I was really impressed that Ella was still awake when we got home from my parents' house. It was after 8 o'clock, but thanks to that trusty flashlight, she was wide awake when we got here. She helped her daddy pick out two really pretty cookies for Santa and poured him a glass of milk. Above is a picture of her helping carry it from the kitchen to its perch near the tree. Beemer really wanted a bite! We were working on putting a table near the tree for Santa's treats and she was standing guard. Santa is lucky that we were paying attention. His cookies could've been gone before he ever had a chance. Here is Ella saying goodnight to Scout and reminding him that she had been a really good girl. She was hoping Scout would put in a good word for her when Santa came to pick him up. We left ...
Christmas
To Grandmother’s House We Go {Part Two}
After celebrating Josh's parents, we met my family for Christmas communion. This is always one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Our pastor and music minister lead us in communion as a family during a candlelight service. This year Ella was upset about not getting to have juice and a cracker, but she was very good. We had been explaining to her that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and she was worried about not attending a party. During the service she asked Brother John about singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and he was sweet enough to sing with her. All the way home, though, she asked us why nobody else {other families waiting in the sanctuary} came up the steps to sing to baby Jesus and why he wasn't there either?! Once we return to my parents' house, we always enjoy a snack supper - we all ...
To Grandmother’s House We Go {Part One}
To minimize the travel, drama and hissy fits on Christmas morning, we continue the tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve with our parents and siblings. We start the day at Nana & Cookie's with them, Uncle Bull and Isabella. Nana always cooks up a feast of ham, dressing, homemade macaroni & cheese and lots more. Ella's favorite {and mine, too} is the endless peanut butter fudge, which we got lots of to bring home and share! Ella & Isabella had such a good time playing together. They were all over the house, eating and opening a mass of presents. For the first Christmas since Ella was born, we managed to get a picture of her with Nana & Cookie. I don't know we have such a hard time with that, but we made a special point to get some group photos this year! It took Ella ...
Gifts from Scout
Despite the fact that Josh really loathed the elf in the beginning, he's the first to admit Scout has been a huge hit around our house this holiday season. For those of you not following along, he's made an appearance in the following places: our Christmas tree, Ella's stocking, the Christmas card tree, a wreath in Ella's room, eating Reese's cups in the kitchen, coloring in the playroom, at Gran's house and multiple places in the bathroom {hence our mega-potty success over the past few days}. She was so enamored with him, that we've been really concerned about how she would react when Santa took him home on Christmas Eve. To ease the pain, we decided maybe it was a good idea for Scout to bid farewell with a gift. Not only would this remind her that Scout was very sweet and looking out ...
Incremental Christmas
So I just looked at my camera and it says I took 128 pictures Wednesday and Thursday... and I don't really think I took enough. Since there is no way I can paint the perfect picture in the course of one post, I'll be breaking it up a bit over the next several days. Just know we had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you enjoy the recap! Wednesday morning we woke up to presents from Scout {more on those later} and a strong desire to bake Santa some cookies. Since I haven't yet received the recipe for mom's excellent cookies and she didn't send any dough home with us, we were sort of on our own. Instead of slaving away on such a busy day, I bought a sleeve of sugar cookie mix and tested it. It took us several tries to realize that cookie cutters just weren't "cutting it". We ended up ...
Merry Christmas-Eve-Eve
Tonight we're watching Christmas movies. How the Grinch stole Christmas and Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas to be exact. These photos were our poor attempt to capture the cuteness of my child in her Christmas 'jamas. In the first photo we have eyes closed, the second one we're swinging bunny and in the third we're squealing "Santa's coming tomorrow!!" Oh well. Tomorrow we're baking cookies for Santa, bidding Scout farewell, sharing Christmas communion and spending time with grandparents. Enjoy your holiday and remember the true gift of the season. God Bless. Although we've had two accidents today, we've more than made up for it over the last three hours. She's used the potty successfully five times since I got home at 6:30. Yeah, Ella! ...
Merry Christmas, Alston
Does it get much sweeter than this? Okay, it does. Below. Look at those cheeks! And those eyes! Oh, and did I mention the princess holding him?! Tonight our great friends Beth & Patrick came by for dinner to celebrate Christmas before life gets hectic and they head out of town. We were so excited to spend several hours visiting with them and snuggling up with that sweet baby boy. He was a dream and let us all hold him, even Ella. We managed to get a few snaps in of the two of them and boy am I impressed when Ella smiles on cue for the camera. I think she's too afraid of being bad at this point... Christmas only being two days away and all. Below is a random picture from last night that I find hilarious. Two girls, wearing polka-dotsies and pony tails, snuggling on the couch ...
Merry Christmas Blog-Friends!
our Christmas card {front} our Christmas card {back} I don't know why the bible verse is WAY off center here. I promise on the printed version it looks perfect :). Since the posting might be few and far between in the next week, I wanted to share our Christmas card with you. Many of you will get one in the mail (although it might be Wednesday or even Friday before you see it... come on, I live with a two-year-old), but for those of you who won't, I wanted you to see it and know that we are wishing you a Merry Christmas from the rock house. We have lots to do this week. Fellowship with family. Bake more cookies. Wrap more presents. Take a token shopping trip amongst the crazies. With Ella in tow. Write letters to Santa. Hunt our friendly elf (who was coloring a picture this ...