CA Christmas

We are having an awesome Christmas vacation in Southern CA. It was a very hectic, but fun week! And these vacations always go by too quickly. The kids love spending time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We have visited with some friends too. They got more than they will ever need in the gift department (so did Peter and I). And the tamales, oh the tamales. They are the best. We spent most of the week at my grandma's house, and a few nights at my sister's house. The kids LOOOOVE spending time with their cousins...we would have stayed there the whole week if they had their way!

I decided a slideshow would be the best way to see all the photos from the mayhem.

The cousins decided to go "caroling" one morning. Too cute:


And now Christmas is over and we head back to AZ tomorrow. It was a very special year....2010, here we come!

5

Today we celebrated our precious Alayna, who turned 5 years old. Oh, how we enjoy this little girl! She has been such an incredible addition to our family. Her smile can light up a room. On my worst days, she can make me laugh. It was nice to put aside a day to celebrate her life. So often over the past few years, she's gotten pushed to the wayward because one of her brothers requiring so much of us. But, she never complained or tried to get our attention with negative behavior. She just tried to include herself in everything--with Ezra's therapies, doctor appointments, feedings, or Jeremiah's teacher conferences, school activities, play dates with friends. But, now, she's her own little person. She has play dates and school activities of her own. And she embraces life with an enthusiasm and appreciation that we should possess ourselves. She is a pure delight.

We had her party this afternoon. With all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, not many people were able to join us, but we were so happy to have my parents, Peter's mother and brother, and a few friends over for some games and cake and ice cream. We played "Pin Alayna on the Castle" and Musical Mats. We took pictures galore! Peter's brother is a fantastic photographer and he brought a lot of his fancy equipment with him and took some great photos. Once he gets home to edit the photos, he'll send us a CD and we'll put together a slide show of the day. What a day it was!

For now, here are some photos the rest of us took.

Birthday Girl


Ready to Party


Games




CAKE




Presents!




Friends



HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS ALAYNA! WE LOVE YOU!

Christmas--Two Weeks Early

Because Peter's Mom and brother were in town this weekend, and we won't see them over Christmas, we decided to have Christmas this morning so she could see the kids open their gifts. They were stoked, of course. Even Peter and I got to open a couple gifts. It was a fun morning, Christmas--two weeks early! Here are some photos:

Stockings




The Boy






The Girl






We will be in So Cal for Christmas...we're so excited! Peter will be home (he has to work), but will join us on the weekend after Christmas (since Sat and Sun are his days off). Happy Christmas!

Time For A New Tradition?

We ran short on cards this year, and didn't get to mail it out to everyone on "the list", so we thought we'd post it here. I am not even sure why we bother sending out cards anymore. Every year it seems like we spend SO much money on them. Not just the cards, but the stamps, and the waste of paper when most people just toss it, either into a box they will never look in again, or in the trash (or recycling bin, I hope). We went ahead and did a card this year, but I am thinking that starting next year, we might not do it anymore. We are in touch with most everyone via email, blogging, or Facebook. It makes much more sense to just post a blog/facebook greeting every year. We will save money, time, and trees! What do you think?

This year's card:


(Click on image for larger view.)