2009

I just wanted to take a moment and say THANK YOU to all of you that asked me to photograph your families during 2009. I am so thankful for the opportunity to capture memories of your families for you.....and so blessed to be able to share something I love with all of you!

We need a little Christmas....

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year....and I'm always sad to see it come and go. I thought I would share some of my favorite memories from Christmas this year..

Fun notes from Jenna....with words spelled wrong!

Pretty snow...2 days after Christmas! A letter to Santa. I'm so sad that the years of believing in Santa are almost over at our house. Hopefully Jenna keeps believing for another year!

Wrapping gifts! I love wrapping Christmas gifts!! This year I took a day while the kids were with Chris' parents and took my time wrapping. I used lots of different red and white patterned papers and pretty ribbons.....and barely any gift bags! I love how it looked under our tree.

Making Christmas goodies....especially cut out cookies with my kids!! Since we had the whole week before Christmas off and no where to go, we were able to do lots of baking this year!

Jenna made a special cookie just for Dad....a tribute to our friend Pink Angel who we saw in NYC. :) Speaking of baking....thanks to my mom, I FINALLY had success making caramels using my Grandma L's recipe this year. I have tried to make them numerous times and either end up with caramel sauce or a brick of caramels. My mom helped me make them while they were here...and they turned out perfect! SO excited!!!!

Getting Christmas packages from Texas! We miss our Texas family so much - especially at Christmas. This is the first time in several years that we won't see them at Christmas.

Jacob got a fun Nike sweatshirt and the Iron Man DVD from Marc, Jill, Luke and Mia....

And Jenna got an American Girl outfit for her doll and a fun headband!

Presents from Brenda came the day after Christmas....

Jenna got lots of fun girlie accessories...including Texas sized hair bows. She loves them!

And Jacob got the lastest books from his 2 favorite authors....

And a few photo-less memories.....

-Christmas Eve church singing Silent Night by candlelight
-relaxing on Christmas day with our little family of 4 and Chris' parents

-seeing how excited my kids were when they opened all their gifts!

-Christmas with our neighbors on Sunday night - pizza, gift exchange, and lots of laughs!

-Finding out that Kramer (our dog) is going to be okay after he got very, very sick on Christmas Eve

-listening to lots and lots of Christmas music

-eating lots of yummy Christmas goodies

-texts and phone calls from friends and family on Christmas day

-spending time with my parents before they left for Texas

-still having one more Christmas with Chris' family on January 1st

Merry Christmas!!!

Just a few Christmas Eve and Christmas morning photos to share.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Traditional family photos in front of the tree after Christmas Eve church....

Christmas Eve quesadillas....

Christmas morning....ready to start unwrapping...

A Nintendo DS from Santa!!!

An ipod from Santa! Covered in the aftermath of Christmas morning!!

Merry Snuggie Christmas!!

Playing cards with Grandma and Grandpa...

Talking on the phone to Aunt Celesta (and wearing her brand new competition jacket for dance)...

Ernie Elf

Ernie is our elf on a shelf. He appeared at our house on December 1st with a book explaining his reason for visiting. Ernie was sent by Santa and he spends the days at our house watching and observing. Each night he goes back to the North Pole to report to Santa and when he returns to our house the next morning he is in a new location. Although Ernie scared Jenna to death when he first arrived (he was sitting on her pillow waiting for her at bedtime, and she was literally screaming and shaking she was so scared), she has warmed up to him and is sad to see him go. We've seen photos online of some elves who get into a lot of mischief, but Ernie was a very well behaved elf this year. In fact, he seemed most comfortable hiding with our Christmas decorations. We'll be sad to see him leave tonight (he goes back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve and doesn't return until next Christmas) and can't wait for him to reappear next year!

Christmas #1

Time for our annual Christmas tour to begin. This year our tour will be much shorter and we will travel a lot less. Although I'm excited to spend lots of time relaxing at home, I'll miss spending time with my family....especially my Texas family!

Christmas #1 was for my Dad's side of the family. We got together at my cousin Lori's and spent the day eating, visiting, and opening gifts. We always have way too much fun when we're together!


Santa Kinley (my cousin Kara's daughter).... Rylee (Kara's other daughter) and Jenna....

John (my cousin Lisa's husband) and Kinley...

Quinn (my cousin Lori's son) singing and playing.... Jenna playing Jingle Bells...

Grandma and Kinley....

Jacob and his PSP....

My cousin Lisa, her husband John, and my Uncle Tom (and a tiny bit of my Aunt Barb)...

My uncle Tom, my Dad, and Joe (my cousin Lori's husband) and his son Quinn....I totally captured my dad in this photo. This is so him!! My cousin Lori and her son Quinn.....

Uncle Sudsy, Kyle, and Kinley....LOVE those chubby baby legs (I mean Kinley's, not Kyle's...although I suppose yours are pretty cute too, Kyle)!!!

Quinn passing out gifts!

Quinn loved his dad's white elephant gift.....although he was convinced that the nerf gun was actually a vaccuum!

My dad, Jenna, Rylee, and Quinn watching a video of my dad's train layout on Lori's ipod...

My cousins Lori, Kara, and Lisa (they are sisters)

See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil.....

My Grandma D. and I.....Wow - you can't deny that I'm her granddaughter...just look at our identical expressions!

My cousin Kyle taking an after dinner nap....

Aunt Nancy feeding Kyle while he sleeps....

John needed a nap too.....

My cousin Jessica and Grandma....

Mom giving a texting lesson to Aunt Nancy (scary!!)....

Jenna and Uncle Sudsy reading together...

Time for our annual Christmas tour to begin! This year our tour is much shorter, with very little travelling involved. Although I'm excited about spending lots of time relaxing at home, I will really miss seeing family....especially my Texas family!