Homemade Christmas Eve

We have a tradition in our family of drawing names and making homemade presents for each other that we exchange on Christmas Eve. This year I tried making pajama pants for all the kids and they turned out really cute!

Dad made Samuel a "Build Your Own Birdhouse Kit" to complete
one of his Wolf electives for Cub Scouts.

Shelby made me a whole bunch of different scented bath salts.
I can hardly wait to try them out!

I made Shelby a tote bag that she can use for her library books.

Caleb made Savannah a personalized Christmas book and a ballerina skirt.

Joshua made Caleb a "Number One Penguin Lover" trophy!

Samuel made Joshua a volcano that he can actually make erupt over and over.
(unfortunately, it is still in the process of drying, so we haven't tried it out yet!)

Savannah made Daddy a snowglobe with pictures of the two of them in it.

The kids put on a nativity pageant (another of our family traditions) and it was really cute!

Shelby directed and everyone else had a part in it.

Is this not the sweetest Mary you have ever seen?

Merry Christmas! From our house to yours!

My Cute Kids

I took some great pics of the kids when we did our family photo shoot in Nevada. I was so excited to get home and blow them up to 8x10s to replace the current pics in their frames! Unfortunately, I realized all too late that I had the camera set to the lowest resolution......SO FRUSTRATING! Since I can't blow these up, I thought I would post them on my blog so at least the friends who visit my "virtual home" can see pictures of my kids!

Savannah

Shelby

Joshua

Caleb

Samuel

Keeping Christ in Christmas

I have had so much fun collecting nativities over the years and displaying them at Christmastime. I think it is a neat way for our family to remember the true meaning of Christmas. I find that I am currently collecting non-breakable nativities as they are the ones that will survive my active family! Anyway, here are a few of the nativities that are brightening our Christmas this year.

Merry Christmas!

I Am Thankful For My Family

I have been MIA from blogging for a while due to the logistics of getting a family of seven across country and back again. Everyone is now settled back into school and adjusted to the time change, and except for me having a yucky cold, we have survived! So what exactly was I up to, you might ask........


For Thanksgiving we went to a family reunion in Logandale, Nevada. It was so neat to be with my family, all 38 of them, and let our kids get to know their cousins again. Living so far away, this was a special treat for us! We took advantage of the beautiful red rocks in the area for a fun family photo shoot, so I thought I would post the pictures on my blog for those of you who know my family. (Sorry, you won't be seeing my family photo because it is going on my Christmas cards this year.....better make sure I have your address!)

Mom and Dad

Glen's Family




Shannon's Family



Krysten's Family


Mandy's Family

Rachel's Family

The Girls!

Yes, that is me on the end.....2nd oldest and definitely the shortest of the crew!

It was so much fun being with my brother and sisters again. We all piled in the car at 2:00 a.m. on Black Friday and went into Vegas to go Christmas shopping. After 12 hrs. of deliriously sleep deprived shopping, going to lunch and reminiscing together, our families were glad to get us back! Sometimes, a vacation can be priceless, and this one will always be remembered.