Our Savior is Born!

Christmas is such a special time of year! Yes, I love the family time, the time off of work, the presents, decorations, yummy food, Santa, etc. but it amazes me to think about the actual Christmas story and the long trip that Mary and Joseph took to Bethlehem. Anyone who's been pregnant can't even imagine how horrible that must've been to ride on a donkey and travel so far in the wind, rain, etc., and then to have no where to birth your first born except in a place full of stinky, dirty animals. How blessed we are that God sent his son as a baby to save the world and that Mary and Joseph trusted God so completely.

Here are some pictures of our warm, family Christmas!

Finley enjoyed swinging a few days before Christmas when the weather was beautiful!

She's also discovered the ball pit!

Here are Finley and Dylan (cousins) at Aunt Glenda's house for Christmas Eve.

These two are just 5 weeks apart. This was their first time to meet. I think they liked each other!

Aunt Jo and Morgan

Addi and Eme having lunch together

the babies!

the "big kids" watching T.V. and playing with Annie

the whole crew! It was great having Terri, David, and Max join us this year! It was so nice to see Patti, too, but somehow, I didn't get a picture of her.

Gigi and the boys

all of the cousins

Our den is small but at Christmas it is even smaller, yet, I LOVE how cozy it feels this time of year! Maybe we'll be one of those families who leaves the tree up for 6 months or so.

Grandma and PawPaw came early Christmas morning to watch the girls' reaction to Santa. The girls were so excited!

Finley loved opening presents and trying to eat the paper.

Here we are at Grandma and PawPaw's a few hours later. We celebrated Christmas with Laura, Robert, Jett, Dartmouth, Jacob, Sarah, Mark, Harry, and Jordan. We sure missed Georgana! She wasn't feeling well and couldn't make it.

Grandma gave Finley a book that John got on his first Christmas. How special to have it for Finley to keep and share with her children one day.

Addi opening her stocking from Gigi

Gigi's babies (who are growing up too fast!)

Randy and the boys

Mom gave all of the kids surprise balls to open. They had the best time unwrapping them and finding little toys. Then, they played in the paper.

I am very blessed to have such a sweet brother and sister...

Santa brought Addi a trampoline. This was her first time to jump on it! AND it was snowing! She had a blast!

Addi is our little "spacial" girl. She does very well putting puzzles together, building things, etc. This was the puzzle that Uncle Randy and the boys gave her. She and I did it together but she did over half of it by herself. I was impressed!

Winter Wonderland

I've been wanting to take the girls to the Mac Wane Center for the Winter Wonderland exhibit, so today, John and I decided to go! We took Eme along with us so Addi would have a playmate. The girls had a wonderful time! They played well together! Here are some pictures of our day...

They enjoyed "ice fishing" and measuring their fish.

Eme had fun running across the piano. Addi wasn't a big fan.

Both girls love the snow room! Finley and I did, too! We could've stayed in there all day.

John watched the girls dig for dinosaur bones while I fed Finley. They had a great time!

I LOVE this picture! A little germy, I know, but too neat!

We saw Leigh, Chip, Houston, James, and Katherine there! Addi loved seeing Katherine!

Eme wanted to do this over and over- she loved it!

It was hysterical watching them watch themselves dance.

Addi and Eme were a little hesitant to go down the tunnel slide but both did it and loved it once they could see me at the bottom. They wanted to do it again and again!

We had a great time and hope to go back soon (maybe when it's a little less crowded!)

Christmas fun!

I love the season of Christmas! Here are some pictures of what we've been doing lately to celebrate.

Addi was in a Christmas pageant at school. She was an angel. Here she is with her friend Taylor.

The kids loved playing with Finley while they waited to perform.

Addi's classmates/friends.

Elise Rose laughing when her halo fell

singing "Away in a Manger"

(I love this "Elise Rose face")

Addi and Ms. Lindsey

Our family came to see the pageant (Gigi, Mary, David, Laura, Robert, Jett, and Dartmouth). Gigi gave Addi a special angel ornament (which she dropped and broke as she took it out of the bag. We tried to glue it back).

We made a trip to Bass Pro to see Santa. John waited in line for about 2 hours while we walked around and kept the kids busy.

Finally, we got to see Santa! Addi was thrilled! She jumped right in his arms and thanked him for sending her elf. We were so happy that we stayed and waited for so long!

Thanks, Alicia, for this precious outfit! Finley's worn it multiple times!

When I was little, my parents and their Sunday school class made nativity scenes where you start on Dec. 1st and each night you read a verse and add a piece to the nativity scene. The set they made when we were little disappeared (after many, many years) so Mom spent a LOT of time and made one for each family. This is Addi's favorite part of the day (and mine, too). She loves the anticipation of what we'll get to add to the scene each night. Thank you, Gigi, for such a special gift that takes me back to my wonderful childhood and allows my girls to experience the same.

my little loves

Finley's teachers at school gave her this precious hat, a book, and a rubber duck for Christmas. She was so excited!

Here we are for the Trotman family Christmas!

Anna and Fin

Gigi and Fin

Memommy and her 10 great grandchildren

4 of the 9 cousins and our kids

My cousins and I laugh at the years of the 9 of us running around Memommy and Greatdaddy's house. The noise was ridiculous! The videos show paper flying, kids screaming...pure, joyous chaos! We love that we can get together with our own children for the same wild family get togethers!