Looking Back at Christmas Eve

We had a very nice, slow-paced, relaxing Christmas break.  It was just what we all needed!  The kids had several weeks off from school and Tod was off of work.  We were able to get lots of things done around the house- including getting the downstairs room painted and girls moved down there in preparation for making another baby room upstairs!  We really, really enjoyed just being together and not having anything that had to be done!
Some pictures and memories from Christmas Eve:

We decided this year to adopt one of the favorite Anderson Christmas Eve traditions.  During my teenage years, we would go to Salt Lake City and enjoy lunch at Crown Burger...no Crown Burger here in Iowa, so we had to settle for Burger King.  It is a rare treat to have everyone go out to lunch and it was very fun!

Next up, the kids spent some time in the snow.

And then we got ready to go to our friends' house for our annual Christmas Eve gathering.  I love this tradition.  Our friends invite many families to their home who didn't go "home" for Christmas.  We eat and talk and play games...and even though we are not technically related, it feels like a big happy family gathering and makes missing our extended families a little less painful.  Before we head to the gathering, we always take a picture in front of the Christmas tree using the self-timer.

When we finally made it home again after our fun-filled evening, we had to open some new pajamas.

And this year we had decided to do the sibling gift exchange on Christmas Eve so that it didn't get lost in the shuffle.  I loved it!  It is so wonderful to see the kids get SO excited for what they are GIVING.  They could not wait to see what their special someone had picked out for them!  And I had so much fun taking each of them shopping to pick gifts.
Jordan gave Cole a Cardinals hat and Nerf gun:

Then Ashton gave Regan a Princess Baby Doll and Friends Legos:

And Regan gave Jordan a mosaic kit and school supplies for playing school:

And finally, Cole gave Ashton a stuffed puppy and art supplies.  He had told her numerous times what he had gotten for her, but she was still a good sport and acted surprised!

Everyone went to bed happy and SO excited for the next morning!  I'll try to get some Christmas pictures posted next.

December Days

We have had a joyous Christmas season so far.  What a beautiful, wonderful time of the year.  As the kids get older, the time just seems to go even faster, and we try to treasure every minute.

Cole has found great enjoyment in playing with my Christmas cards...I don't know why, but it has provided for some good hours of fun.

We found special happiness in providing the 12 Days of Christmas for a dear friend from church.  The gifts were simple but from the heart and the kids loved participating.  I knew we couldn't keep up with the daily deliveries, so we wrapped it all in one big box with instructions to open one gift each day.  I hope to be able to do more next year.

 I am so glad to have a few treasured Christmas decorations from loved ones around my house.  This was Grandma Thelma's Santa.

 And this Santa belonged to Grandma Betty.

It was my first Christmas in years that I did not have a Christmas piano recital (since I am no longer teaching piano).  I am still teaching the girls and they were lucky enough to play in one of my friend's recitals.

 

I am beginning to "show" more and more as this baby grows and grows!  So very exciting!!!!

 Cole had his first preschool program.  He wasn't all that excited about it.  Most of the kids had lots of extended family watching...for us, it was just me and my little buddy.  I love this kid.  I bribed him by promising him a kid's meal from Wendy's.  It worked!

We had our Activity Day Girls Christmas party complete with a gift exhange and gingerbread houses.  I am so glad to be able to work with these gals.  I sure love them and they are a lot of fun!

 Regan got to "sneak in" and be a big girl for the evening.

In an effort to get Cole to stay with Tod, I told him that I would help him make a house the next day.  Well, that boy does not forget and the next day he was all ready to have his turn.  He really enjoyed it and really stuck with it!  I loved seeing his concentration.

Our Christmas break started a couple of days early due to an Iowa blizzard so we made some gingerbread cookies and enjoyed playing in the snow (the kids were so anxious to get out there since we didn't get much snow last year!)

I thought this gift from a beloved friend was such a cute representation of our family right now!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 Ashton (age 10)

 Jordan (almost 9 in a couple of weeks)

 Regan (6)

Cole, with a Cheetoh! (3)

 



Thanksgiving Tidbits

Just a few quick things to remember about our Thanksgiving this year:  (Since Christmas is rapidly approaching!!!)

1.  We took a short trip down to Missouri- we only stayed for 3 days since we wanted to be back for the girls' basketball games.  Of course, the kids loved every moment of our time there!

2.  One of the biggest hits was Grandpa's go-cart!  It was fun for kids of all ages...including pregnant ladies.

3.  Playing with cousins is always so much fun!

4.  The weather was spectacular.  It was so nice on Thanksgiving that we actually got to eat outside!

5.  We resumed our traditional "Black Friday" shopping with Megan, but actually went on Thanksgiving night.  We scored some awesome deals and had a lot of fun!!!

6.  For Ashton, spending time with Oreo is always a special treat.

7.  We loved seeing everyone and felt very thankful for all of our blessings.  This year, our "Thankful Tree" helped us keep track of some of our specific blessings that we sometimes take for granted.

8.  A couple of days after Thanksgiving, we got to celebrate Tod's 36th birthday.  It was nice to be in town and actually have some time to enjoy the day...some years with all the travelling, his birthday gets overlooked a little bit.  We made him a special "soda" cake and invited some friends over for birthday treats.  What a great guy he is!  He has a lot on his plate with church and work and family but he finds a way to balance everything and always keeps us laughing!