Frosty the Snowman

Boy did we ever have a white Christmas! Brian and Shayla decided to make the biggest snowman they have ever made. They were both pretty proud of themselves. Don't worry, it snowed several more inches after this picture to fill in the grass that was uncovered by the forming of the snowman.

2 1/2 Years

It's been 2 1/2 years since all of my siblings were together. So we decided to remedy that this Christmas. We all gathered together and Kevin and Kelley's to take pictures, eat, play, take pictures, laugh, open presents, take pictures.... We really had a great time. Here is some proof of the fun:

Technology is amazing! We were able to form our own rock band, play tennis indoors, and talk to our parents, who were unable to be there for the party. My brother put the webcam on the big screen so we could all talk to and see Grandma and Papa and they could see us. However, Kevin had other intentions with the big screen. What is that about honoring your father and mother? I'd like to see you try this in real life, Kev.

Well.......

Well, the singing in church is over and done with. And it went something like this. Dad plays intro. Shayla looks at Mom and says nothing. Mom looks at Shayla and starts to cue her. Shayla gets off the chair, Dad stops playing. Shayla says, "I'm not ready." Mom say, "Ready or not, it's time to sing." Shayla stands back up on the chair, Dad plays intro. Shayla yells, "Daddy, I'm not ready!" Mom takes Shayla off the chair and notices the 1st counselor turning off the microphone so my naughty words aren't heard throughout the chapel (he knows me a little too well and affectionately calls me Potty Mouth). Mom makes eye contact with her sister and starts to giggle. Mom then bribes Shayla with everything she can (I think she might be getting a Mercedes for her 16th birthday). Mom tells Shayla the only choice she has is to stand on the chair and sing, or to have Mom hold her and sing. Shayla opts for Mom to hold her. Mom picks up Shayla and gives Dad a nod. Dad plays intro. Shayla looks at Mom and says nothing. Mom looks at Dad and says start one more time, then turns to Shayla and says, "Mom will sing with you." Dad plays intro. Shayla starts to sing. Mom sings quietly with Shayla. Shayla gets to the chorus and can't hold back any longer. Shayla sings with all her heart. Mom sings the second verse. Mom makes the HUGE mistake of looking away from Shayla at the congregation. Mom starts to cry. Shayla looks at Mom. Shayla starts to sing the third verse while Mom tries to get her composure. Mom and Shayla sing the rest of the song. Dad starts to cry. Dad cannot see the music or the piano keys any longer. Mom and Dad walk off the stand in tears. Shayla wants her treat.

Thank you Shayla for making all my dreams come true! I LOVE being your Mom!

She sure looks cute, despite.....

Christmas Dance

Shayla got to participate in another dance program, so you are now all subjected to watching. I guess you don't have to watch if you don't want to, but I would have to say that you would be missing out. She happens to be the cutest, best, most graceful, disciplined, beautiful dancer that ever graced the earth. (Ok, so I'm a little biased, but I do think she is fun to watch.)

Christmas Treat!

Ever since Shayla was one year old, she has loved the song Away In A Manger. She sings it throughout the whole Christmas season, and even sometimes during other times of the year. This year, she told me she wanted to sing in the microphone at church. I wasn't sure if she could pull it off. We tried at home to practice as if we were at church, and she did great. We called and they needed a musical number for a couple of weeks in December still, so Shayla and I got put down as the musical number this Sunday. It is so sweet to hear this little voice and to sing with her. I just have to figure out a way to get through the song without being an emotional wreck. We practiced in the chapel to let her see how it will work. Luckily we snuck in a camera during the practice. Hopefully Sunday won't be as rough as this practice, but all in all, I think she did great!

Christmas Cookies

I love the tradition of decorating sugar cookies at Christmas time. Shayla and I worked hard making a bunch of cookies and decided to decorate some when Dad got home. Cambree had to enjoy it too, so we decided to give her, her first cookie. You can decide for yourself how much you think she liked it.

Shayla didn't have to be convinced! She knows she likes them!

Nativity

As you all know we like to decorate with nativity scenes for Christmas. We have a few that are kid friendly that the girls love to play with throughout the season. We put them down low and under the tree so the girls can play and touch those decorations, and hopefully not the other ones. Shayla has a little people nativity that we usually set up during the holiday, and thought Cambree would enjoy playing with this. I asked Shayla to get her little people and set up the nativity so we could have it as a decoration. Well, she has her own idea of how this particular nativity scene should be displayed. She spent quite a bit of time getting it ready and, luckily decided it would not be appropriate for the living room decorations, but she needed her room decorated. We went downstairs to see what was taking her so long, and this is what we found. We love her decorating skills.