Christmas at my parents!

Saturday we had Christmas with my parents, my sis, her boyfriend, Michael and her girls. We had a good time. Kiley and Keely both felt a little under the weather,but they were still in the mood to do some gift opening! We all enjoyed our time together! We did better getting pictures of us! Well, at least most of us. Byron hates the camera! So I have yet to be sneaky enough to get a picture of him! Sorry! I try but it hasn't worked yet for me! Jackson is about as bad! As soon as we started getting family shots, he through fits! If you notice in the picture of my parents with their grand kids, Jackson is throwing his arm around!

Christmas at Ma & Pa's!

We celebrated Christmas on the 26th this year at Ma and Pa's! We had a fabulous time. The kids did very well. I was thankful that they were both healthy and happy. We had lunch, all the kids opened their presents, then the adults played Dirty Santa. We always have fun and lots of laughs, but we aren't as competitive as some families get. This year a new rule had to be added. You couldn't open the gift you brought! Which in the past has always been the problem. It went as far as, my dad brought house slippers in his size one year! They will probably add the new rule next year that you can't steal your own gift. I guess that still won't effect my sister and me. We made pre-game arrangements to open each other's gifts and after the game exchange them. In the end, we both left with the gifts we bought! Which for me, I got a food processor! YAY! Now, I can make homemade salsa all the time! Byron also came home with the gift he bought. He actually stole it from my uncle. We now have a cordless Dust Buster! So we did well! Once again, it was a great time with the family. We look forward to next year when our new baby cousin Mia Paige will be apart of the Christmas celebrations!
















Oh, Jackson got his first cowboy hat! My grandparents got it! Pa told them to shape it just like his hat! Its so darn cute! I can't wait to get a really good picture of him in it!

Christmas 2008 was GREAT!

Okay, I didn't get my pictures uploaded to Wal-Mart. I don't know what the deal is but I re sized the pictures so I could share them with you.

This was our first Christmas as a family of four in our OWN home. Last year we were living with my parents. I can't believe its already been a year since we moved from Washington to Oklahoma. As much as we hated to not be with Byron's family for Christmas, it was definitely nice being at home. Everything went very well. I don't think we had any meltdowns including adults!!! The best part was just making memories with the kids.

I am not even sure where to begin. I really should have blogged a lot sooner. There is way too much to share! My thoughts are really going all over the place. So I guess I will just give you a run down of our week.

Christmas Eve night we walked over to the Crook's house. We delivered some goodies of 7 layer bars, butter pecan bars, apple bread, and sugar cookies! Jaycee and I baked a lot. It was a ton of fun, but we have way too many sweets now to eat! The kids also got presents from the Crook family. Jackson got an awesome front loader that makes lots of sounds! Jaycee got some new Littlest Pet Shops animals to add to her collection. We had a great time hanging out with our neighbors.

After our visit, we came home and opened one gift. The kids both got some new pajamas. Along with their new pjs,Jackson got an airplane and Jaycee got the game Barrel of Monkeys. That night we also slept under the Christmas tree. At first, when we told Jaycee we would be sleeping under the Christmas tree she was quite upset. As I was bringing out blankets and pillows she kept yelling NO! NO! NO! Once she saw that I was making a bed in the middle of the floor she began to accept the idea of sleeping "under the Christmas tree". Byron and Jaycee got all settled in the bed on the floor and Jackson and I got settled on the Futon. We watched Ice Age: The Meltdown. Which was a great treat for all of us, because none of us had ever seen it!

Christmas morning was very nice and relaxing. Jaycee woke up first to open her stocking and then Jackson. I made us pancakes and sausage for breakfast. After that Byron read the story of Jesus' birth to us. That was wonderful! The kids both climbed up in his lap and listened. Then we prayed and thanked God for sending His only Son to save us! That will be a moment I will never forget!

The kids then finished opening their presents. They had a great time. We also listened to a lot of Christmas music too! That afternoon my grandparents and parents came over to help us celebrate Jesus' birthday. This was my very first attempt of making Marilee's famous Jesus Birthday Cake. Unfortunately, I had a mental lapse and didn't realize I was suppose to icing all three layers. After I had about 1/2 of the icing mixture leftover I realized I was suppose to do all 3 layers. It still turned out great! We just added extra icing to our piece of cake after it was sliced. All in all it was a great day!
















The only thing about these 2 days is that I didn't get a picture of us sleeping under the tree and I didn't get the kids picture taken with their great grandparents and grandparents! Oops, another mental lapse by me! IF you know me I have these quite frequently!