New Year's Eve

We rang in the new year with sweet friends and neighbors.  The kids especially enjoyed the sparklers and fireworks at the Smiths' house.

Deer hunters

Charlie and Daddy went deer hunting this afternoon.  Five minutes in, a doe steps right out and a couple more follow a few minutes later.  When Charlie had dozed off in my lap, a buck appears at the far end of the field and eventually reappeared closer.  Charlie was in my ear "shoot him, please shoot him, shoot him, etc." for several minutes until the buck disappeared. Charlie about disowned me for not shooting him - but maybe we'll see him next year when Charlie has a gun.  Overall, it was another great outing on a cold December day - deer, ducks, geese, raccoon, and lots of other fun.

Christmas dinner with Nana, Grandpa, and the Eisenhauers

We had Christmas dinner with Nana, Grandpa, and the Eisenhauers.  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas from the Barbours!

Fun with cousins

Our Barbour cousins stopped by on the way to Natchez to wish us a Merry Christmas!

Opening our gifts

The children loved opening their gifts!  Jane Gray especially loved her electric scooter; Charlie his ant farm and Eli Manning autographed football; and Meg her Dream Lite.

The children can't wait!

The children woke us up at 6:00 by jumping up and down loudly in Charlie's room, which is above Mommy and Daddy's room (just like Daddy did when he was a little boy).  They were so excited to see what Santa brought them!  Just look at the huge candy canes he left by their beds!

Santa came!

Santa was good to us this year!

Reading Luke 2 and Twas the Night Before Christmas

Before we rushed off to bed, we stopped to read the Christmas story in Luke 2 and Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Phone call from Santa

Just as we were finishing our preparations for Santa, he called to tell us that he was on the way to our house. The kids were so excited, and Meg made sure we all rushed to bed so that Santa would be sure to stop at our house.

Getting ready for Santa Claus

We wrote Santa a note and left out some milk and cookies for him.  We also put some reindeer food on the roof for Rudolph and the other reindeer.

Christmas 2012 ornaments

We let the children open one present on Christmas Eve - their Christmas ornaments.

Christmas PJs scavenger hunt

We did our Christmas PJs scavenger hunt again this year.  The kids loved it!