Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Whew....

Christmas is over! It was a whirlwind, but lots of fun. The kids were in two church programs, we had 5 days of Christmas gatherings, cookie baking, Camden's birthday, runny noses, coughs, a puppy and presents galore!! It might be easier for me to just show you pictures and give a little snippet.

Camden's Birthday!
My big 7 year old! I can't believe he is 7. Where does time go? He had a great birthday!!

Christmas Program #1
As you can see, Camden is making sure everyone is doing their job correctly. Jordyn feels a little to old to be doing this. Mia is unsure of what is transpiring. Alexis is doing her best to keep an eye on the little ones and Hope well she is just terrified of all these people looking at her, displayed by a look of Mom do NOT leave me here.

The kids met Santa!
These are the only two I managed to capture a picture of. Come on, guys, give me a break. I have five kids. I'd be taking pictures all the time to catch everything.
Wait a minute......

Christmas Program #2
Program #2... Camden was a shepherd, Ali and Mia were wise women, Jordyn a narrator, and Hope an angel, or "angle" in her words. They did great!

Cookie baking day with Meemaw, TT, and cousins.
The older girls enjoyed joining the adults this year.

Hope kept busy making sure we were working through our list. ; )

Then came Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's!
Mia can't wait to open presents!!

I gave Jeremy a present early. Our latest Cundiff addition.....Jersey!

Christmas Eve
We had a surprise visit from Jeremy's Dad and Stepmom this year, so Christmas Eve was spent with them and his grandparents. We don't typically get to see them during the Christmas season since they live in TX. We thoroughly enjoyed having them with us!!

Wow, Jordyn, when did you grow up? Just yesterday you were falling down the eisle of TT & Uncle Brent's wedding....ok, so maybe that was 11 years ago today(New Year's Eve), but it sure feels like yesterday! Happy Anniversary, guys!

Finally Christmas Morning!!


Jeremy shares with the children the true meaning of Christmas and how Jesus was our gift from our Father and that's why we give gifts during Christmas. We started a new tradition this year of waiting to put our star on the tree until Christmas morning. It was wonderful to take time out during the chaos of presents to talk about the true reason for our celebration.

Everyone loved their gifts! Ali was so happy to have her pink DS!!

Mia got the baby she was hoping for!!

Jordy found the perfect present for Camden! ; )

Hope LOVED this Gabriella costume. She wore the wig all day....even to Grandma's house!


Jordyn also was happy to get her green Ipod! I think Ali was excited for her too! ; )

Daddy and Hope enjoying some of Hope's treasures later at Grandma's(I had removed the wig by this time)!

Off to Christmas with Meemaw and Papaw Doug!!
Or is it Meemaw and the Storm Trooper, I'm not sure.

Last but not least, Christmas with Dad!
This celebration always begins with Dad reading The Christmas Story from Luke 2.


Geez, Dad, how many grandkids do you have? Wait, most of those are mine.
Never-mind.

Resting...
As you can see here, we are all tuckered out! I'm sure after this post you are too!
We pray you had a wonderful Christmas, enjoying family, friends, and most of all remembering our Savior!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Merry Christmas!

Things will be busy in the next couple of weeks, so I wanted to take a moment to wish all of my readers a very Merry Christmas(or maybe a "Monkey Christmas")!! Either way, try to take a moment, in the midst of all the baking, gathering, and presents, to remember the reason we celebrate this joyous holiday! Thank you Jesus!

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."


Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A Hope first

Hope had her first birthday at home yesterday! Our baby girl turned four! She had a great day! Thanks to the threat of winter weather, it was a small gathering, but for Hope it was perfect. We had pizza(one of her favorite things), cake, ice cream, and presents!


When she opened her presents she became so shy. For many of you, you know this is not a Hope normal. ; ) I think she was a bit overwhelmed by the 100% focus on her. In fact there was one moment that melted my heart completely. We gathered around her and sang Happy Birthday before she blew out her candles. She sat and listened with this beautiful smile on her face. Once we were finished, she knew what to do. Out the candles went and immediately she buried her head in her hands. I knew she was crying. It wasn't a cry with any noise, just the kind with tears. I walked around and knelt beside her, wrapped my arms around her and whispered, "Happy Birthday Hopey! We love you." She wiped her tears away and we proceeded to cut the cake. She truly was overwhelmed by the moment.


So, like I said, our baby girl is four! We were so happy to have her home for this special occasion!

We love you, Hope! I pray you are blessed by the Maker of Heaven and Earth! I pray you come to know Him at an early age and will follow His plan for your life. I pray you will serve Him with all your heart and will KNOW in whom you have believed! I pray you will trust Him at all times and will continue to have a heart for prayer, in Jesus name, Amen!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Wow!!

Has it seriously been this long since I posted? Sorry, guys! I didn't mean to leave you hangin'. It's just been so busy around here. Here's what we have experienced since I last posted....

Thanksgiving
The circus
Jordyn turned 12 (and got her own room!)
Mia began tutoring with her teacher three days a week
I went out of town with my mom and sister

This was all of course mixed in with Christmas shopping, decorating, laundry, family nights, homework, church, gymnastics, piano, and the list goes on and on. How we have kept up, I'm not sure!

I realize many on that list should be an update in and of itself, but who has time with everything going on. Here's a few pictures to prove we are still here and doing well! Unfortunately, Thanksgiving doesn't have any pictures, because though I charged my camera battery before we left, I failed to put it in the camera. Turns out, they don't work very well without the battery. Go figure!


No picture of Mia and tutoring, but she is doing great! Her teacher and I are very proud of her hard work!!

Thanks for checking in. Maybe after the Holidays, I can post an update that is a little more detailed!

Merry Christmas everyone and remember, He is still the Christ of Christmas!!