Merry Christmas!!
(Warning....TONS of pictures!!!)
We had a great Christmas this year (as we do every year)!! We started the festivities with the annual Christmas party at Ms. Toni's house (a friend of Shannon). Santa always comes to visit, and he always brings a special gift.
This year he brought Landon a Skylanders book. He's been wanting this for a very long time!!!
We attempted to get a picture with Santa and both kiddos. This was the best we could do!
On Christmas Eve we went to my Aunt and Uncle Woody's house like we have for the past several years. It works out well to do Christmas Eve with my family, who live pretty close, so we can be at our home on Christmas morning and just enjoy our time together as a family. It helps keep it simple.
Gaga and Grandaddy heated up the swimming pool this year! The pool was 93* and the hot tub was 105*. Landon (and the other cousins) enjoyed the water....the adults enjoyed the warm fire poolside. Here is Gaga all wrapped up snuggled up next to her fire watching her grandsons and Landon swim on Christmas Eve.
Landon enjoyed swimming in December!!
While Bubba swam, Reagan was passed around. She did pretty good. I noticed by this point she's lost her bow!!
Here she is with my Uncle (aka Grandaddy Woody).
My drool monster!!! I love this sweet girl. She is an amazing gift!
Gaga's "birthday" present (her birthday is in May) was that her swing was finally finished. This bench swing has been around for over 50 years. I remember it sitting on my Granny's front porch when I was a little girl. I'd start swinging so fast that it would start to "knock" and someone would yell from inside the house for me to slow down!! Well, her sons had it refinished for her. It used to be white, now it is Gaga Purple!!!
After he was finished swimming, Landon warmed up next to the fire!
While at Gaga and Grandaddy's we had a nice steak dinner and opened presents. I didn't get any pictures this year. I just enjoyed the time. Plus, I had a 6 month old on my hip most of the evening! We had a great time spending time with family.
Landon woke up at about 7:45 on Christmas morning. Which was pretty early considering we got home about 11:00 the night before. He immediately started opening presents. I had to encourage him to wait until we could get Sister up. He waited patiently.
Santa brought Landon a new, bigger bike.
Reagan learned pretty quickly how to get things out of her stocking!!
Landon didn't need any help getting things out of his stocking.
"Oh look, a tag!" Sister enjoyed all the tags on her gifts!!
Landon's loot!
Reagan's loot!
Reagan wasn't shy about ripping off that paper!!
She got some new pacifiers. She learned to put her old solid rubber ones completely in her mouth. I was so afraid she was going to choke, so Santa filled her stocking with new pacis to keep her safe!!
Landon was ripping through his packages. Although he got quite a few gifts (more than I realized), he is so sweet and so appreciative of each one. He really is an amazing kiddo.
Daddy got some new iPhone 5 accessories.
I got some new kitchen gadgets from Williams-Sonoma, but didn't get a picture of me unwrapping gifts.
After the presents were opened, we read the Christmas Story from Luke chapter 2. We talked about the real meaning of Christmas and how all the presents are neat, but the best present we could ever receive came in the form of a humble baby who would save us from our sins. If that was all we ever received, it would be enough.
My Aunt bought me my new camera. I'd asked for money this year so I could stockpile it and get a new camera. My old camera has been through a lot, and has some minor issues. Nothing that made it completely unusable, but enough to really bum me out and make shooting less fun. I've stopped taking pictures for others and focused on taking pictures just for me; to get back to what I really love about photography. I've wanted to also get into some video editing as well. Anyways, I've had my eye on a new camera...similar to what I had, but a step up and one that included HD video. To my surprise my aunt bought me my new camera. I charged the battery Christmas morning and as we were getting ready to leave to go to Christmas lunch with my bother's side of the family, I snapped this picture of Landon. My first picture with my new camera.
Around noon on Christmas day we headed over to my niece's house and had lunch with my brother and his family. It was a full-house for sure! There were 24 people there. We had a great time. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long. It started to snow and we had about a 1 hour drive home (which ended up taking about an hour and a half). The roads were getting bad, and fast. So after the dirty Santa exchange (of which I ended up with a Vera Bradly bag!! WHOOP) we headed home in the heavy snow and 30 mile an hour winds. Driving in the snow and ice is probably one of my LEAST favorite things. I love a good snow, but I prefer it from the comfort of my home (or the home of a loved one, as long as I'm invited to stay!). I hate driving/riding in a car in bad weather. I know, one bad wreck on Christmas morning about 10 years ago and I'm a big baby. Shannon did a great job getting us home safely despite the idiots on the road. We got home without incident until we got to our driveway. Because of the ice in the alley Shannon slid a little bit and missed the driveway. The right-side tires were in the "grass" and just couldn't get any traction. We were stuck in the rut for some time!! After a few attempts Shannon bravely maneuvered the Expedition into the garage without knocking down the fence behind us, or hitting his car parked in the driveway. Then he had to clean up the muddy mess we made in the alley!
