Merry Christmas! 2010

Nolan only asked for 1 thing this Christmas - a Nintendo DS-I.... and Santa did NOT bring it. Luckily, Nolan is OK with it! Santa did leave a note & share that he has a DS already, which he rarely plays. So, play it & maybe next year, he'd bring the DS-I one.

But, let's not feel sorry for poor lil Nolan! Santa (that would be Dad) decided he had to upgrade his 4-wheeler, so he got that from Santa instead! Jillian got the Barbie Jeep to try and keep up!!

We headed to the Wingate's for Christmas brunch - THANKS for the invite. We had a nice relaxing time (for our 2nd meal)! Sat down for a traditional meal of Porterhouse steaks... aaahhh, life is good!

Thank you, Jesus, for this day & the blessings you have bestowed upon us!

Christmas Eve

We thought it'd be fun to head to Mom's favorite Chinese place for lunch, then head to church for Christmas Eve mass. The Children's Mass. It was our own little version of Christmas Story - just no turkey taken by the dogs! LOL!

Got to church 30 minutes early - PLENTY of time, right? NO!! At 30 minutes early, the church was completely full, with seats already filled in the Narthonex! Yikes! We luckily squeezed in somewhere; 5th row or so; Had visions of Jillian puking on everyone surrounding us, but were pleasantly surprised that she made it through.

2 1/2 hours after we got there, we were finally in the car heading home. A little too long, even for my patient kids who go to church 2x/week! Nolan was nearly in tears at the end - with LET's GO! Jillian was pale & getting paler, each moment.

Aah...Christmas bliss!!

Play Date @ Children's Museum

First day of Christmas break, we headed off the the Children's Museum. Of course, the kids avoided Santa - Darn... Jillian is learning from Nolan! So, no pics with the Jolly Ole Guy this year.

Ansley and Nolan were a handful. But, thanks to Ansley's adventurous spirit, Nolan participated in many things that he normally would have shy-ed away from.

Jillian and Ellie are perfectly matched friends - only 3 days apart in birth! Yah - a friend she will have in her Kindergarten class! And, they, cough cough were perfect angels!

Kindergarten Song Presentation

The two Kindergarten classes got together for multiple performance's of their singing abilities! Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer was adorable, when they all turned around, hid to put on a red clown nose, then returned to face the audience with their glowing red noses!

17 minutes & 3 songs later, they were done! They worked a long time to get to the performance & did a great job!

Nolan did not look a bit nervous! Which is surprising since the family (including Christian) were at the far back! (In the pic, Nolan is 2nd row - far right, in red sweater.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

We headed to Jay's Tree Farm again this year.... for another ridiculously, overpriced conifer! But then of course, we AGAIN chose one that was cut & up front, and over 10 feet tall... instead of hoofing it into their tree patch.

Hmm... funny how those things always look so small outdoors and on the car, then you get home & realize that you need to either trim the top or the bottom, because we are TO THE ROOF and more!

The kids, by the way... really didn't care about the whole tree thing. It was more fun to play hide and seek between the tree's!! Giving mom a heart attack, when they wouldn't answer!

First Snow!

It's the first year that kids wanted to spend HOURS outside! Better them, then me!

I stayed indoors & purged the toy box without them knowing!!

Nolan managed to spend 3 hours outdoors. The last 30 minutes was spent being pulled around the Wingate's with Reece... all thanks to a 4-wheeler and a saucer!
Jillian was clueless, as she gave up after 1.5 to 2 hours & wanted to warm up in her comfy cozy bed! NAP TIME!

A Night in Bethlehem

The kids grabbed their passports & traveled to the town of Bethlehem, all in one evening! Our old church (St Thomas More) was putting on the evening of festivities for the kids. They traveled into the Bethlehem shops & got to experience activities within each shop.

In the bakery, they rolled dough & made cookies.
In the candy shop, they decorated their cookies. (Which were then promptly eatten!)
In the leather shop, they made leather bracelets.
In the carpentry shop, they sanded stars & constructed a manger scene.
In the metal shop, the made boula (sp?) medallions.
And, finally, they sat for a reading of A Night in Bethlehem!

Santa was down the hall... Kids never noticed him on the way in, because the line was long. As we left, noone was with him... And, the Canfield kids wouldn't step through the door to see him. Go figure!

Thanks to the Barkley's for inviting us to this evening adventure!