Christmas Day....what a great one!!!!

Santa came and left a house filled with Christmas Joy......I think we all were excited for the Big Man to arrive and thank goodness he came before Colin had us up the rest of the night....LOL!!  I swear that kid, must have been all excited too, b/c he was up giggling, running around, and just being crazy.  I think we got maybe 2 hours of sleep, then Ethan was up and ready to start the morning.....Oh well, sleep is overrated anyway, and the rest of the day was so fun!  We loved everything about it and seeing the boy's faces was worth every penny.......

After our morning of fun, we got ready and headed to my parents for some more Christmas cheer.....

Christmas Eve

When we got up on Monday, we had the whole day planned; however, having 2 little boys and one that we are still trying to figure out, it quickly changed to making sure that we enjoy the day, whether our schedule was met or not.....Our church plans, were the ones that had to change.  We had salads to get, and thank heavens for my dad, because the phones were down at Walnut Creek Cheese, so I called him and he ran out for us to get them.  Anyway, no major meltdowns or anything, but the day had other things in mind....We started watching the noon service online, but yet again, the boys decided things were going to be a bit different....All in all, we made it to Sugarcreek on time, salads in hand, and ready to enjoy the evening at Grandma and Grandpa Shroyer's....When we got there, Colin FINALLY fell asleep and was napping when everyone else arrived from church, so him and I stayed back, while the others headed out to see Grandma Shroyer....I'm so glad Brenton and Ethan went!  Brenton has been wanting to get out to see her and what better day to go.  We had a fun day and had 2 tired boys by the time we were ready to head home.

introducing Grandma to Pete the Cat

Once we got home, we had a few things to do for Santa.....here's our traditions for the Big Man....

Finally having the boys all snug in their beds, Santa arrived....

he filled the stockings....

and left a bunch of presents!!!!

Start of our Christmas Fun!!!

What a wonderful Christmas we had.....I tell you, this was our best one yet!  Not that we didn't have setbacks or upset children some time during the weekend, but that we let each day take us where it may.....We didn't rush, we didn't push, we just went and boy, it was nice!  Our fun started with the "Shroyer Cousin Christmas" on Saturday and that turned out great.  Our boys absolutely love their cousin's and they had a ball.....

 Another thing that happened, is we had to say goodbye to Brutus.  He gave the boys a special package on Monday and a letter explaining things.....Santa, even lifted his magic for a few minutes, so we all could say goodbye....Colin said his goodbyes by yelling "BYE" and waving as he ran down the hall....he's not to keen on Brutus, he keeps him an arms distance away atleast at all times ;) We sure will miss Brutus, but what a fun time we had with him this year....

 



After we said goodbye, Ethan was a bit anxious about Santa coming and opening presents, so we let the boys exchange their gifts and each of them got books.....Ethan loves Pete the Cat, so Colin got him Pete and His Groovy Buttons & Pete himself....Colin loves Llama Llama series, so Ethan got him Llama Llama Time to Share....Perfect gifts from their brother =)

Christmas Memories

Not much happened at our house this past weekend.....WOW, we got hit with the flu bug, I think....Colin and I were down and out pretty much all weekend, didn't go or do anything, but stayed home.  Brenton started to come down with it then Saturday night, so Sunday, was a pretty fun day at our house.  LOL!!  To be quite honest, it's what we needed, we've been GO, GO, GO for awhile and a break to unwind was really needed.  Since I didn't have much to do, but think about things, life in general....I started pondering life and all the memories that we have shared over the years, while sitting on the couch looking at our "family" tree.  Brenton and I started a tradition back in 1999 when we bought each other a Christmas ornament and I remember telling him that one day, "I want a tree filled to the brim w/ ornaments that represent our lives over the years" and now, we've carried the tradition on w/ our boys.....These are the ornaments that we've added this year....

This is a short school week for Ethan, b/c of the Christmas holiday, but I have to admit giving last week's tragedy and the school shooting in Connecticut, I'm ready for a break myself and have my little family together everyday, all day for 2 weeks!  I get the opportunity to have the whole Christmas week off and I'm so excited!!!  Anyway, Ethan couldn't get home quick enough from school to give us his "special surprises" that he made for us at school....It's these simple gifts that mean the most to me, b/c he made them and seeing this is the only thing he can do without us knowing....he truly put his whole heart into doing them and giving them to us, meant the world to him.....

Another thing he got to do at school, was give his 1st teacher gift and he was really excited to give Miss Bowden the framed print I made, w/ his signature.  We gave her a few other things, as well....but, this was what he couldn't wait to give....

We had a fun night last night and enjoyed "Christmas in the Park" at Tuscora Park.  It was such a nice night that we bundled the boys up, put them in the wagon, and away we went.  It was really fun, but tons of people.....Such a great community event, nonetheless!  Here are a few pictures from our night.....

Cookie Extravaganza & List

Around our house, we are having a great time this Christmas season.....we are continuing w/ traditions, yet making new ones, too!  This past week, we have been baking up a storm....We decided to do non-traditional cookies and had a request from Ethan to make a Gingerbread Man.  He loves that story and he was so excited to make one of his very own.....he reenacted the story for us, too =)  Anyway, we made gingerbread men, melted snowmen, gingerbread drops, and The Grinch cookies....Truly, we had fun the past couple of nights and making memories, is what I love to do most.

Another thing that I loved this year, was Ethan's 1st Christmas List that he wrote out....This will be made into a keepsake ornament....He has listed:  Batcave, Hulk, Bone Guy, iPod, Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers.