Finally.....Merry Christmas & Happy 2008!

Thank you all for your patience. I have been very slow to update the blog as of late, but I hope to catch you up in this post and then do better to keep up. The last time I posted we were gearing up for Christmas which was a whirlwind as you can see from the sort of picture diary below. We enjoyed wonderful time with family and friends and rang in the new year blessed more than ever.

Nate and MariCagle were very controlled in their visit to Santa. MariCagle asked simply for a snow globe, and Nate asked for a 'road ripper' aka car that makes noise. If only that control had lasted through the holiday!

This shot was taken at Nate's Christmas program. Nate's class performed wonderful carols. Nate's favorite was 'Joy to the World.' And MariCagle's class performed songs from the movie, 'The Polar Express.' It's February and I'm still trying to get them both to move away from the Christmas favorites to some non-seasonal tunes.

We decorated what seemed like a million cookies for both their classes and mine. Surprisingly, Nate was the most methodical decorator being sure to cover every inch with adequate sprinklage.

Nate loves all things pirate so needless to say his most favorite gifts were of the pirate theme. He is very serious in his role playing. It's very cute.

Here are the little angels on Christmas morning waiting to go see their gifts. Nate was very quick to ascertain that it was NOT 'sticks and rocks.'

MariCagle got many fabulous gifts including a couple snow globes. One of her many favorites was this baby doll from Grandma. She was on cloud nine all evening making special plans for displaying her at home.

Like I said, Christmas was a whirlwind. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the spoiling of our children. We had great fun with everyone we got to see, and we loved the Christmas cards we received from those of you we didn't get to see.

Since Christmas we've just been trying to settle back in. We haven't been up to anything in particular, just the 'usual' which is enough to keep us busy. The kids are excited about Valentine's day approaching and the start of t-ball. They both get to play this year on the same team. So look for more to come in a much more timely fashion...I promise!