The day after Thanksgiving, we had "appetizer night" for dinner and made all of our favorite things - cream cheese roll ups, pretzel/cranberry/almond mix, rotel and chips, crock pot weenies (although they actually cooked in a rice cooker), bbq'd drummettes, and Pat Raines' dirt cake!!
And then the decoratin' began....
Noah un-shrinkwrapping the tree ... still not sure how we ever got the tree back in the skinny box last year.
Elizabeth and Cookie watching the tree go up! Yep, Cookie gets in on as much as action as she can!
Lights....
Thankful we brought some of our special ornaments to the other side of the world. Here are Elizabeth's first 5 years of Hallmarks.
Baby Elizabeth's first Chr!stmas ... 1996!
Noah's first 5.....
....and baby Noah's first Chr!stmas - 1999!!
Emma's "first" Hallmarks (you can't see them all, but there are only 4 ... how bad are we to not buy her 5th Chr!stmas before they sold out - we really DO love our youngest child) ....
... and her first Chr!stmas - the year was 2003!!
Noah doing "his thing" after the tree is trimmed...
The stockings are not hung by the chimney with care ... no chimneys here!
First Chr!stmas in our new home, complete with Santa hats and Chr!stmas bears!!
You can take the kid out of the country, but you can't take the silly out of the kid!
We also worked in some sugar cookie time. Thankful for friends/family back in the USA for hooking us up with some sprinkles over the last few months!! Especially thankful for the cookie cutters Grandmother sent last Chr!stmas!
Definitely on the "top 10" of Chr!stmas favorite things to do!
We were overwhelmed with love that was sent our way through the holiday season in the form of cardboard! So thankful for the way He loves on us through our family and friends! What was really neat is that our families individually wrapped their gifts, so we were able to open them before Chr!stmas and put them under the tree! So, so neat!!
Loved spending time with Grandmother .... opening our stockings was a hit and how much more special it was to be with her, albeit a computer, as we dug in!
We also got a birthday package from her since the kids all have fall birthdays. Yes, some of us even got a swimsuit. Here you go, Grandmother ... Emma trying to figure out how it works!
Noah getting a very special gift from her!!
"E" ornaments and Razorback ornaments for the kids!! :) Thanks, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Vicky, Makenzie, Kaelie, Addi Grace, Mason and Phillip)! What we DIDN'T get a picture of was opening our sausage seasoning from Uncle Jay, Aunt Jennifer, Jordan and Joseph ... enough seasoning to make up to 200 lbs of sausage. Jimmy Dean, we took you for granted ... but we're thankful for a brother who can hook us up!!
Cookie getting in on the action...
The pets racked up as well.....
Flip flops were the highlights for some ....
While these little things were the highlight for others, ummm Emma. Somewhere along the way, her Baby Alive lost her bottle. We tried to modify by emptying a glue bottle and decorating it, but for some reason, it just wasn't the same. Thankful for http://www.mattel.com/ and Grandma who bought not one but TWO (just in case). Now, Baby Alive can now wet her diaper and once again, all is well in Emma's world! :)
Meet Lizzie from Tinkerbell!
We also got some packaged love from some Colorado friends - thanks so much, Mark, Susan, Grant and Cara for loving on us the way you do!
And Barry and Stacey ... you guys are amazing! Simply, you have overwhelmed us with your love.
Elizabeth and Cookie watching the tree go up! Yep, Cookie gets in on as much as action as she can!
Lights....
Thankful we brought some of our special ornaments to the other side of the world. Here are Elizabeth's first 5 years of Hallmarks.
Baby Elizabeth's first Chr!stmas ... 1996!
Noah's first 5.....
....and baby Noah's first Chr!stmas - 1999!!
Emma's "first" Hallmarks (you can't see them all, but there are only 4 ... how bad are we to not buy her 5th Chr!stmas before they sold out - we really DO love our youngest child) ....
... and her first Chr!stmas - the year was 2003!!
Noah doing "his thing" after the tree is trimmed...
The stockings are not hung by the chimney with care ... no chimneys here!
First Chr!stmas in our new home, complete with Santa hats and Chr!stmas bears!!
You can take the kid out of the country, but you can't take the silly out of the kid!
We also worked in some sugar cookie time. Thankful for friends/family back in the USA for hooking us up with some sprinkles over the last few months!! Especially thankful for the cookie cutters Grandmother sent last Chr!stmas!
Definitely on the "top 10" of Chr!stmas favorite things to do!
We were overwhelmed with love that was sent our way through the holiday season in the form of cardboard! So thankful for the way He loves on us through our family and friends! What was really neat is that our families individually wrapped their gifts, so we were able to open them before Chr!stmas and put them under the tree! So, so neat!!
Loved spending time with Grandmother .... opening our stockings was a hit and how much more special it was to be with her, albeit a computer, as we dug in!
We also got a birthday package from her since the kids all have fall birthdays. Yes, some of us even got a swimsuit. Here you go, Grandmother ... Emma trying to figure out how it works! 
Noah getting a very special gift from her!! 
"E" ornaments and Razorback ornaments for the kids!! :) Thanks, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Vicky, Makenzie, Kaelie, Addi Grace, Mason and Phillip)! What we DIDN'T get a picture of was opening our sausage seasoning from Uncle Jay, Aunt Jennifer, Jordan and Joseph ... enough seasoning to make up to 200 lbs of sausage. Jimmy Dean, we took you for granted ... but we're thankful for a brother who can hook us up!!
We also had a great time skyping with Grandma and Grandpa (and Uncle Dwayne, Aunt Karen, Uncle Barry, Aunt Christina, Anna Beth, Allie, Brenden and Blaine). We constantly praise the Father for technology!
