Backyard Birds

Stephen decided he wanted to take some pictures of the birds in our backyard. He never did get one of the bright red cardinal that he first saw, but here are some other snapshots he took. Anyone know what the speckled bird is in the third picture???

Wii Are Family

The kids finally got a Wii this Christmas. They had been wanting one for a long time. As you can tell, they were quite excited when they unwrapped it. I have to admit, we are all enjoying it a lot. Skylar is quite the bowler on Wii Sports, and Stephen is quickly becoming an amusement park tycoon with his Thrillsville game. It has been a lot of fun playing bowling in the living room. I look forward to many family game nights in the future.

White Christmas

A light dusting of snow awaited us Christmas morning when we awoke. Not much snow, but enough for us to say we had a white Christmas.

A Couple of Girls

Just a snapshot of Skylar and me in front of the tree.

Cookie Decorating

Last night we hosted a Christmas party for the Sunday school class that I teach and some neighborhood kids. My assistant Tammi and I let the kids decorate sugar cookies. They seemed to really enjoy it. Afterwards they ate pizza and watched Polar Express. I hope they all had fun.

Christmas Traditions

I was recently reading an article about Christmas traditions that got me to thinking about some of the traditions in our family. One of the few things that we have done every year since the kids were born is that they always get to open one gift on Christmas Eve. They have caught on to the fact that it is always a new pair of pajamas. I just thought it was nice for them to have nice new pj's on in all the Christmas morning pictures. We of course leave milk and cookies for Santa. Before they were born, I bought a little plate that says Cookies for Santa and a mug that says Milk for Santa.

There are some traditions that I remember from childhood. We always got fruit in our stockings...though we didn't always have a stocking...sometimes Santa would leave the fruit in a bowl that he borrowed from my mom's kitchen. I also remember going for drives on Christmas Eve to look at lights. We would always manage to see Rudolph's nose blinking. Of course this was long before you could track Santa's route on the Internet. I also remember my sister always waking up extremely early on Christmas morning. That was the only morning that she was an early riser...and the only morning my dad ever wanted to sleep in.

While reading this article, I came across a tradition that I think I would like to add to our Christmas. Save your Christmas cards in a small basket and then each night pull out the top one and add that family to your nightly prayer. Then tuck their card to the back of the pile. Continue that nightly and you will spend the year praying for your loved ones.

The Christmas Lights

Brian has brought his over the top Christmas lights to our new neighborhood this year. He has always liked to decorate the outside of the house at Christmas, and after not stringing any lights last year, he was itching to get started this year. He has been mentally planning his design since we first made the offer on this house. He is one of those people that drives by houses imagining how he would light them up. So he spent the better part of Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving on the roof, on a ladder or messing with the lights in one form or fashion. I think the neighbors thought he would never stop. I personally think he did a wonderful job, and can't wait to see what he adds next year.