Swing for the windows

Sam is really enjoying his new t-ball set, even though the weather hasn't cooperated. We have a creek just down from our fence so he actually has to swing towards our house. We don't want to lose balls this early in the game!

Santa Claus came to town!

Sam was more than excited to see what Santa brought this year. And, to everyone's surprise, apparently Sam was "good" this year!

His favorite gifts include a t-ball set, a fishing rod and a can of jumbo Tinkertoys.

Christmas Eve with my family!

We always head over to my parent's home after church on Christmas Eve. We had lots of good food and brought home many great gifts!

Ring the bells!

Celebrate our Savior!

Sam had a special Christmas performance last night at his school. His class sang "Ring the Bells", "Christmas Bells" and "Silent Night".

That's his good buddy, Tade, all the way on the right!

Christmas with cousins

We visited my mom's side of the family to celebrate Christmas, and all of the kids had a great time...especially since they were able to open a gift!

Swift-Cantrell Park is open!

Swift-Cantrell is a huge park very close to our home, and today was the official "ribbon-cutting" ceremony. It will eventually have an aquatic center, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a skate park, etc. For now, it has the most important things to us...a HUGE playground and 2 miles of walking trails!

Sam already loves it!

Back to Bethlehem

Madison with a Roman guard

Sam and I joined some friends for "Back to Bethlehem" at Hopewell Baptist Church. It was truly amazing! It really felt like you were there.

They had everything from Roman guards to merchants to camels! We even had to be counted on the census and pay our taxes!!

Kids' Christmas Performance

Sam and the rest of the pre-k kids at church had a Christmas performance this morning. There were over 100 tots crammed on the stage, and they sang two songs and performed sign language. They were all wearing little halos, too!

He was crowded by girls, which he loved, but it made it hard to get a nice photo.

Candy Cane Hunt

Sam and I went to the Candy Cane Hunt at the Mable House. It's always our favorite seasonal activity, and this year the weather was perfect!

We found our candy cane, made a gingerbread house, decorated a cookie, roasted marshmallows and made "reindeer food". Plus, we ran into some friends that we hadn't seen in a while.

We three trees...

In the foyer...

In our family room...

In Sam's playroom...

My little elf...

Finally, the decorations are up! This year we have three Christmas trees. They are all different and all beautiful!