Christmas continues...

We ended up staying home from church and family's houses today. All five of us have some form of a mean virus that is obviously very contagious. Have no fear! Christmas was brought to us. Aunt Ashley stopped by and brought each of the kids a Webkinz. Devon got a cat that he is working hard on a name for. Makenna got a racoon that she named Santa. Jayden got a Rottweiler that he named Diego. They are thrilled with their new "adopted pets".
Makenna and Devon woke up at about 2 am when they heard Santa set down his mug of apple cider and walk around the living room. The could only contain themselves until 3 am when they burst into our room and announced that Santa had been here. We had to "remind" them that it was too early, not to wake Jayden, and to sleep in until 7. In a blink of a parent's eye later, our door burst open again, and all three were yelling, "it's time!" It took us a few minutes to realize that it was only 6 am, but there was no going back. So much fun and excitement was in the air. Makenna fell asleep (while trying not to miss a thing) a little after noon.

Grammie, Larry, Uncle Zack, Aunt Julie, Braxton, Hailey and Elmer Elf kept the fun coming our way. There was Hannah Montana, Pokemon, flying helicopters, and warm blankets to be enjoyed. The gifts are all fun and new to the kids. Makenna was beyond shocked to see herself as a blond (she got a Hannah Montana wig in her set). The boys have eyed the remote control helicopters for some time, so happiness was not hard to find when they saw what was beneath the wrapping paper. Thank you for being a part of our wonderful Christmas!

Matt and I received some great gifts from Mom and Larry too. We both feel terrible because of this mean cold (and we look worse) so instead of posing with our gifts we put a picture of us with them. Just call it a little gift from us. You really don't want to look at us this way...LOL.

Once again....MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS and THANK YOU!!!

Christmas breakfast

We enjoyed our traditional breakfast of monkey bread and grape juice this morning. Yummy!

Christmas greetings

Christmas morning 2008

Aunt Dawn and Uncle Willie sent us a box of goodies. One of the wonderful things about their presents is that you can tell they thought of us all year long. Their presents are made with love. Thank you for all of the beautiful personalized gifts, the coins for Matt and the gift card. We love you guys!

This year the kids asked Santa for a Wii. They were very surprised when they woke up to this letter from Santa:

Jayden, Devon and Makenna,

I have a special request this Christmas. Please open your gifts from me last (you don't have to wait to open your stocking gifts though). I spoke with someone very special to you and she wanted me to ask for this favor. Trust me, in the end it will be worth the wait!

Merry Christmas!!!

Love,

Santa

P.S. She also asked me to give you hugs, kisses and pats.

**********************************************************

We found out the reason for this letter. Nana, Grampa, Uncle Josh, and Aunt Jeana bought the kids a Wii! They were so excited and agreed it was worth waiting. Thank you for getting the kids what all three of their hearts desired. You helped make their morning very special. We love you!!!

Jayden made us a coupon book at school. It includes shoveling snow and brushing snow off of BOTH cars. We can't wait to use them.

Makenna made us an ornament and an adorable card at school. We were impressed with her elf and Santa drawing.

Devon wrote a poem about our family. It's always nice to see what thoughts are going on inside of their minds.

Santa gifts...

Christmas Eve 2008

Today/Tonight was so much fun. I hope we made mountains of memories that will stay with the kids forever.

The day started with Matt taking the kids sledding. There is a great area just up the road from us. Devon got there and couldn't wait to get started. Matt was still getting stuff out of the car when he heard Devon yelling for him. He was stuck on a fence, hanging by his snowpants, that were pulled down to his ankles from the force. Yes, he is totally fine, but his snowpants weren't. They got a huge tear (or should I say battle scar). The kids had a blast and tackled hills bigger than what they were used to. After a couple hours of fun, Matt brought them home and we had some lunch and watched a Christmas show.

Christmas Eve dinner was yummy. We had our Martin family traditional menu. Ham, mashed potatoes, Nana's yams, corn, olives, pumpkin bread and Shirley Temples.

When dinner was over we opened up our Christmas Eve gifts. New jammies from Mommy and Daddy and new slippers from Nana and Grampa. The kids were thrilled with their gifts.

This year we decided to make Santa, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

All showered and cozy in their new jammies and slippers.

It's time to drive around and look at Christmas lights. The kids always take warm apple cider to drink as we ooh and ahh over all of the creativity we see.

This year someone got extremely creative. They made a Santa and Rudolph out of snow. We were definitely impressed.

Every Christmas eve, right before bed, Daddy reads, Twas the Night Before Christmas. The kids were so excited when we tucked them into bed tonight. I love the magic children bring to our lives.









And finally, merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Christmas Celebration with Grandparents and Cousins 12/23/08

This year's celebration with the kids' Grandma and Grandpa Martin contained a first for me. I made my first turkey. Yes, I have been married almost eleven years, but I go to Lemoore each Thanksgiving and make a ham for Christmas. It was a horrific experience. If anything could inspire someone to become a vegetarian it would be preparing a turkey. Words cannot explain how I struggled. In the end, everyone said the turkey came out great. It was nice to be able to pull dinner together and make it a relaxing evening for the grandparents (Grandma Martin had knee surgery), but WOW, that was not what I expected!

Playgroup Christmas Party 2008

We had our annual soup potluck dinner.

Later, the kids enjoyed their traditional gift exchange.

This year marked our 8th annual playgroup Christmas party. As always, when I talk about my friends, I feel like expressing my gratitude to them. They love us for who we are, make every event 100% safe for Jayden, and they are a blast to be around. Thanks for helping to make the holidays so memorable for our family.