I took the opportunity to go out front and take a few pictures of our house in the snow with the Christmas lights on. I love this picture of our sweet home. Knowing that this will probably be the last Christmas we spend in this home, it was sweet that it was a picture-perfect day.
I also took the opportunity to attempt some "creative" shots with the lights in the snow. I hadn't taken the time to "get to know" my camera very well, so I wish I'd done a better job here, but I still enjoyed the time to explore.
The next morning we were supposed to head out and go to Arkansas for the rest of the week and weekend. But because of the bad weather, not only here, but on the roads in Arkansas, we decided it was a better choice to stay home. So we have a few unplanned-at-home days. I couldn't be happier! Shannon is off work, Landon is out of school, and we have no plans until New Year's Eve. I can't wait to spend time with my family....being a family!!!
Since we didn't really get to play in the snow on Christmas day, Landon and I went out this morning while Sister took her nap. Shannon was on hold with American Airlines trying to cancel Reagan and I's ticket to Little Rock. (Which he did! Having status on AA is nice!!)
Here are a few shots of Landon in the snow. I only took a few and then enjoyed the time with my son!!
I have a few pictures of Landon taken several years ago in the snow. They are some of my all-time favorite pictures of him. I'm going to locate them and do a side-by-side comparison. He's grown into such a young man!! I love him!!!
Our snowman!! He's not real tall. Despite having about 3-4 inches of snow we couldn't get a big snowman built. It was a really dry snow and just wouldn't stick. I managed to get enough of it together to get about a 2 foot snowman. He says, "Peace to You this Christmas!"
Shannon apparently snapped this picture of Landon at some point this morning. I found it when I uploaded them. I love it.
This year he brought Landon a Skylanders book. He's been wanting this for a very long time!!!
We attempted to get a picture with Santa and both kiddos. This was the best we could do!
On Christmas Eve we went to my Aunt and Uncle Woody's house like we have for the past several years. It works out well to do Christmas Eve with my family, who live pretty close, so we can be at our home on Christmas morning and just enjoy our time together as a family. It helps keep it simple.
Gaga and Grandaddy heated up the swimming pool this year! The pool was 93* and the hot tub was 105*. Landon (and the other cousins) enjoyed the water....the adults enjoyed the warm fire poolside. Here is Gaga all wrapped up snuggled up next to her fire watching her grandsons and Landon swim on Christmas Eve.
Landon enjoyed swimming in December!!
While Bubba swam, Reagan was passed around. She did pretty good. I noticed by this point she's lost her bow!!
Here she is with my Uncle (aka Grandaddy Woody).
My drool monster!!! I love this sweet girl. She is an amazing gift!
Gaga's "birthday" present (her birthday is in May) was that her swing was finally finished. This bench swing has been around for over 50 years. I remember it sitting on my Granny's front porch when I was a little girl. I'd start swinging so fast that it would start to "knock" and someone would yell from inside the house for me to slow down!! Well, her sons had it refinished for her. It used to be white, now it is Gaga Purple!!!
After he was finished swimming, Landon warmed up next to the fire!
While at Gaga and Grandaddy's we had a nice steak dinner and opened presents. I didn't get any pictures this year. I just enjoyed the time. Plus, I had a 6 month old on my hip most of the evening! We had a great time spending time with family.
Landon woke up at about 7:45 on Christmas morning. Which was pretty early considering we got home about 11:00 the night before. He immediately started opening presents. I had to encourage him to wait until we could get Sister up. He waited patiently.
Santa brought Landon a new, bigger bike.
Reagan learned pretty quickly how to get things out of her stocking!!
Landon didn't need any help getting things out of his stocking.
"Oh look, a tag!" Sister enjoyed all the tags on her gifts!!
Landon's loot!
Reagan's loot!
Reagan wasn't shy about ripping off that paper!!
She got some new pacifiers. She learned to put her old solid rubber ones completely in her mouth. I was so afraid she was going to choke, so Santa filled her stocking with new pacis to keep her safe!!
