12 Days of Christmas

The excitement of opening a gift so magical.

Yummy surprise!

One afternoon Hunter and I came home to a huge box sitting at our front door. We opened it and discoverd that Annmother has sent several gifts counting down the days until Christmas. The first day of Christmas was today. He opened a box of yummy cookies. I have to admit...I tried them too. I love this idea and we are looking forward to opening a new gift everyday until Christmas. What a great way to spread out the magic of this time of year.

Thank you Annmother!

Christmas Book Exchange

Colin loved his new Christmas book so much.

Haley picking out her book to unwrap.

Hallie and Deanna enjoying their new book.


Ashley and Elliot opening their new book.

Jackson was still hungry, but eventually unwrapped his book.

Christine and Colin debating on what to pick. They had #1.

‘Twas the night before Christmas,
And in my cozy nook,
I was curled up reading my new Christmas book.
This special book was given to me by a dear friend,
It is something that I will cherish to the end.

I had so much fun putting Hunter's birthday party together that I decided that I wanted to have the kids together again around Christmas. At first I thought I would do a cookie party. After a few days of debating frosting, sprinkles, and hyper kids, I decided on something different...a Christmas Book Exchange. Each of Hunter's friends brought a Christmas book wrapped. The kids picked numbers and then went in order to pick a new book to unwrap. The kids had a great time and I think the parents had a little fun also.

Girl Time!

Jayme, myself, Michelle, and Megan
Us with Jill and her beautiful baby boy.

Can we say "getting a baby fix"?

Moving to Bristol has lit a little fire under my girlfriends and I. We have been getting together more often. We recently took a trip to Tampa to see Jason Mraz. I knew a little about him before I went, but LOVE HIM now. It was Megan's idea and I'm glad we did it. We spent the night in Tampa and then the next morning went to a friends house, Jill's house, for breakfast. Her baby is growing so fast! Then we did what we do best...SHOP! Had fun and ready for another trip.

'Tis the Season

Hunter's Christmas Tree is made up of ornaments that are both kid friendly and that he has made.
Nannie's gift to us. We put a new ornament on the tree everyday. Cute!

Adam putting up his 2 ornaments.

Oh "Mistmas" Tree, Oh "Mistmas" Tree

Decorating for Christmas is one of my favorite things to do. In the past, I have been able to get this process done in one afternoon with Christmas music in the background and peppermint candles providing the Christmas aroma. However, having Hunter around has definitely changed this process. WE decorated over a period of a week. We started with the biggest project, the "mistmas" tree (as Hunter calls it). Every evening we would put a little more up. We would have Christmas music in the background, but it is not Frank Sinatra...Veggie Tales Christmas music. Good enough. The candles were lit, but once they were discovered Hunter would want to blow them out. Overall, I think I enjoyed the decorating process more this year because it wasn't a process, it was a daily happening. This year it has been a little easier to get into the Christmas mode because of 2 things 1) Having a child around puts magic in the air, and 2) Florida is actually chilly this year. Happy Holidays!