Christmas morning....

Just a final glimpse of Christmas before the New Year!

First came the stockings....

Here's a big gift of pocket animals!

Dodger just kept sitting in the middle of it all watching and panting. Finally I realized that he was waiting for his gift!! We gave him a Special Christmas Treat and he went on his merry way!!

Here is the second round on Christmas Morning when my parents came over...

Someone has a new coat......

And someone else is excited to get Kaya!!

Now, on to round three when kid #3 and future daughter in law showed up!

Enjoying one of her new games while the grownups open gifts.

Remi decides it's safer on grandpa's lap.

Introducing....

It all began with a little trip down memory lane....

Oldest son made mention that a fond memory of his was getting Nerf guns on Christmas and having gun fights with his brothers. Dad would usually get one, too. They would spend quite a bit of time hiding, shooting, ducking and mostly laughing. (well...they also squealed like little girls...but, I probably shouldn't mention that!!)

Anyway...grandma heard about her oldest grandchild's memory lane moment and decided that this year she would get all the boys and their sister new nerf guns. Now, K has never had the experience the boys have had....but you will see that she is a quick learner.

First, all the other gifts were opened. All the "ooohhhs: and "aaahhhhs" were said. Thank you's were proclaimed. Pictures were snapped. Gift wrap, bows, ribbons, tissue and bags were picked up (for the most part). Then grandma announced, "Oh, we have one more gift to be opened!" She proceeded to hand the three boys and the one girl their own box. They really had NO clue as to what was about to unfold. However, I did! My camera was ready. Shall we look?

Seriously, can you see the funny in this picture. Look at oldest son's eyes as he looks toward a victim...I mean...brother. Then look at K's eyes as she looks at another brother. Oh yeah...they are sizing each other up, for sure!!

That tranquil moment was quickly dashed, as they tore into the packages to get their guns ready. No words were exchanged...there was no need. Everyone knew what must be done.

Even the newbie felt the intensity of the moment. She didn't have the nerf gun handling experience...but something deep within kicked into drive. She handled it like a pro. (notice the dog is lacking that drive...)

Fully assembled and ready to load...you may notice what was once a full living room is now a lonely place as everyone seems to have scattered.

The battle has begun...

Cameras are aimed and clicking away...while kid #3 is seeking cover. (I even think I heard some girlie squeals that did not all belong to....the girl child!)


For someone new to this.....She held her own and then some.

All the older girls attempted to seek refuge in the kitchen...it worked for the most part.

AND NOW

Proudly Introducing....for their first ever public appearance....

CHARLENE'S ANGELS

Christmas Part One

This year our Christmas Celebration was divided into two parts. Part one was the Sunday before Christmas. All the kids gathered here along with my parents and we gave Kid #1 and Daughter in-law their gifts. This was followed by a feast. :) A feast is always a good follow up to a family gathering.

Anyway, there were presents galore and if I thought for a moment about all the gifts crammed in the room I could easily imagine that Christmas morning with everyone would have been mind boggling. I do think it's more fun to celebrate together on the 25th, but you have to do what works. Here are a few shots from that day....

This was the calm before the great unwrapping.

Miss K gets a birds eye view...

My parents....

Kid #1 and Daughter-in-law were quite excited to get this new dog proof trash can....

The dog....not so excited....

Surrounded by goodies...

Happy for some comfy pants....

Dodger just nestled himself against the tv and observed.

The feast included steamed shrimp, steamed pork buns, spring rolls, sushi, potstickers, egg drop soup and general tso's pork.

AND DESSERT WAS BIRTHDAY CAKE!! WHO CELEBRATED A BIRTHDAY??

Audrey and Remi turned ONE!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Not my girl.....

You know over the years I have accumulated quite a few pictures of my kids. Tons of pictures as a matter of fact. Pictures of birthdays, sports events, goofy times, achievements, hanging with friends, vacations and....Christmas mornings. Ahhh, the early morning on December 25th are the best pictures. The boys have tons of memories of waiting in their room, while hubby and I turned on the tree lights, made coffee, and whatever else we needed to do. Their cue to come down the hall was hearing Bing singing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...." I was always ready in the living room with the camera. So needless to say, I have lots of pictures of boys in pajamas with their hair sticking up and really big grins on their faces. Those pictures bring back such fond memories!!