Landon was ripping through his packages. Although he got quite a few gifts (more than I realized), he is so sweet and so appreciative of each one. He really is an amazing kiddo.
Daddy got some new iPhone 5 accessories.
I got some new kitchen gadgets from Williams-Sonoma, but didn't get a picture of me unwrapping gifts.
After the presents were opened, we read the Christmas Story from Luke chapter 2. We talked about the real meaning of Christmas and how all the presents are neat, but the best present we could ever receive came in the form of a humble baby who would save us from our sins. If that was all we ever received, it would be enough.
My Aunt bought me my new camera. I'd asked for money this year so I could stockpile it and get a new camera. My old camera has been through a lot, and has some minor issues. Nothing that made it completely unusable, but enough to really bum me out and make shooting less fun. I've stopped taking pictures for others and focused on taking pictures just for me; to get back to what I really love about photography. I've wanted to also get into some video editing as well. Anyways, I've had my eye on a new camera...similar to what I had, but a step up and one that included HD video. To my surprise my aunt bought me my new camera. I charged the battery Christmas morning and as we were getting ready to leave to go to Christmas lunch with my bother's side of the family, I snapped this picture of Landon. My first picture with my new camera.
Around noon on Christmas day we headed over to my niece's house and had lunch with my brother and his family. It was a full-house for sure! There were 24 people there. We had a great time. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long. It started to snow and we had about a 1 hour drive home (which ended up taking about an hour and a half). The roads were getting bad, and fast. So after the dirty Santa exchange (of which I ended up with a Vera Bradly bag!! WHOOP) we headed home in the heavy snow and 30 mile an hour winds. Driving in the snow and ice is probably one of my LEAST favorite things. I love a good snow, but I prefer it from the comfort of my home (or the home of a loved one, as long as I'm invited to stay!). I hate driving/riding in a car in bad weather. I know, one bad wreck on Christmas morning about 10 years ago and I'm a big baby. Shannon did a great job getting us home safely despite the idiots on the road. We got home without incident until we got to our driveway. Because of the ice in the alley Shannon slid a little bit and missed the driveway. The right-side tires were in the "grass" and just couldn't get any traction. We were stuck in the rut for some time!! After a few attempts Shannon bravely maneuvered the Expedition into the garage without knocking down the fence behind us, or hitting his car parked in the driveway. Then he had to clean up the muddy mess we made in the alley!
I took the opportunity to go out front and take a few pictures of our house in the snow with the Christmas lights on. I love this picture of our sweet home. Knowing that this will probably be the last Christmas we spend in this home, it was sweet that it was a picture-perfect day.
I also took the opportunity to attempt some "creative" shots with the lights in the snow. I hadn't taken the time to "get to know" my camera very well, so I wish I'd done a better job here, but I still enjoyed the time to explore.
The next morning we were supposed to head out and go to Arkansas for the rest of the week and weekend. But because of the bad weather, not only here, but on the roads in Arkansas, we decided it was a better choice to stay home. So we have a few unplanned-at-home days. I couldn't be happier! Shannon is off work, Landon is out of school, and we have no plans until New Year's Eve. I can't wait to spend time with my family....being a family!!!
Since we didn't really get to play in the snow on Christmas day, Landon and I went out this morning while Sister took her nap. Shannon was on hold with American Airlines trying to cancel Reagan and I's ticket to Little Rock. (Which he did! Having status on AA is nice!!)
Here are a few shots of Landon in the snow. I only took a few and then enjoyed the time with my son!!
Our snowman!! He's not real tall. Despite having about 3-4 inches of snow we couldn't get a big snowman built. It was a really dry snow and just wouldn't stick. I managed to get enough of it together to get about a 2 foot snowman. He says, "Peace to You this Christmas!"
Merry Christmas to you and your family. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, may you come to know the true meaning of Christmas this year and invite Jesus, the Christmas baby, into your life. He's the only reason for the season. God Bless.
I found those older pictures. It seems like it was forever ago, but turns out it was just last year. Well, almost two years ago. It was February of 2011. He has grown up so much.
This picture of Landon in 2011 is one of my all-time favorites. I remembered it when I was uploading these pictures from today, and saw this one.
My angel in the snow.
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I found those older pictures. It seems like it was forever ago, but turns out it was just last year. Well, almost two years ago. It was February of 2011. He has grown up so much.
This picture of Landon in 2011 is one of my all-time favorites. I remembered it when I was uploading these pictures from today, and saw this one.
He always aims for mom!!
My angel in the snow.
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