A special visit

I took the kids to visit Ms. Linda today. She took care of Maddie Grace for the first 18 months of her life. She is so special to us! When Maddie was just a few weeks old, Ms. Linda and I came to the agreement that we wanted to call my sweet girl "Maddie Grace". Marty and I had never planned to call her by a double name, but Linda and I agreed that it suited her. It still does!

Big Boy Bed

During the Christmas craziness, Preston's big boy furniture came in. We weren't expecting it to arrive so quickly! I still haven't bought his bedding. I borrowed the mattress off of Maddie's trundle just so he could get used to sleeping on it. Guess who wants to sleep on the top bunk?

Christmas Morning

Our Christmas didn't quite work out as planned. My parents made it to our house a few days early, but my sister's family was supposed to come on Christmas Day. The crazy amount of snow at their house didn't allow them to make the trip. We were pretty bummed. We made the most of our day, and the kids loved thier new toys.

Preston and Maddie asked for guitars for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we learned that Preston told his class that he was getting a "big bike". That was the first Marty or I had heard about that, but thankfully Santa came through!
Bath robe and rain boots
We love Mamaw!

AND we love Papaw!!
I don't know why we keep buying ball pits. They don't last very long!
Mommy must have been good this year!

Greeting Tree

I found room for a 6th Christmas tree this year: our entry way. I took a skinny tree and decorated it with ornaments that Marty and I have collected since we got married. We filled in the rest of the tree with Christmas cards from family and friends. The kids loved getting cards in the mail then picking spots on the tree to place them. It was a fun way to display all the pictures!

We found our elf, Ho-ho, hiding in the tree.
My parents gave me the train that they used around our family tree when I was growing up. I was able to use just a few pieces of the track to fit this tree, and it was a hit!

Santa

Maddie's friend Koko had a surprise guest at her birthday party! Maddie ran to the door to look for Santa's sleigh and Rudolph.

A Party for Jesus

We had our annual Birthday Party for Jesus party before Christmas. Each family brings new unwrapped toys to donate in honor of Jesus' birth. We had lots of crafts, and we read the story of Jesus' birth to the kids. Their favorite part is singing "Happy Birthday" and eating the cake for Jesus! We hope this tradition will teach our children the real reason we celebrate Christmas.