Christmas Eve

Today was a special day marking the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Smyth one year ago in Virginia and we were blessed to have them join us again this year!  Woohoo!  We had a relaxed morning (aside from Adam loosing his breakfast all over the couch) since most of our traditions are held in the evening.  One fun find however, was coming upon this busy but quiet (any four of the kids in the same room often involves happy or unhappy loudness) scene when I woke up from my power-nap.  They each had their own little lego project going.  

Some of Porter's latest builds...

Quite coincidentally, the same family that joined us last year for the Christmas Eve pinata, came again.  The Law's actually moved very spur of the moment this summer but surprised everyone by coming back for Christmas since they didn't get a chance to say goodbye.  It was a wonderful and sugary reunion:)

Leo didn't seem to have a problem whacking Cookie Monster when we told him there was candy inside.

Jane was like some kind of jumping ninja--crazy girl!

Our nativity was grateful to have the extra cast members since our cousins moved away.  We also added a few Christmas hymns in here and there, which made it an even nicer experience.

Leo wasn't an eager participant-maybe he didn't want to be considered a 'baby' anymore.

The angel appeared to a hooded shepherd whose feelings were slightly hurt when we mentioned that his shepherd pants were too tight.

I am so thankful to have traditions.  I am certainly not opposed to new things, but there is something comforting and cherished about looking forward and back on special times together.  We were especially happy to have Aunt Emily and Uncle Joe join us this year.  We are so grateful for our family, near and far, and the memories we have with each of them.

The Birds

I know the pictures just don't do it justice, but does this scene give anyone else the chills or panicky rememberences of Hitchcock's classic?  These enormous vulture birds were pirched up on the two neighbors' houses directly next to us for several days in a row as if some large animal were about to drop dead in our cul-de-sac or something--CREEPY!!  Feel free to never return.

Sneaky

 Jane, being my sneaky Christmas elf in our room of glorious Christmas giving...aka the trashed dining room.

 Sneaky children who made funny faces every time I said "say cheese".  I finally had to give up.  Here we have the best and the worst.

 Mom and Dad in their Christmas Sunday best.  The man on the right is definitely sneaky!  The woman tries to be sneaky, but it's difficult with her husband's info in charge of the 'joint' Amazon account.

 Okay, Andrew was more obvious-he did make a sign.

And this little muffin's middle name should BE sneaky at this point in his life!  I was doing dishes and kept hearing scraping, sucking sounds-this is what I found when I finally investigated--a happy boy with some powerade left too close to the counter's edge.

Andrew's Day

Our Christmas baby turned 9 this year!

This was Andrew's year to have a friend party and I guess we didn't pick a very good day (what day during the Chistmas season isn't jam-packed?!?) cause he only had one friend that could come:(  Thankfully, Andrew has 4 siblings who were happy to fill in for the games, donut cake and goody bags.  

Andrew loved having both sets of granparents here to celebrate with him!

And as a bonus, we were able to kidnap Travis, his best friend from school on his actual birthday for the evening.  After a nice dinner at Cici's we came home for presents, oreo ice cream cake and top spinning challenge.

I can't believe we've had Andrew for 9 years!!  He is loving thrid grade with Mrs. Smith.  Still anjoys all things that have to do with math and lives for his 30 minutes of computer time after school.  He tends to fly beneath the radar at home, doesn't require a lot of attention.  If there's one person that can get his goat though, it's Adam. This kid wears socks 24/7 even in the summer, even at night.  He's very good at games-chess, risk, monopoly and chinese checkers are current favorites.  He has discovered this year that if he does his daily homework in the morning (he always has a little extra time since he's an early riser) he can be care free after school.  He also has a great memory-we've had the same dinner jobs chart for over a year and he's the only one that doesn't have to check every day to see who has what.  One thing I will always be grateful for is that Andrew comes to kiss Mom good night.  Love our boy!

December Beginnings

Porter got to do his crossing over to 11 year old scouts at the December pack meeting.  Leo and Adam were not cooperating much, so I missed the actual ceremony, but caught him signing the bridge afterward.

We celebrated Grandpa Smyth's 65th birthday!

Leo insists on wearing Adam's underwear over his diaper (or pants) some days.

Porter performed in his first middle school concert-he even surprised us by trying out for a solo in the "Do You Hear What I Hear" number.  Way to go Porter!

Thankfully the little boys lasted until just after Porter's group finished their numbers.  Then we found this ramp that occupied them for the rest of the evening.

Adam wrestled with some bricks and lost.

Leo discovered that the stool makes a great breakfast tray.

December has already been so busy (as always) with the shopping and giving and baking and making, but we are grateful to still be healthy and happy.

Fall Leaving

Who can resist a pile of leaves on a beautiful, crisp fall day??  Not these kids!

We have so many trees that Aaron finally got a leaf blower and now looks like a ghost buster as he cleans up the yard.

Funnest moment in the leaves was doing supermans into the big pile...