On Christmas Day

The kids had to be woken up but as soon as we told them "Santa came" they jumped out of bed and ran down the hall to see the booty.

The guitar was a big hit and Tate picked it up like he'd been holding one his whole life.

Emma was thrilled, Granna bought her REAL dresses! They are beautiful!

I had a little "ugh" moment in the middle of all the Christmas festivities. Emma was being selfish with one of her toys so I says to her "Every good and perfect gift is from above, God gives us these gifts so that we can share with each other" to which she retorts "but I thought Santa brought me these toys?" To which I reply "God lets Santa give us these toys". OOH! WHAT am I DOING?! Quoting scripture and lying about Santa!? Good grief!! I almost choked on the words as soon as they left my tongue. I almost confessed to the whole charade right there but Emma had already trotted off to something else. I'm still a bit dumbfounded by the whole situation... Uh... Yeah...

This is Tate's attempt at "looking tough" and showing off his tatooed muscles

Another pretty dress from her friends Tucker and Tyler
Poppy boy is so hard to buy for, he has everything he wants and whetever he doesn't have he just buys for himself. But you can't go wrong with little hands and feet...especially if they are black and red. For anyone in the area who is interested, Ginger Hartman can make the cutest stuff out of your kids prints. Her email address is capmom2006@att.net

After gifts it was on to the more serious business...eating! Poppy and Jason have perfected the fried turkey. It's the only way to eat the stuff if you ask me.

A few months ago, my dad was featured on the cover of Well Servicing magazine and had a big fat cover story written about him.

So Luke and Shane had t-shirts, aprons, and bags made up with his picture on them and then gave them to us all. So funny to see my dad's picture plastered across the whole family, from GG all the way down to TC. Dad tried to act like it was no big deal but you could tell he thought it was a pretty cool joke. Good job guys! We ended the day riding around on the new bikes that Santa brought. Oh, we enjoyed the peacefulness of the day. Christmas could not have been better this year. I am so very thankful that my God chose to come to us as a baby to bridge the gap of our sin with his sacrifice. It is because of Him that I cannot even count my blessings they are so numerous. It is because of Him that our family is still together and functioning. It is because of Him that my once empty places are now full. It is because of Him that I move and breath and have my being. And it is because of Him that I have such peace. Not quiet or lack of chaos in my life; with 3 kids, are you kidding? This peace in my soul passes all understanding because I know that the One who holds the universe is holding me. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11 Thankyou God for Christmas and for Your gift of peace to me this year!