Calhoun Christmas Tour ~ Part 3

Next stop on our Calhoun Christmas Tour was my mom's house.


Brian's favorite new toy was the Ipod from his brother. I had the most fun watching him try to explain to Papa how an Ipod works. It was so cute to see him turn it over and upside down trying to figure that crazy new contraption out! He was super impressed and even listened to one of Brian's Podcast sermons.

Can you imagine what all he has seen in the past 90 years!?!
Tyson was more interested in wrestling with Micah than opening presents.

There is nothing like hearing a baby laugh!

In fact, Beth just changed her ring tone on her phone to a recording of Tyson's laugh.

If presentation is everything...then mom has it ALL!

We each found a beautiful bundle of goodies with our name on it!

Tony Hawk Tech Deck!!!
SWEET!

I was just snapping random Christmas craziness and when I looked back at the shots, I just fell in love with Savanna's expression in this one!

Time to thank Dede!

We must have made it onto the "VERY NICE" list too!

Check out my new toy!

Something tells me I will definitely use this thing ~

*wink, wink*

Babies are so funny ~ Tyson got more toys for Christmas than you could imagine but instead he was much more interested in playing with an old honey dipper and a random flashlight he found in Mom's kitchen!

This has been a WONDERFUL Christmas celebrating the birth of our Lord and King with all of our loved ones. My heart is filled with thanks and love.

We took down all our fun Christmas decorations yesterday and now our house just seems sad to me. I love this season so much and having nativities and funny snowmen sprinkled through our home with lots of bright twinkling lights makes me so warm and happy.

Maybe I will cheer myself up and bring me out of my post-Christmas blues by shopping the Christmas clearance racks and finding new goodies to add to our collection for next year!

Calhoun Christmas Tour ~ Part 2

On Christmas Eve, we opened our new PJ's and then left our traditional cookies and milk out for Santa. Micah insisted on leaving 11 carrots and a few random pieces of celery. He actually counted the carrots. When I asked why 11 ~ he explained that there was one for each of the reindeer and two for Santa.

In the morning, we found a clean and empty plate EXCEPT for the two extra carrots. I guess Santa's sweet tooth wasn't interested in the veggies.

The kids were so excited about tearing into their big bags left by Santa, but they were sweet enough to pose for a quick photo. What wonderful self control!
Inside the bags we found a new bike for Micah and a Razor Spark Scooter for Savanna.

Micah got a gazillion new cool toys, but one of his favorite was this silly whoopie cushion!

Who knew?!

See what I mean about her being on the VERY nice list?

Some of Savanna's favorites were her Webkinz, new clothes, Vera Bradley cosmetic bag,
croc sandals, CD case, and mustard seed earrings.

Micah with all his loot!

Some of his favs were his REAL tool set, Lego organizer, Star Wars flip chart, cologne, marshmallow gun, and Skillet CD.

When he opened the Aeropostle bracelets and necklaces, he exclaimed...

"Somebody catch me when I faint!"

CRACK. ME. UP.

Savanna loves her new shower wrap with matching slippers.

They both wanted new umbrellas.

Sort of sad to me that Savanna has officially outgrown her old princess umbrella.

If you read the post with the kids' letters to Santa, you know that one of the things Savanna asked for was clothes for the dogs. We have NEVER put clothes on our dogs ~ in fact, we have laughed at the people who do! But since Savanna was on the top of the very nice list (and since Santa couldn't deliver on the adopted baby sister request) needless to say, that sweet girl got herself some dog clothes.

Since it was rainy outside, we let the dogs in for a quick fashion show.

She was THRILLED!

The dogs ~ not so much!

Toby actually looked embarrassed.

He went and hid under the bed and then in the bathroom.

The kids did a little shopping of their own at the Santa Shop at school. I was super proud of my "Awesome Mom" coffee mug from Savanna and the "#1 Mom " ornament from Micah.

After brunch, we decided it was time to test out those new wheels!

Micah was going so fast, I could hardly get his picture!
He looked like he was having so much fun, that Uncle Brad thought he'd give it a spin too.

Grandma and Grandpa were really impressed with Savanna on the scooter. This chick can FLY and the sparks this scooter can make are AWESOME! We enjoyed singing a few Christmas carols before loading up the car for the last stop on the Calhoun Christmas Tour 2009.

