End of 2010 Wrap-up

Festive Bunch

I don't remember if I posted this photo earlier but I love these guys in their festive-wear. Wyatt is super cool in his shades. Garrett is just chillin'.

This was a season of playin' GAMES!

We adults tried to play a board game or two pretty much every evening. It was very enjoyable. We bought a new game and my mom gave us a couple, Kiel and Cherise brought one with them and Krystle bought one as well. The youngsters weren't left out of the fun. They got some character dominos and a couple of card games. Wyatt got a chess set and Uncle Kiel sat and taught him the basics. I have a feeling Wyatt is going to be asking other uncles around here to play with him before too long.

Katie's Hat and a couple of beddy boys

This little one is really great about keeping hats on which is nice because she looks super cute in each of them. What a happy girl!

With 20 people staying here for a couple of days and 16 being here for a week and a half we got creative with sleeping areas. Lyssa and her little ones were in the den. Here is Rowan surrounded by "his buddies".

Garrett sleeps with buddies too but they are on the foot end of his cradle. I found him kicking at them one afternoon when he got up from his nap.

Musical Snowmen

I picked up these musicians for Harlan to have in his music room. He moved them to the top of the fish tank so they were more accessible. They each play 2 tunes and the other snowmen join in on harmony. Pretty entertaining for the little tikes.

Another cat whisperer in the making

Peanut Butter and Ninja aren't super cool with young ones being near. They don't have a problem with Henry though. He was able to approach them and even lay his head down on them and they were just fine. Perhaps he takes after his Uncle Rylan just a tad.

Snuggles and Hugs

Genevieve and Krystle greeting each other at the restaurant in the zoo.

Bothers and sisters snuggling and mugging.

Colorful Bouquet

This bouquet that was delivered on December 17th for Alyssa has graced our dining table ever since. The color of the lilies was so beautiful!

Some of my favorite moments

Of course the favorite part of having the kids all here is those little stolen moments with each one. Henry is less than effected by my smooches but Kate looks pretty happy to be with me though she far and above prefers her mom!

Now it's 2011!

The 3 babies were in bed by this time but we let this bunch stay up until 9 o'clock. We tuned the television to CNN and watched the ball drop in New York City. They felt like they were part of the party for sure! They were soon off to bed so the adults could have a time of board games and yummy snacks to ring in the new year.

Alyssa and Cherise hanging out before partying.

Courtney and Joylynn got fancied up. Jess and Joylynn couldn't stay very late but Courtney and Charlie got to spend the night. They slept in what we've dubbed "The Polar Bear Suite". We took the table out of the kitchen nook and put a board across the benches. A double size air mattress fits in there perfectly and a sheet tacked across the doorway makes it a private cozy place. The 20 degree weather outside and single pain windows on two sides of the room make it necessary to bundle up and snuggle close!

My favorite Christmas touches

I got a fairly good sized bookcase this summer and put it on the stair landing on the way upstairs. It is filled with my books and then some. I was able to use some little houses and greenery to make it more festive. I happened to have 3 hardcover copies of Christmas stories by Thomas Kinkade and Katherine Spencer that I was able to highlight. I love this series of books!

I apologize for the length of this post. I planned to post half of it yesterday but, you know...

All in all. we had a very blessed holiday season. We are very thankful for all of our family and friends. Each one that dropped a line, sent an email, called, pitched in or just prayed for our family made this "A Christmas to Remember"!