Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas!!! In April!!!

We took a fantastic trip in December to Atlanta, Georgia and then to Franklin, Tennessee. We had a great time! Here are some fun memories of the trip! John's brother James and his wife Jen live in Atlanta and my brother Kurt and his wife Leah live in Franklin! They live only four hours from each other and it's a beautiful and fun drive. It took us 8 hours to drive to Atlanta and 12 hours to drive home from Tennessee.

This is Christmas morning! They were so excited to go and see what Santa had brought them...they couldn't wait much longer! Noah and Hailey played really well together! They loved jumping on the trampoline and gliding on the zipline in the backyard. My favorite part was baking and cooking with Jen! I also loved the quiet evenings when all 6 of our children were sound asleep and we watched movies and played Wii. Fun times!

All six kiddos on Christmas Eve in their Christmas jammies!

This picture is significant because it is the last picture that I took before I dropped my brand new camera and BROKE it. If you remember...although you probably don't because it was 6 months ago (but my camera had just been stolen along with my purse...and this was the new camera that we COULDN'T afford)!! Christmas day was not so great after that. I was REALLY upset and had a hard time thinking about anything other than how I just wasted MORE of our money! I have no pictures of Christmas after this...except what Jen sent to me of what she had taken. I finally was able to let the frustration go but I fear I had already done the damage and ruined Christmas Day for myself! It takes me a lot to get GRUMPY...but I was grumpy!!! There had been a few BIG letdowns happen in our lives prior to Christmas and me DROPPING my own camera was more than my soul could take. There were some tears shed but I would like to announce that all has worked out fantastically and we have another new camera which I have been guarding with my life.

We had a great time driving around town looking at Christmas lights on the big, beautiful homes! We had a few kids in our car and James and Jen had a few kids in theirs.

Smile John!! Cause I am about to take your picture!

Sometimes I crack myself up...am I supposed to be pursing my lips like this??!!?? I don't know... I can't remember...it's been too long!

James works at a beautiful business park...we went and spent the afternoon there one sunny day. We had a great time feeding ducks...enjoying walked dogs...and basking in the warm sun!

It seems silly but I must say it...MERRY CHRISTMAS! As we have just celebrated Easter and have had a chance to reflect on our Savior again, we are so grateful for the love that we feel from Him and the love that we are able to have for Him.

The second half of our trip will be in a later blog! I promise I'll post it before next Christmas!!