As you know....the boys have grown and even though one was here with us early Christmas morning, he didn't wait in his room. Nope, he joined us in getting the coffee ready and turning on the lights and whatnot. So, it was just K waiting and waiting and waiting to be called out. Waiting for the moment we cued her down the hall to have her picture snapped in her pjs with her hair all in disarray.... Is that what I got?

Nope....not my girl.....

She came out fully dressed with tights and shoes on! Yep, that's MY girl!!

An Early Christmas Present....

As you know, we had Christmas Part One last Sunday. You may not know we also got a little surprise gift. It seems that my kids, even my 9 year old, can keep secrets. Who knew? I think they were all worried that kid #4 would blab....but she hadn't said a word!! (I don't know if I should be proud....or a tad concerned!!hehe)

It seems they all got together on the sly to have their pictures taken for us. I don't know how they knew...but it was just a perfect gift idea for me. I had recently been bummed about never getting them altogether for some photo opportunities. My lack of any recent pictures of the boys and their significant others seriously dampened my mood! So, imagine my glee when a beautiful framed picture was unwrapped. :)

There were three shots. We have one framed in a 8 x 10 and the others are on my computer, now. Want to see?? I think they turned out fantastic!!!

A PERFECT PRESENT!!!

Bernard was here......

Back when the boys were little we started buying each of them a Christmas ornament for Christmas. The idea was to find something that illustrated their year and when they grew up and left the house, they would take a box of ornaments with them for their tree. We played it up and said Bernard, the elf, had dropped the ornaments off. One time the ornaments were wrapped and put in the tree and another time they were found in a box of clementines I brought home from the store. The kids never knew when or where Bernard would show up, but they always looked forward to his visit. Of course, no one ever saw Bernard and it wasn't long before they outgrew the fantasy of Bernard....but to this day, we still have Bernard visit. It's talked about weeks before and is considered a highlight. :)

Well, today, Bernard stopped by our house. We were all gathering to celebrate Christmas for kid #1 and daughter in law #1. They won't be with us on Christmas morning, so we took advantage of a quiet Sunday to throw Christmas Part One. There was all kinds of fun....and I will share some of that over the next few days.

Bernard was here.....

Thanks to a great daughter in law, Bernard now leaves an ornament for Mike and me. :)

Isn't it just perfect??

A package....

I have spent the past two weeks being sick. Nothing horrible...just a really annoying cold. Not even sick enough to get sympathy, but enough to want it!! Some hours I feel great, some hours I feel not so great. However, most hours I need to just suck it up and go about the routine. There are things to do, people to see, gifts to buy, meals to cook, underwear to wash, toilets to scrub, hair to wash, toes to pick ....uh, you get the picture.

Last week I was so excited to see this on my front porch!

You see, I participated in Smoochiefrog's Christmas Ornament Giveaway!! It was so much fun and I look forward to it next year. I love getting mail. I love getting gifts. I LOVE getting gifts IN the mail!!

Shall we take a closer look??

Yep, it's for me! Look at the pretty silver fluff. I love silver fluff. :) This is so exciting!!

Well, what do we have here?!?

It's handmade in Egypt by a professional Egyptian glassblower and it's very pretty! I love things that are different and have a little story. :)

It's all kinds of wonderful on my tree! (even if my picture didn't turn out so great!)

A great big Thank You to Shannon Rogers!!!

Join the FUN!!

Did you know there is 65 days until Christmas?!?!?

Smoochiefrog is hosting a Christmas Ornament Exchange! I don't know about you, but I love Christmas and I love getting surprises in the mail. So, this sounds like a perfect thing for me!! If you want to learn more about this exchange just go visit her blog. You can comment there and email her your information. This sounds like so much fun and I hope you will consider joining in, cuz I think the more the merrier. Then we can all post pictures of our new ornaments. Who knows....maybe I will be sending you an ornament!! :)