Christmas in a nutshell

Just like every year past, Chrismas came and went all too quickly again this year. The week leading up to Christmas was a blur of last minute busyness and preparation. Here are just a few of the zillions of pictures I took this past weekend.....

reading of the Christmas story...

the picture below cracks me up, this is his forced "I don't like those clothes that you got me at all, but I'm smiling anyways, because if I don't, you have threatened to take away all my toys" look....lol :)

I LOVE Gena's Christmas gifts this year - their all the kids' recycled gifts from the basement, we didn't have to spend a dime and she doesn't know the difference! (I wonder how many years we can do this before she catches on......)

love this pic....Lilly is such a good big sister!

and Gena gets her first V-Tech laptop at 7 months old :)

my nephew, Benjamin

Yup, that was our Christmas, in a nutshell :-) We had a great Christmas, enjoyed priceless times with our families, ate way too much yummy foods, and opened more presents than we knew what to do with.

On the fourth day of Christmas.....

....we went and looked at Christmas lights!

This evening we met up with my sister and her family and my parents and ate at the Golden Corrall and went and looked at some neighborhood Christmas lights. It's cool - we go to this neighborhood every December, they have the whole street participating in their neighbhorhood lights, and it is all centered around Jesus and His life, from the manger to the cross. The kids loved it. :-)

I also wanted to share a few pics with you from this past weekend.

On Saturday, we got together with my dad's side of the family and the nursing home my grandpa is at. The picture below is my grandpa, in the middle, and my parents and my sister and her family and our family...

The picture below is my Grandpa with my dad, and his brother and sister and their kids/families.....

On Sunday at church, we had a special choir concert performed by our own church choir (my husband included), band, orchestra, and the famous christian singer, Crystal Lewis-- no words can describe it- I will just say it was absolutely wonderful, and many lives and hearts were touched. There was just shy of 3000 people that came to one of the three services we had. An absolutely perfect day!

Jeremy and my brother-in-law, Gerald, before the (last) evening performance....

More Christmas fun to come..... :-)

On the fifth day of Christmas....

...we made a gingerbread house!

This has become a yearly tradition, and the kids just love it. Of course it's just a gingerbread house kit that I bought at Target - but lemme tell ya, it's money well spent.

Even Gena got in on the action......here is her classic big cheesy, toothy grin......I love it! :-)

Of course decorating the gingerbread house actually means more work for daddy, but don't let him tell you different....he loved it, lol :)

And our finished product!

I love Christmastime! What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

kids choir performance

Hello again!!! :) How was your weekend? Ours was busy. Fun, but busy. :) On Sunday, (12/12/10) we celebrated Christmas Sunday with the kiddos at church. Our kids choir led the sanctuary in worship songs that morning, and they sang several Christmas songs throughout the morning service. It was awesome, they did such a great job, and it was so fun watching the kids sing praises and worship God. And my little Lilly was up there in the midst of them, along with my 2 nephews, so that made it all the more special! :) I even got Lilly and baby Gena matching dresses just for the occassion.

The kids group was for kindergartners thru 5th grade, so Isaiah wasn't up there this year, but he was in the sanctuary with us watching the program.

What a great group of kids we have in our church! :) Below is our Pastor, doing part of his sermon in the midst of them....

My parents even came to our church to see the Grands.....

(and getting to hold baby Gena during service was a bonus) :)

Our church even had a special visitor - - Santa! Santa was there to see the kids and get pictures taken with them after service. Score! Saved me a trip to the mall!

After church, we got the dreaded adorably cute picture of Lilly, Isaiah & Gena with their cousins, Matthew & Jonathan. :)

Sunday was a busy busy day. After Lilly's choir performance at church that morning, Isaiah had a choir performace at his preschool that afternoon. Those little preschoolers were just adorable, and Isaiah was hamming it up :) Here are the 2 grandma's and baby Gena....

My little preschooler at his Christmas performace............ :)

It was a crazy busy weekend, but oh so much fun! And as Christmas draws closer, we are just getting busier.....next week will be crazy too with our church's choir performace (and Jer's big day!) :) more to come.......... :)

I'm ba-ack!!

