More Celebrating

 We decided to do a little Thanksgiving celebration with Eric's sister Molly and his sister Lori and her family the weekend of Thanksgiving.  We decided it would be nice to have a little more time to hang out and for the kids to play.  

The girls and I saw these pictures of a turkey made out of veggies so we tried our own version.  

Alexa also thought these fruit cornucopia's looked fun to make.  

We didn't do anything too fancy but instead made it simple and enjoyed our time hanging out.  The kids all squeezed around the picnic table. 

Max enjoying another family gathering during the holidays. 

The kids disappeared for most of the afternoon and evening.  They had so much fun playing! They would make a random appearance with their band or a style show! 

We grabbed a picture of the gang at the end of the night!

The big girls .....

and the crazy boys! The kids can't wait for more cousin time at Christmas! 

Easter Celebration

Easter is a holiday that I have always loved.  Celebrating Christ's resurrection and victory over death is something I pray I never take for granted.  Since the death of my friend Leigh Ann Easter continues to bring new feelings and emotions.  Singing, hearing and reading about Christ's victory over death and heaven penetrates my heart at a deeper level. I can't help but think how amazing the Easter celebration she is experience in heaven is. 

This year Easter also was a celebration of new life in our family.  We have been blessed with the sweetest little boy from China.  Through our journey to him and back home God has taught me so much.  One of those things is how much love my heavenly father has for me.  He sacrificed his only son in order to give me life.  He loves me like his own and has adopted me into his family.  The depth of this love didn't resonate to the depths of me until I held Max in my arms and felt this overwhelming love for him.  What a love ... what a gift. 

Alexa Grace - 8

Emma Faith - 7

Shane - 5

Max - 20 months

Sweet Sisters!

A proud big brother!

This is one of my favorite shots of the day.  Cousin Bailey helping Max up!

After a yummy lunch the kids changed out of their Sunday best and were ready for some backyard fun! The first stop was the sun room to see what treats grammy and papa put in their Easter baskets.  Our line of little ones with baskets just keeps growing.

It is always exciting to see what treats grammy finds for the baskets. After the baskets were emptied it was time for Easter Egg Hunt.

It took very little time for Max to catch on to this fun game.

The kids were off, quickly covering every inch of the yard in search of the Easter eggs.

And of course an Easter is not complete without the appearance of the Easter pig.

Max wasn't one bit scared and was ready to share his eggs with him.

When Max discovered there were treats in the eggs this is what he thought "oooooooo"

The eggs were emptied and everyone filled a bag with yummy treats to take home.

It was a picture perfect day! We had so much fun just sitting around, chatting and watching the kids play.

Papa is always up for some fun.  

We broke out the bubble guns from the Easter baskets.  The kids had fun chasing the bubbles around the yard.  There were a lot of smiles and giggles. 

The kids decorated the cookies we had cut out and cooked the day before.  They thought it was great to pile it high with frosting and sprinkles.

In the afternoon we headed over to Eric's sisters house to finish off the day.  The kids were excited to see and hold their neighbors baby kittens. 

Alexa loves animals so she was in her glory! 

Max was trying to figure out what "gentle" meant! It was his first interaction with an animal. 

We finished off the evening with a yummy dinner and another Easter egg hunt. 

The kids loved spending time with their cousins. 

We are blessed!

Christmas Day 2009

On Christmas day we waited for my brother's driveway to be cleared and then hopped in the 4 wheel drive Tahoe and headed to Eric's sister's house to spend Christmas day as a family.

We started the day with a yummy brunch! We had french toast with strawberries and homemade whip cream, scrambled eggs with mushrooms and onions, bacon and pineapple.  No McDonald Christmas brunch is complete with out pineapple dipped in sour cream and brown sugar.  You may be thinking that sounds weird! I did when Eric's family first introduced me to it but you'll have to try it! It is yummy!

As you can see the kids are loving their Christmas brunch.  The homemade whip cream was a hit! Shane kept asking for more whip cream and strawberries on his french toast.  

Oh, the anticipation by cousin Callie!

Emma loved her Nail Art book from Grammy Sue.  Every time Grammy comes for a visit Emma asks if she will do her nails so the salon is usually set up in our kitchen! I'm sure Emma will get Grammy Sue to try out her new colors and designs before she heads back to Washington!

Shane is more than excited about his Lego trucks!  I think we are going to have to figure out some type of Lego organization system after this Christmas.  I have a feeling this is just the beginning! Any tips out there?

The 3 girls opening their gifts from Aunt Molly with anticipation!

Very excited about their new iPod Shuffles! 

Big hugs for Aunt Molly!

After opening gifts the kids were itching to get out in the snow! Eric and Aunt Lori decided to take the 4 wheeler out.  Uncle Roger warned them about driving through the deep snow.  It looks like they hit a drift that was a little too deep! They had to scoop their way back out!

Back in business!

Shane was getting a little tired and frustrated! That deep snow was pretty tough for him to get around in but he was a trouper and tried his best to keep up with the 3 girls!

Daddy to the rescue! Look how deep that snow was on Eric.  No wonder Shane had some issues traveling through the snow.  

Aunt Lori and the girls loving life! They spent tons of time in the snow on Christmas Day! 

We finished out the evening with 2 yummy pasta dishes that Eric made and some salad and bread! Then it was time for the Christmas jammies!

The kids had such a fun day with their cousins!

I think these two little boys could be trouble in the near future!

We loaded up and headed back to my brothers.  The typical 10-15 minute trip took about 45 minutes in the tough, white-out road conditions.  We met one car on the way back to my brother.  I think others were smart than we were and took the travel advisory to heart!  We made it back to my brothers safe and sound!  What fun memories we made this Christmas!