a small birthday party for Jesus! On a side note, when we went to get the boys up, we were telling them that it was Jesus' birthday and Merry Christmas! On a euphoric moment, Emma began shouting Happy Birthday to Jesus which then switched to talking to Jeremiah. She soon realized that Jeremiah must be attending the best birthday party ever and began telling him how much she loves him and how excited she is that he gets to be with Jesus on his birthday. Despite the fact the words were quite possibly an overflow of present excitement, I was full of tears and so happy that we could make Jeremiah a small part of our Christmas morning! 

Another Christmas in the books. This one was much easier than the last. The season began a bit tough as many memories began flooding back, but it ended quite well. I am thankful for another year of family, laughter, and memories.