Christmas Eve.

Lucky for me(lucky for all of us, I guess) that I was well by Christmas Eve. We went to my mom and dad's and had a good time.

First things first....let's get a photo of the kids in their pjs in front of the tree. Oops, not enough light.

The best photo of them....unfortunately, 3 cameras going at once=too bright of a photo.

Okay, let's try it one more time....uh-oh, we lost one. This is the story of my life. A thanks to Tyler for smiling nicely each and every time. Can you show your siblings how it's done?

Mom in the kitchen....notice her cute headband?

Hugs were happening all over the place.

After snacks, the kids waited patiently for present time.

My Grandma even got in on the action...love how Michael is checking out what she got!

Loved seeing the girls helping each other open their presents.

Tyler got some Power Ranger books and was overjoyed.

It makes me so happy to see Lindsey enjoying her sister open her presents.

Here is a cutie....love those pjs.

Did I mention Tyler got Power Ranger books? Highlight of the night!

Lindsey is a chapter book girl now....another one to add to her collection!

Her smile says it all. The girl really was into the presents this year!

Oooh....now she has her own diary. Secret passwords, invisible ink, and a magic light...so cool.

The excitement of the night? Lindsey, Michael and Natalie got a new Leapster 2 from their grandparents. They were so happy. All in all it was a great night.

Freddy was here....

Though there are not many photos to prove it. I was sick and alot of my Freddy ideas were not executed in exactly the same way as I would have done.

There were a couple of days that Freddy got sick too:(

A couple of them were not even documented. Like the huge snowball fight that occurred between Santa, Gingy & Freddy....they must have had the best time. Or the cool tree nightlight/wallflower in the bathroom that glows many different colors. Or how he was hiding inside one of our stockings...such antics!

Here is one photo of Freddy at our computer emailing SANTA...can you believe it? Poor photo due to photographer's fever of 103 or higher!

This was a pretty exciting morning for us....we couldn't believe our eyes.

Freddy had his own house under the tree....maybe he was tired of the needles falling on his head while he slept or maybe the ornaments???

He left with Santa on Christmas Eve and we already miss him. Hope he comes back next year!

The day before Mama got sick....

It was a great day....we had a surprise for the kids.

Waiting patiently for...........

Santa!!!!

Who hugged each of them.

And read them a Christmas story.

Who also told them the "true" story of how all those gifts get delivered each year. Hint:elf magic IS involved!

And ended our surprise Santa visit with a photo......the only photo in existence of all 6 of us, looking at the camera!!!

After visiting with Santa, we went to the Children's museum and had some fun. Had to include this photo of Natalie.

Is she a beauty or what? She is a little unsure of that dinosaur she was riding:)

The race is on.

How many hours til it is the new year? I want to get all my holiday posts up before then....wish me luck.

She made a to-do list for us. On the list?

Finding the perfect Christmas tree. While we were there, imagine our surprise to find Santa!!!

We loved walking through all the trees, felt so festive.

Here the cutie snacked on a candy cane Santa gave them.

Once we were home, it was fun to see all the kids helping Dad with the tree...see the little one behind Tyler? Yep, she helped too!

They even helped with the tree stand....some serious tree trimming techniques were being discussed!

While Santa in the background helped with the tree....these 2 WANTED their photo taken! What? They confuse me, these children of mine.

Decorating the tree was fun.

They were a little better at finding the perfect spot for their ornaments.

A cute one of my love. I buy an ornament every year from Pier One and he got to hang the newest one.

What decorating fun would not be complete without hugging, kissing and talking with our very own Santa?

The concerts.

First, let me thank anyone who is still reading my blog for sticking around. I haven't been the most dedicated blogger these past few months. This month, I was on track, but sickness got the better of our house. After I went through my 6.5 days of illness, Tyler was and is the lucky recipient of that same type of flu. He is on day 5 of this and thankfully, feeling a bit better than he was. I will try to fill you all in on our busy month of December....

I give you the concerts:

Michael was so happy to be with his friends at night....not at school!! Here he is with his friend, Jacob. Jacob's twin older brothers were in the same kindergarten class with Tyler, as these two boys are. Crazy, no?
Lindsey found a few of her friends to hang out with before the show....

Can you find Michael? I did my best from the back of the auditorium.....

And I know you can find Lindsey...love for that sweet smile.

After the show.....I wanted this to be our Christmas card. It shows their personalities perfectly.

A few days later, it was our little Natalie's turn!

Please let Mommy take one?

And these were the best we could do.

A little anxious before the show began.

She sang her little heart out though. It was adorable. All of the children did a great job!

Merry Christmas.

I haven't been posting because I finally came out of my strep/flu fog that lasted 6.5 days. Still tired, but I survived! I will have to catch you all up over the next week...but, until then have a wonderful holiday! Merry Christmas!

Freddy...we've missed you.

We found him under our Christmas tree.....napping, of course.

Along with a letter from the big guy, he brought 4 ornaments to hang on our tree....how did he know we got a tree?

The next day, we couldn't find him in the living room. He was in the dining room reporting back to Santa on OUR phone.

He must have heard Lindsey & Michael talking about the snowmen he made last year.....so this year, he made two!

This morning, they were pretty shocked to find Freddy in their bathroom!!! Complete with a letter from Freddy & elf soap!!!! Be good and Be nice soap....Freddy is pretty smart.

They even came in elf soap boxes, but Freddy opened them for us~

Wonder what he will be up to tonight?