As we wrap up our Christmas celebrations, we have so much to be thankful for!  I am most thankful for Jesus and the eternal life we've been given in exchange for His.  I am also thankful for my two beautiful boys and my husband.  After the year we've had, God has been so good to us that we can celebrate together as a family!

However, as I read through everyone's Facebook posts or email updates it saddens me that the focal point of Christmas for most has changed to the material side of things.  I realize this has been a long time coming between the "Black Friday" deals slowly creeping earlier each year and the new wave of technology that has everyone mesmerized.  Nevertheless, I keep reading posts about how good the kids made out with their presents and how fun the new video game system is and it's a good thing their kids have all their new toys since they aren't feeling well, etc etc.  Very few people said anything about Jesus' birthday and the real reason for Christmas.  The whole point of my little rant is that I couldn't wait to post pictures from our Christmas celebrations until I realized that most of them involved opening presents.  We have worked very hard for our kids to enjoy the hope and wonder of Santa and Christmas while also knowing that Jesus is the real reason for the season.  Therefore, I do not want to fit into that mold that so many have fallen into.  I have posted a few pictures below for all of you, but also limited them as to not fit into the commercial aspect of "Presents, presents, presents!"

We hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful!!

M & M's!

Jayden usually looks just like his Daddy, but I think he

looks like Uncle Jarrod in this picture!

I'm ready to say something...

Yuck, bugs!

Wayne was reading to the friends but we had to prep him

to head back to the North Pole with Santa 

Getting Ready for Christmas!

While we technically started celebrating Christmas over Thanksgiving break at Grammy Pammy's house, we officially kicked off this Christmas on Saturday night by having a party with some friends!  Of course, we were too busy having fun with our adult white elephant gift exchange and chasing the wild kids around the house to take any pictures.  Some of the highlights were Michelle's amazing coleslaw salad made with Ramen noodles and the grill light gift that everyone wanted.  The kids each got to open a character cup as gifts, and Carson brought books for all of his friends.  Prior to our friends arriving, we took some family pictures that turned out pretty well!  You'll be able to see that Peyton's Christmas spirit clearly arrived in the form of the sillies.  :)

Me and my two little boys!

Me with all of my boys!

Hubba Hubby!

Update on Wayne...

Wayne has been quite a busy elf... Peyton wakes up every morning so excited to look for him!  He's gotten quite a kick out of what our elf is going to do next, and we can't wait for him to see some of the shenanigans that Wayne has in store for him. 

This was the first morning... I wonder if Wayne moonlights with the circus during the off season!

I made brownies Thursday night to have a sweet treat for the weekend.  Wayne wanted to "test" them out before everyone else woke up!

Saturday morning, Wayne was just "hanging around" when we woke up

Saturday night, we wonder if Wayne needed a ride to the North Pole and asked Mickey for a ride on his magic Choo-Choo.  Either way, they were having some fun!

This morning we woke up to this... We are thinking that Wayne would like to be our tree topper instead of the star!

Introducing... WAYNE!

Today was the Christmas performance at Peyton's school.  If I can figure out how to get the video off my phone, I will post it for everyone to see how precious it was!

In the meantime, the big man in red made a pit stop at our house.  He decided to drop off an "Elf on the Shelf" to keep an eye on our boys.  Peyton was so excited that he could hardly stand it!  We have read the book twice to be sure that Peyton understood the stipulations and is ready to embark on this journey.  The magic begins when the child gives their elf the name... Peyton went through a couple silly names, but has finally decided on WAYNE (probably after the elf on Prep & Landing).  Now that he has a name, the magic begins and tonight he will take his first place of the season.  Stay tuned for pictures for his crazy antics and until then, here's a preview of our new house guest!

Thank you, God, for your angels!

We have said that Jayden has a special guardian angel almost since he was born.  Various events have always made us feel that he's had a specific guardian stay very close.  We've played around with "who" his angel might be, but we know whoever it is pays very close attention.  Tonight was yet another testament to that fact... 

We started the tradition when Peyton was born to buy him a Nutcracker every year for Christmas.  Last year, the decision was made to buy snow globes for Jayden.  Our entryway table was beautifully decorated with 4 Nutcrackers and Jayden's first snow globe.  Peyton has been told to leave that table alone, which is an almost impossible task for a four year old.  He decided to turn on the music of Jayden's snow globe last night after we got home from school.  I checked to see he had put it back without breaking it without ever thinking that I should push it back to where it was.  A few hours later, Jayden was cruising around in just his diaper (after a very messy dinner).  Peyton and Joe were playing a game, and I was in the laundry room.  Imagine my panic as I hear the sound of shattering glass followed immediately by a screaming baby!  However, to my very thankful surprise... there sat Jayden in nothing but a diaper in the middle of water, plastic snow, and broken glass without so much as a simple scratch on him!  If that doesn't attest to the fact that Jayden has a special angel protecting him, then I am not sure what does.  After my initial Mommy panic, I cleaned up the mess with tears rolling down my face and praising God for keeping my little boy safe.  I am so thankful that he has been blessed and has his special guardian with him. 

This is what's left of the sad, broken snow globe :(

Chores!

As part of Peyton getting older, we are making efforts to teach him responsibility.  We are starting with this small chore chart.  He was so excited that he's been begging us to feed the dog and make his bed tonight (both of which have already been done).  Hopefully his excitement continues!

Here We Go...

A good friend of ours was sharing the blog she created after they had their son.  Considering we have Facebook, Twitter, and TWO websites for the boys, a blog seemed superfluous.  Nonetheless, it got me thinking that it might be a good way for our family and friends out of state to keep "up to date" with us without being required to have an account on those other sites.  While I will still be posting our occasional Tweets or status updates on Facebook, this is now going to be our central location for information on what's new with us.  I will be posting pictures of our daily happenings and updating on the big and little things.  Of course, with a 4 year old and a 1 year old... there are plenty of little things that seem awfully big to us. 

Let this blogging journey begin...