Christmas 2008

What a blessed Christmas we had - thank you, Lord! We started out Christmas Eve with my parents coming to spend the night. We had a wonderful time catching up, eating pizza, watching Christmas movies, and snacking way too much! After the kids went to bed we lugged all the presents out of the attic (had to hide them there because of a nosy 3-year-old and a chew happy dog)! The kids were gracious to let us sleep the next morning until 7 am! Woo hoo! I can tell Kristen's getting older - she wanted to sleep til at least 9 am! Russ began the morning by reading the Christmas story out of Luke in The Message. I LOVE LOVE LOVE watching them open presents and as far as I know, they loved it all and were thankful. After the traditional Russ Tyler Big Breakfast (and I do mean BIG), we played Guitar Hero, and prepared to leave for Springdale. Later that afternoon we gathered with Russ's side of the family at his brother Nick's house. SUCH a fun time - lots of cousins, food, presents, and it ended with the kids playing an adventurous game of "flashlight hide and go seek" outside. Clay is sporting a black eye as a result, but he thinks it's cool. :)

I took tons of pictures, but here are some highlights. Merry Christmas and now on to the New Year!!!

Santa ate his cookies!


Madi loved her Littlest Pet Shop :)


Clay had been wanting this for awhile!

Jake being a rock star - check out the right foot!


I love this pic - this game is so fun!

All ten cousins - there will be 11 next year!
(No, not me! - it's Scott and Steph!)

Me and my sweetie!

This is precious! Papaw and Mimi's gift was a custom book of pictures
taken over the last year - it was awesome and they were moved!

Erin and Madi

Ashley, Kristen, and Aunt Debbie - the hostess with the mostest!

Who's that girl?

It's Madi! She got her first haircut a couple of days ago - that's right, no pair of scissors had even touched her hair - and she's 3 and a half for goodness sake! I guess I just never took the time to get it done - just too easy to let it grow and grow. Since it's so curly, I never really have to "fix" it - except for an occasional bow. When she would watch her brothers get their hair cut she told me she NEVER wanted that done to her! So as I was combing her wet hair out after a washing (which I admit is a chore), I said "you need a haircut, girl - this hair is down to your waist!" She said "OK!" Exactly two hours later we were at the salon to see "Mrs. Terri" before she could change her mind! She did so good - didn't even flinch and got a the all-important sucker after it was over. Later that day, Kristen decided to straighten it to see what it would look like!




... Love this one - flashing a peace sign with an attitude!

Santa Claus is comin' to town....

It was "Breakfast with Santa" at the kids' elementary school last Saturday. After feasting on donuts and juice, face painting, and snow globe crafting, Jake and Madi decided to tell Old Saint Nick exactly what they wanted for Christmas. Madi said she wanted "dollies and color pages"... Jake was a little shy at first, so Madi tried to speak for him. I think he eventually said "Guitar Hero"!

A Special Day

My sweet boy Jake was baptized Sunday, December 7 by his dad. He asked Jesus into his heart back in May shortly after his great grandmother's passing. God had been working on him for some time and his questions grew more intense and more frequent, so we suspected it was "time". After we prayed with him last May, we wanted to continue talking to him about his decision before he was actually baptized. So, almost seven months later we chose Dec. 7 as it coincided with the children's-led service at our church. It was a very special and meaningful morning for Jake (he also had a solo in the kids' program) and priceless for his parents :) May God use him mightily, all the days of his precious life!

Here are some pics of Jake with his Mimi and Papaw and Mom and Dad.....

Blogging? Oh yeah....

Well it seems like I have been MIA on this blogging thing! Truth be told, I'm developing a slight addiction to Facebook :) - at least when I get computer time - gotta share with 5 other people in this household!

There's been a lot going on since Thanksgiving believe it or not, and I'll start with a couple of pictures from Kristen's Christmas Dance at Chaffin. She loves getting dressed up and she had a blast doing so with her good friends - she really does have the BEST friends anyone could ask for, such a sweet and encouraging group of girls - praise God!


And while my oldest is too busy growing up (way too fast), I want to be sure and enjoy my "little" princess while she's still little! I love this picture - one of those rare instances where she let me fix her hair!