Sunday, December 28, 2008

Our last stop on Christmas day was at my Grandparents house in the early evening! I wasn't quite sure how well this would go since Davis had already had a very busy day! Fortunately, he did really good! This gathering of family is massive but wonderful! This annual tradition of getting together on Christmas day night is one of my favorite childhood memories and I hope Davis will cherish it as well as the years go by!

Once again, I didn't get many pictures but I did manage to get a few of the "Dirty Santa" game that the adults play! No, there isn't really anything dirty about this family game other than you can steal people presents! And these aren't bad presents either, they are really good ones! However, along with the good gift people are starting to get more creative in presentation- including our household!

Years ago one of the janitors at my Dad's former company made a wooden figure of him and gave it as a gift! This has been the source of laughter for the past decade or so in my immediate family! A few years ago my dad just dropped it off at our house as a "gift" to Matt! This year we decided to share the love and put the gift certificate we bought in the "flat" Raymond's hands! Boy was my uncle surprised when he opened the gift he picked! Any wouldn't you know- it was stolen several times and just might have been the most popular gift of the night! I hope we get to see him in years to come!

One of my favorite things about my dad is his wonderful sense of humor and he was able to chuckle as people swapped him around! There are a million other wonderful things about my dad but that is a different post for a different day (and I'm sure words can never do him justice)! As I've mentioned in other post- Davis adores my dad (almost as much as I do) so the wooden Granddaddy was quite intriguing!

A few other random shots from the wonderful Foster gathering:


A family picture at the very end of the day! It had been a long, long day but what a joy! We are so thankful for being able to celebrate the birth of our savior with our young son and wonderful family!
I do apologize for the long post regarding Christmas! However, the primary purpose of this blog is to document our lives, events, and silly details that might otherwise be forgotten with time! I hope your Christmas was filled with as much True joy, love, and laughter as ours was!

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Joy To The World- The Lord Has Come... Christmas Morning 2008

I had idealized a perfect Christmas morning! So much so that we each recieved cute PJ's on Christmas Eve in preperation for the perfect Norman Rockwell Christmas! However, when we got home from my parents house on Christmas Eve I realized that we had left my new PJ's at their house! Oh well, so much for the perfect look! Then on Christmas morning we took Davis down stairs expecting a look of shear joy on his face when he sees what Santa & his loving parents have gotten him this year for Christmas...

However, he simply walked past the display of gifts and headed into the kitchen. Yes, apparently we have raised him well! He understands two basic principals. First, breakfast is the most important meal of the day and second, Christmas isn't all about the presents! But still as he ate slowly, I start to get frustrated... this isn't how it is suppose to play out! Oh how God teaches me so many things by being a mommy! And the teaching never stops, even on Christmas day!Eventually he finishes eating and we guide him over to the gifts that await him! He first goes to the Mickey Mouse and the (ugly) Mickey Mouse PJ's that Santa brought! Santa must have figured that the joy Davis would get from wearing Mickey would outweight the poor fashion statement. Santa is smart like that...Here I am trying to show Davis that there is more than just Mickey Mouse; for instance here is his first tool bench! Daddy is going to be so proud! After exploring the books and tool bench we dig into the stocking...

Crayons, flash cards, bath toys and... body wash? Really Santa!
Next we explore this big Santa bag! Davis' wasn't quite sure what to think of this!
So I helped him open it up to reveal his first lawn mower! I guess everything is more than likely a first really! This lawn mower blows bubbles when you push it. I can't wait till we can use it outside when it gets warm! Davis LOVES bubbles- loves them!


After we had our fun at home we scurried out the door to go see Papa & G'Mama! We loved our time with them! During the morning it was just the 5 of us and then in the afternoon we were joined by Great Grandma, and the Reid's. Davis recieved lots of books & cool puzzles which just might become a favorite! The Gorman's also gave Davis the perfect pair of PJ's (which you will see why they are so perfect in a post to come)! Davis was in a good mood (espeically considering he wasn't on his normal napping schedule) and enjoyed all the attention he recieved!

In hindsight it was a great morning! It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and the bustle of Christmas day but I feel compelled to highlight that Jesus' birth is what the season is all about. I hope that as Davis gets older we are able to clearly communicate this essential message!

T'was The Night Before Christmas...

We went over to Gigi & Granddaddy's house for Christmas Eve to spend time with my immediate family! We had a great time that consisted of a great prime rib dinner (even though I discovered I don't really eat prime rib- sorry Mom & Dad), we played a silly game that Jennifer and Jimmy learned in Ireland (I won but am a little bit sore days later- no pain, no gain), my Dad's annual Christmas game where we have to solve biblical clues that lead to treasure (always a highlight), and opened presents! It was a late night but so much fun! Davis' received an early Christmas present during the daytime that was the PJ's he is sporting below! I absolutely love them! Davis also received his first bible courtesy of Granddaddy! It is precious and Granddaddy has written some incredible things inside of it! It will be a treasure for a lifetime! Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of pictures from this memorable evening due to the face that my parents got us a video camera! Therefore, we have lots of snippets from the evening and I will try to upload a few of them at a later date!

In the meantime... I present Christmas Eve 2008!

Oh so cute!
He loves his blanket!
Gigi & Granddaddy & D!

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. ~ Isaiah 7:14

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

A reflection...

Christmas 2007...


Christmas 2008...

(I very well might just have a heart attack on Christmas Eve! Oh, my stars!)

Presents that can't be wrapped...

Good Friendships...An adorable smile...
Joy & Excitement... A good dance...
A full belly...
The love of family....

This precious but fleeting phase of life...

Thank you Lord for all the many gifts you have bestowed on us! Thank you for the birth of your son! Help us not lose sight of the True reason for this season.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Christmas Card Photo Shoot...

Below are a few pictures from our annual Christmas photo shoot! We couldn't get the perfect picture to save our lives! My parents came over to take our family of 3's Christmas picture. However we failed to fully think this through because when grandparents are around Davis wants nothing to do with us! This was counter productive to the whole photo shoot! As you can see, things turned out ok- not great or perfect- but ok! I think the pictures are a true representation of the season of life we are in! And though there are moments of frustration, I look at these pictures and know that this is one of the best Christmas we have ever experienced.






The final product: our 2008 Christmas Cards! Yes, we sent out two differen ones because I under estimated the amount we needed!!!! I think that is a sign of just how blessed we are!



The inside reads: Wishing you a Christmas stitched with love, joy, & laughter!