Back from bloggy break cyber friends! Aren't you just sooooo excited? ;)


We had a great Christmas and New years. We spent the new years with my sister and her family and 2 kids. And yes, all 4 kids stayed up til midnight and rang in the new year with us!


Shortly after midnight we left to come home, and both kids were zonked after being in the car for only about 3 minutes. Sweet! :D


New Years Day we had our annual Japanese Sukiyaki Lunch over at mom and dads, courtesy of Chef Dad :) It was YUMMY......as usual! I'm not a big fan of a lot of Japanese foods- even though I am half Japanese, (mostly because a lot of it is fishy stuff or tofu or icky stuff like that....), but I do love me some sukiyaki :) Then we got a good photo op of mom and dad with the kids.....





Then on Saturday, January 2nd we went up north to Cameron, and got together with my dads side of the family, since we had never made it over there for Christmas. We met at the veterans home my Grandpa is living.


That is dad's brother, behind Gerald and Valerie and dad's sister behind Grandpa in the wheelchair....



Signing off for now, but look for me tomorrow, where I will post my "highlights of 2009" and "my goals what I am looking forward to in 2010" Yes indeed, it shall be exciting. ;)

Christmas Coma

Is anyone else out there in a total state of 'Christmas coma'???? We are! Still rolling around from the yummy food that was eaten, still throwing away bits and pieces of wrapping paper and tape, still opening all the kids' new toys (the song 'Toy Packaging" keeps running thru my head....) and still trying to find a new "home" for all our new toys and goodies. It was a fun and blessed Christmas nonetheless. Despite a few setbacks of sickness, with mostly Lilly and Jer, we made it thru the holidays and all the celebrations. We are all about partied out though!

Now, as I'm still putting away my things, I realize there IS something people can buy, and it does not matter how many zillion people get of these. What is it you ask???


Ah yes. I love me some Bath & Body Works shower gels, lotions and hand soaps. I think I shall be stocked up for awhile, what do you think? :)

Now......on to our Christmas celebrations. Our families Christmas parties start on Christmas Eve. It was at our home this year, and it is with Jeremy's side of the family. His Grandpa Haines, his dad and his 3 brothers and their wives and kids and grandkids. We had a total of 20 show up this year. Would have been 24 if everyone was able to come.

Of course, every good party is started off by a cup of hot apple cider (I shall share the recipe with you tomorrow..........as it is downstairs at the moment, and I'm too lazy a little tired to go get it now.) Followed, of course, by dinner.........

After dinner, we take a few pics.....

Here is my nephew, Ben

The Nicholson clan.
Ryan, Stephanie, Manoa and Malia
(Stephanie's dad, and Jeremy's dad are brothers)



Mike and Donna and Mike's son, Todd
Mike and Jerry (Jeremy's dad) are brothers

Our family of 4 1/2 :)

Jeremy's sister, Jen, her husband Andy and their 2 kids, Ben and Braden

Jerry and Judy with the grandkids (+ Jeremy) Isaiah would not get in the picture unless his daddy was in it too.....*sigh*

btw, not exactly sure where Judy is looking.......maybe she's praying for patience? lol

Great-Grandpa Haines with the great-grands (minus Malia)

and again, Isaiah had to be sitting on his daddys lap to be in the pic.

After the torture fun of picture time, it was time for the reading of the Christmas story.

After the Christmas story, we got our yearly visit from "Uncle Santa" who visits the Haines family every Christmas Eve (aka Uncle Mike)

Isaiah and Braden were the first to greet him at the door :)

A hug with Uncle Santa....

Santa passing out his gifts for the kids...

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Christmas Day.....

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We went to moms early, about 9:30 and started our Christmas celebrations with them. Mom always fills a stocking up for each of the grandkids. And this year, she hung up 5 stockings and surprised me with a little gift for baby girl :) Baby girl is 21 weeks in-utero and already spoiled :)

Pictures before presents!

Gifts are all passed out.............

Lilly's favorite..........make up! :)

Showing off her new slippers from MeMa and PaPa!

My nephew, Matthew.........

Later Christmas Day.........

We went to my in-laws house for more food and gifts!

Here is my nephew, Ben :)

Yes, this was our Christmas, the highlights, in as few pics as possible :) I've not quite woken up from my coma, so this is all you get for now! :)

Hope your alls Christmas was fun and memorable!!!!