C by the Sea

Perseverance

We have a lovely old fireplace that we never burn a fire in, so I keep a large antique pot with some Christmas cactus in it. I just noticed today that the cactus was growing through the fireplace screen. I love its perserverance. ;)
(Please ignore the dust on the screen. I'm only one woman. :))

Putting Christmas away...

Not even 2 weeks into the project and I'm already falling behind. Boo me. I spent all day putting Christmas away for another year. Such fun. ;P

A Christmas self portrait... ;)

Christmas morning ... 2008

In a bold, yet somewhat sad display of how far behind I am, here are a few shots from Christmas morning. We headed over to Sean and Lisha's for breakfast, pleasant conversation and fun entertainment (compliments of Reed). Then, we motored up to Heath and Jenn's to see what Santa had brought Caleb and Joshua (and more fun entertainment, of course!). I brought my laptop along so we could video chat with Planet Mancuso, but no one had internet access that morning. Of course! :( 

As you can see, some family members are easier to photograph then others...

A letter for Santa

After making Santa's cookies, it was time to write him a letter to leave beside his snack. 

David sat down with Caleb to help him pen this all important missive.

Which was fine with Caleb... at first.

After a minute or two, however, he began to notice that his hand, although seeming to hold the crayon, was actually being completely controlled by David's hand. Caleb pretended to gradually...

... fall asleep from sheer boredom.

This, of course, made us all crack up laughing. 

The clever little scamp made his point though and was given complete control of the crayon to write his letter to Santa.

You are one funny little munchkin, Mr. Caleb. For sure.

Cookies for Santa

After we finished opening gifts and taking our stellar group photos, Sean had to leave for work, Lisha took Reed home for a nap and Jenn and Joshua went home for a little while also. Heath and Caleb stayed and, after a bit, decided they should make some cookies to leave out for Santa (with the extras going to Tom and Sherry's Christmas Eve party later on). Luckily, I was prepared with sprinkles, colored sugar and slice and bake cookie dough! Caleb had quite a fun time (I think he may be a chef some day. He loves to help out in the kitchen. Either that or a dancer. Or a gymnast. But, I digress...) and the cookies were very yummy. I know Santa loved them!

Christmas Eve morning

This year we decided to have our Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve morning. After a nice breakfast, we commenced with the opening of gifts. We had lots of fun watching the little boys, each with their own unwrapping style! Wonderful presents were exchanged all around and then we made our vain attempt at a group photo. Check HERE for all the pictures of the festivities.

I'm pretty sure this can be seen from space...

David and I drove back up to see the Christmas lights that I wrote about last week lit up. Believe you me, this cannot be put into words. It must be seen in person to get the full effect. But, I did take some pictures. My one lingering question: Where the heck do they store this stuff the rest of the year???

Merry Christmas!

Christmas. The sweet innocence of a child. Warm times spent with family and friends. Simple pleasures. Lasting memories. 

May this Christmas remind you once again of all the blessings you enjoy. May you feel the love that God surrounds you with each and every day. May your heart be filled with a new understanding of the Most Precious Gift of All.

"Honey, let's just hang a few lights and a wreath this year."

Seen on the way home from Plainview this morning...

No exaggeration, EVERY square inch of the yard was covered. Literally! 

(We want to go back and see it at night. Can't even imagine what that will look like!)