christmas was wonderful! we lacked any snow on the ground (which was unusual) yet loading and unloading the car and carrying stuff inside without worry of anyone slipping was sure nice. :)
little dubs especially got a kick out of saying "i'm number 5!" :)
someone asked me about how to handle simplicity of gifts when it comes to extended family. my answer to that is.....i let grandparents do what they want. i figure when i'm a grandparent i'll want to do it my way, and if they want to purchase gifts for my kids and watch the excitement i'm good with it.
its a blessing that all of our parents are still with us and the kids can add memories of christmas with them to their hearts.
this was THE cutest / craziest / best photo op moment of the day...... american girl bonanza! my adorable nieces along with my girls, all expressed their delight and surprise carrying much emotion....
nana was toppled with hugs and 'thank yous'.....
oh yes we did. boone's 'want' this year was a red ryder bb. there have already been walks out to the woods and target shooting with daddy. i'm pretty sure the two of them were shooting of the back deck the other day... :)
we went to our church christmas morning, and spent the weekend with our families.
i always enjoy the unrushed days of conversation, visiting and making memories with our family.
What a beautiful day! Thanks for sharing :) I thihk I just might try your gift list next year. The want, need, something to read. I think it may take a lot of stress out of gift giving. I find I go overboard every year and it's just plain silly. So sweet to see your girls faces when they recieved their dolls. Priceless! I can rememeber every year getting a doll and that was always my favorite gift. Hope your New Year is full of blessings
ReplyDeletewhat a great Christmas! Love the excitement captured from the AG dolls...my daughter received the target version of the AG doll this year and was soo happy to have received an "American Girl" doll...no need to tell her it's not the real thing at 6, right! ;)
ReplyDeletebeautiful images of your family.....
ReplyDeleteLydia just got her first American girl for her birthday this week! Of course, she got Ivy, who is Asian like her. :)
sweet memories, friend.
My mom gave all 4 or her granddaughters AG dolls this year too! Probably the only year that will happen - my oldest turns 13 in about a month and I can see her swiftly approaching the point of packing all the dolls away - sniff.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on letting the grandparents do what they want. I just get rid of the extra 'stuff' every now and then! They will get more next Christmas!
Aww, good memories-and it was nice not having to trouble with travel, in and out of cars, slippery stuff!
ReplyDeleteMarie Grace made an appearance at our house too. Grandma's Rock!
We loved going to church on Christmas morning. How fitting.
Beautiful to see those happy faces. One of our favorite gifts this year was the Keva Blocks you wrote about. Amazing how different they are from regular blocks. The possibilities are endless and seems like everyone wants to join in. Great suggestion - thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful pictures!! Love that the girls all got American dolls:) I am sure they will enjoy those for many years!!
ReplyDeleteAll of our boys have those nurf guns they drive me nuts with them:) I am so afraid they will shot something on knock something over. Happy New Year!!!
I love the pj idea with the number shirts. I stopped doing pjs for my older boys because they were so cutesy, but that is cute without being too cute... love it!
ReplyDeleteLoved the pictures and all those American Girl dolls. I even got a miniature Kit from Conley. Oh, I have great memories of American Girl and "Nana"
ReplyDeleteI forget I'm on Tom's log-on, Fran
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute family you have. The PJ's are awesome. I LOVE numbers. My daughter is 15 and still has her American Girl Dolls - sadly they are packed in the closet but those dolls are reminder of some of the best times of her childhood. Have a blessed 2012.
ReplyDeleteThe numbered pajamas are adorable ... but not as adorable as the kids.
ReplyDeleteFondly,
Glenda
love the numbered shirts--i did something similar with my five kiddos too.
ReplyDeletebut my three year old got very upset at her siblings saying she was #4--"NOOO!!! I ARE THREE!!"
;)
also, just wanted to let you know that i posted the reveal of our girls' bunk bed room (i emailed you in december from my husbands email account asking for any tips/hints you might have for us).
it's a bookend to your "boy" version--now the "girl" version!
thanks!
oh, duh--
ReplyDeletethe blog is here:
http://googiemomma.blogspot.com/2012/01/girls-room-part-iv-reveal.html
Sara, these pictures are so cute! We had such a wonderful Christmas with all of you! The p.j's turned out great:)
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful family!!
ReplyDeleteCan I move in with you guys???? I'll even change my name from Abby to Dally or Daisy! Just adopt me(:
ReplyDelete