New Year's Eve

We were blessed to spend part of New Year's Eve with our friends, the Lacognatas. We have done some really wonderful things with this family, and we miss seeing them every week. 3 of our kids are close in age to 3 of their kids, both families homeschool, Kim, Joe, and I are all from Illinois originally, and we're all Christ followers, so God has knitted our hearts together. We spent the evening eating, watching a Tim Hawkins DVD, and finally playing Apples to Apples. We missed Alleson who was working, and Landon and Gerren who were at CAP Winter Encampment. The girls had such a good time that they didn't want the evening to end. We should have kept Nina and Sarah overnight!

Jon and Joe Lacognata


Sarah and Nina Lacognata and Chase

Learning to Ride

I had forgotten what a trick it is for little ones to learn the coordination of pumping their legs to ride a tricycle. Three of my children are short and have a tough time reaching pedals on top of the coordination thing. Carys is one of them!











As you can see, everyone had a try. So far, no good! :)

Carys Opening Gifts

I had to post a separate entry on Carys opening her gifts. It is SO fun to watch her. Every little thing she opens is a big deal to her. She gasps and says, "Oh... it's my fravrite!" (No, that's not a typo... just how she says it!)

Below is a montage of her opening a color wheel puzzle. First we wrapped it in paper. Then, we realized that some of the other kids knew we had purchased this puzzle and its shape. That would give away Carys' code name and help them toward figuring out everyone else's code name. So, we put the wrapped puzzle in a gift bag as well.

Christmas Morning - The Gift List

I got up shortly after 7:00 this morning and managed to beat the rest of the crew. I think Chase was the first one up at 8:45. They know they have to get dressed, make their beds, and eat breakfast before opening gifts anyway. I am SO cruel!

We had Pull-Apart Caramel Rolls for breakfast. Chase LOVES these! We finally started opening gifts around 10:00 am.

Here's a before picture!

Now, I am going to do the boring list of what everyone received, because this blog is primarily a record for my own family. So, skip this part if it's too tedious for you.

First of all, every year, Gran (Greg's mom) gives us a subscription to Blockbuster Online. We love it and enjoy it all year.

Landon received a pair of Justin boots...


a 201-piece mechanic's tool set...


and a subscription to Car and Driver from Mom & Dad, a digital camera from Grandma Epie and Papa JoJo, and a new pocket knife from Gerren & Chase.

Gerren received a new pair of Crocs...


the same 201-piece mechanic's tool set (doesn't he look thrilled?)...


a $10 iTunes gift card, and a new watch from Mom & Dad...


a digital camera from Grandma Epie & Papa JoJo...


and another $10 iTunes gift card from Landon & Chase. Greg hid it in this bag of Cheerios snack mix, and Gerren could NOT figure out what this was!

Chase received a Tinkerbell purse...


a pink Razor scooter...


a huge bag of black sunflower seeds for the birds, hidden in this curriculum box...


and a bag for her electric guitar from Mom & Dad...


a digital camera from Grandma Epie and Papa JoJo...


...and the Tinkerbell DVD (for her and Carys) from Landon & Gerren.

Carys received a color wheel puzzle, a set of magnetic gears, and an Aquadoodle from Mom & Dad...


a tunnel...


and a tricycle from Grandma Epie & Papa JoJo...


a Sleeping Beauty umbrella from Chase...


and the Tinkerbell DVD from Gerren & Landon.

I got a new electric skillet (which I didn't ask for but decided that I liked) and a new professional blender (the motor on my old one is about to go)...


a rice cooker (not the brand I asked for but I may keep it) and a set of Paula Deen cookware which is going back because it's not non-stick.

Greg got a thermometer that tells the outdoor temperature for the big van from the kids...


and a new coat...


and a Bosch palm router set from me.


Of course, I'm rather obsessive/compulsive about keeping the trash picked up so nothing (like a gift card) gets lost in the mess. Carys was my helper! :)

I have been wanting to get rid of the massive entertainment center in our living room for at least a year now. So, Grandma Epie and Papa JoJo blessed us with a new 42" plasma screen TV. Of course, that required us to get a new piece of furniture to put the TV on. :)

Next post, Christmas afternoon and evening!

Christmas Afternoon/Evening

Greg's mom joined us for dinner in the afternoon. We had Peppered Ribeye, Cheddar and Broccoli Stuffed Potatoes, Caesar salad, Buttery Rolls, and Cappuccino Cheesecake around 2:00. After Carys got up from her nap around 6:00 p.m., we opened stockings. We've fallen into this tradition over the past several years, and it works well for us.

After the kids got up in the morning, Greg whispers in my ear in the kitchen, "Why are the stockings empty?" Yikes! I forgot to fill them. So, we hurriedly sat in the closet filling stockings. It didn't really matter at that point since we didn't open them until 6:00 p.m.!



The kids enjoyed the stuff in their stockings almost as much as their presents. They were small things, but we chose them individually for each of them instead of stuff for everyone.

Carys is looking at her little Tinkerbell projecting flashlight.



Chase smells her Tink body spray.


Gerren checks out his stuff.


When Greg and I were first married, we stopped at a roadside stand to get boiled peanuts... a common thing here in Florida. Now, I love peanuts, so I thought I'd love boiled peanuts as well. Let me tell you, if you are a Yankee like me, forget it! They are SOGGY! Blech! I thought it was so funny that I found a can of boiled peanuts in the grocery store this year and snapped them right up for Greg's stocking! :)

Before we had kids, Greg and I went to the movies every Christmas afternoon or evening. That was hard to do with a bunch of little kids, though. We revived the tradition this year as Carys is finally getting old enough. We went to see Disney's Bedtime Stories. It was fabulous! Greg said he can't remember when he has laughed so hard at a movie. The only one he could come up with was Steel Magnolias. Now how long ago was that? :)