Calhoun Christmas Tour ~ Part 1

Our Christmas festivites are just too much for only one post, so this will be a 'to be continued' post. We started our Christmas "Tour" at Brian's parents' home the day before Christmas with tons of new presents and good eats courtesy of Grandma.

Micah made his own MISTLETOE!!!

Oh how I love this sweet boy!
Uncle Brad always thinks of the coolest presents!
This pitching machine should help Micah as he moves up from t-ball to coach pitch in the Spring.
Micah was super excited about his Nerf Raider Rapid Fire from Grandma and Grandpa.

We have all become big fans of anything Jim Shore. Savanna has a special attachment to Snow White ~ she even dressed as Snow White for Halloween one year! She was thrilled with her new Jim Shore Snow White figurine.

This girl loves her some Vera Bradley Purple Punch!

I think she was actually speechless to recieve the backpack!

Micah spent the rest of the day testing out his new nerf gun!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Jesus' birth with Brian's family.

We left there and got ready for a wonderful worship experience at the Candlelight Service at our church. The Candlelight Service is one of my most favorite of the entire year!

Thank you Lord that Jesus came to be the Light Of the World!

Happy Anniversary

Thirteen years ago today, I married the love of my life!

I can truly say I love him more today than I did on our wedding day.
I can not imagine walking through life with anyone else. There are so many things that I love and appreciate about my man ~ but here are just a few...

Dearest Brian~
You are a true man of God. You are the exact same person in the pulpit as you are behind closed doors every other day of the week.

I love the way you laugh - especially when it is that uncontrollable, can hardly catch your breath laugh. It is the best sound in the world. I find myself just watching you and enjoying YOU instead of whatever was originally funny.

You are so easy to talk to about anything and everything. You have a unique way of making other people feel super important no matter how trivial their problems may be.

In 13 years of marriage, I can not think of even one selfish thing that you have ever done. You are the most self-LESS person I know.

You have such an incredible way of making the Bible easy to understand. I know it is the Lord working through you, but I am so thankful for your faithfulness in service to Him. Many, many times I have gone to bed while you are studying God's word in preparation for a sermon and then I wake up and still find you studying. I have often asked "Did you sleep at all?" I appreciate your dedication and devotion to the Lord and desire to see others grow in their faith.

I love the way you love our children. You have set such an awesome example for them to follow. You truly treasure them and they know it. Thank you for pouring your time and love into them.

You spoil me in so many ways, but one of my favorite is your old fashioned chivalry. You always open my doors, take out the trash (without being asked), and I think I have only pumped my own gas about once a year for the past 13 years!

Happy Anniversary Babe!

I love you with all of my heart!

One of a Kind Nativity

Savanna and Kayleigh were playing quietly in her room the other day. I knew they were playing Littlest Pet Shop, but what I didn't know was that they had created their very own, one of a kind Littlest Pet Shop Nativity. How cute is it that they TYPED a code so you would know exactly who each little animal represented? I think my favorite was "The gray cat is QUEEN Herod"

I asked "Queen?"

Savanna said, "Well we didn't really have any boy animals that would look right, so we changed King Herod into Queen Herod. I just wanted to have a nativity in my room."

LOVE IT!!!

I think I need to get this baby her own little nativity for her room next year! Although I can't think of any that are any cuter than the one they created with all their Littlest Pet Shop friends.

Birthday Party for JESUS!

We had our annual Birthday Party for Jesus at church complete with games, crafts, birthday cupcakes, and treats for all!
All the children sat in a big circle with a wrapped present while I read a version of the Christmas Story. Every time I said the word "LEFT" they passed the present to the person on their left and when I said "RIGHT"...you get the idea. For example :"Mary and Joseph LEFT.... RIGHT away."

Lots of laughs since you end up passing each gift about 30 times during the story!
The present you end up with at the end of the story is yours to keep!
The kids LOVED it!

We played pass the candy cane.

Love this picture of Madi!!!

Remember, no hands Micah!
Hannah and Kaden making their paper plate angels.

I love Kaden's green teeth from the icing.

Yummy!
Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Dear Jesus

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you

Only ONE will NOT do

Ask CHRIST as your Savior

And then you'll have TWO!