Christmas!!

Disclaimer: Because I am so far behind and have so much to say, I am only going to share Christmas Eve and Christmas morning pictures. Maybe later I will get around to sharing some pictures from our 10 days back home with family!!

This was the first year, in our 5 years of marriage, that we have spent Christmas Eve at our house. Which also makes it the first year that Santa has visited our home on Christmas morning, instead of at one of our parent's homes. We were able to start some of our own traditions, "help Santa out"on Christmas Eve, and wake up in our own beds on Christmas morning. (Grandparents-don't get me wrong, we always had a great time at your homes...but this year was special for us!!) Because Kenny is the solo pastor at the church, he led services on Christmas Eve...two of them to be exact. The first was a 5:00 service that was family-friendly. Children were encouraged to dress up as characters from the Christmas story (Kennan was a shepherd and Brayden was a star). Kenny sat on the steps of the church and told the Christmas story and as each character was named, the kids came forward to listen to the rest of the story with Kenny. It was a wonderful time and I am hoping this becomes a new tradition for the church. After that, we went over to the home of a family from the church to join in their Christmas Eve meal and gift exchange. We had a lot of fun and were glad to share that time with friends...I don't think I would have enjoyed being home that evening without anyone to celebrate with! Later on, we went back home, put on jammies, set out cookies for Santa, and read The Night Before Christmas. The kids fell asleep pretty quick and Kenny was off to church for the 11:00 service. Santa and I got down to work and then I finished packing so we could head back to DFW on Christmas morning. Christmas morning came pretty quick and the kids had a great time opening their presents and playing with them. After presents we had breakfast, got dressed, and loaded up the car to head to DFW to celebrate more with family. All in all, we had 5 "Christmases" and the kids were pros at opening gifts by then!! Okay, enough of the holiday replay...here are some pictures and updates on the kids.

Kennan is now 3 1/2 years old (45 1/2 months to be exact). He is going to be...dare I say it...4 in March. I cannot believe it!! He is as sweet as can be, has an exellent memory, and a kind heart. He loves dressing up and pretending to be different people...anything from a Power Ranger to a knight to a doctor. He adores Brayden, and for the most part is very patient and gentle with her. He likes to dance and sing, and most recently has taken to telling stories (in a creative, good way!). Here is our big boy on Christmas Eve. Brayden is now 17 months old. She continues to amaze us with her curiousness and ability to do just about everything we tell her not too. She is always smiling and adores her big brother. She is a singer and a dancer and likes to shake her groove thing whenever she gets the chance. Brayden is very stong-willed and most recently, has enjoyed yelling "no mama" when getting her diaper changed. Her is our sweet girl on Christmas Eve.

Santa came!!

Brayden trying to wake Kennan up on Christmas morning. His response, "But I'm just too tired".

Merry Christmas!

Star Wars toys from Santa...

an easel from mom and dad.

A rock and roll pony from Santa...

a xylophone from mom and dad.

Here are some bonus pictures, just for reading the entire post!

Brayden got some dress up stuff from my parents. Here she is modeling...what you can't tell from the picture is that she was shaking her hips during this picture!!

Enjoying lunch at our new picnic table!!

Thanks for reading! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and start to the New Year!