Cookie getting in on the action... 
The pets racked up as well.....
Flip flops were the highlights for some ....
While these little things were the highlight for others, ummm Emma. Somewhere along the way, her Baby Alive lost her bottle. We tried to modify by emptying a glue bottle and decorating it, but for some reason, it just wasn't the same. Thankful for http://www.mattel.com/ and Grandma who bought not one but TWO (just in case). Now, Baby Alive can now wet her diaper and once again, all is well in Emma's world! :)
Cable is close to $100 a month, so we don't "do" cable. DVDs are always a welcome treat. We got a few others, including Where the Red Fern Grows - thanks again Grandmother!
Meet Lizzie from Tinkerbell!
We also got some packaged love from some Colorado friends - thanks so much, Mark, Susan, Grant and Cara for loving on us the way you do!
And Barry and Stacey ... you guys are amazing! Simply, you have overwhelmed us with your love.
We never knew we'd miss these little conveniences of life!!
And Johnathon, Niki, Hensley, and Cooper ... let's just say hands were flying when the lid came off. :) Noah before the big dig-in as he pauses to eat another Peep (thanks Grandma and Grandpa)!
Love spread out from our Alabama family!! Love you guys SO much!!
A bittersweet moment was opening the package from this famly ... friends who ARE family. We spent so much of our journey with them, both in the states and overseas, and although we are excited they followed His plan for them, we were so sad to see them go. This picture was taken on one of our last nights together before they left !ndia last year. We love and miss you guys more than you can ever know!
We couln't wait to dig in (btw, this is Emma's new "fancy" dress from Grandmother ... she practically slept in the first few days after she got it).
love, Love, LOVE these kids!!
Elizabeth excitely reading the cards the kids made for us!!
Some of you may remember Noah's "Fruitloops" dream from last year ... :)
Love spread out from our Alabama family!! Love you guys SO much!!
A bittersweet moment was opening the package from this famly ... friends who ARE family. We spent so much of our journey with them, both in the states and overseas, and although we are excited they followed His plan for them, we were so sad to see them go. This picture was taken on one of our last nights together before they left !ndia last year. We love and miss you guys more than you can ever know!
We couln't wait to dig in (btw, this is Emma's new "fancy" dress from Grandmother ... she practically slept in the first few days after she got it).
love, Love, LOVE these kids!!
Elizabeth excitely reading the cards the kids made for us!!
Some of you may remember Noah's "Fruitloops" dream from last year ... :)
Rick, Valerie, Elizabeth, Abby, Jonathan, Andrew, and Caleb ... we're thankful He crossed our hearts with yours!! We love you guys!
Christmas Eve dinner with some very special friends!!
Ham, dressing, grean bean casserole, squash casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole, home-made macaroni and cheese, home-made rolls, stuffed eggs, fruit salad, apple pie, chocolate pie, pecan bars ... yep, think that covers it all!
Lots of games and laughs....
Noah reading about that little baby born in a lowly manger....
Singing Silent Night during our candlelight service....
A very special night with very special friends ... we are thankful for you guys!!
The kids making their way down the stairs on Chr!stmas morning ... at 6 o'clock!! Elizabeth spent most of Chr!stmas sick, but we were thankful that she felt well enough to at least get the morning started!!
Yep, Doritos for Chr!stmas!! :) And if you look real close, you can see Fruity Cheerios, Goldfish, and Dr. Pepper!
One of Emma's favorites ... she loves to play "Hanging Man" on it with her brother and sister!
Noah got everything he needed to build 2 soccer goals ... some great daddy/son moments!!
Thankful for His love, His faithfulness, His provision ... even during those "bumps in the road moments", He is right there carrying us over them. As we begin a new year, we are remembering not only His love this year but your love as well. Join us in asking that His love be felt throughout our city and around the world.
Christmas Eve dinner with some very special friends!!
Ham, dressing, grean bean casserole, squash casserole, broccoli and cheese casserole, home-made macaroni and cheese, home-made rolls, stuffed eggs, fruit salad, apple pie, chocolate pie, pecan bars ... yep, think that covers it all!
Lots of games and laughs....
Noah reading about that little baby born in a lowly manger....
Singing Silent Night during our candlelight service....
A very special night with very special friends ... we are thankful for you guys!!
The kids making their way down the stairs on Chr!stmas morning ... at 6 o'clock!! Elizabeth spent most of Chr!stmas sick, but we were thankful that she felt well enough to at least get the morning started!!
Yep, Doritos for Chr!stmas!! :) And if you look real close, you can see Fruity Cheerios, Goldfish, and Dr. Pepper!
One of Emma's favorites ... she loves to play "Hanging Man" on it with her brother and sister!
Noah got everything he needed to build 2 soccer goals ... some great daddy/son moments!!
The finished product....
Thankful for His love, His faithfulness, His provision ... even during those "bumps in the road moments", He is right there carrying us over them. As we begin a new year, we are remembering not only His love this year but your love as well. Join us in asking that His love be felt throughout our city and around the world. 
3 comments:
Okay, so that WAS a long post, but I enjoyed every word and picture! I got all teary-eyed seeing all the smiles and how much fun you had. And we all enjoyed the zoo pics--Mikayla wants to come see you for our next family vacation! :)
Oh, and Rebecca has that same kitty in a stroller ornament! :)
1. Don't be badmouthin' the giraffe.
2. Holy MOLY, look at the food! I never saw so many casseroles in one place!
3. Love love love the pic of Noah with his special gift from his Grandmother.
xoxo,
Wendy
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