the damPier familY

Santa is off his rocker!!

I told Jackson the only way he would ever get a guinea pig was if Santa brought it, because there was NO WAY I was buying it for him! :)  {The whole thing was Santa's idea and Mrs. Claus bought into the magic and went along! :) }  We left out cookies and milk in hopes that Santa might come early...it worked! He left a very detailed note to Jackson about the care of this little critter , including all the rules! He said one of his elves named her Ginger Bread, but she likes to be called Ginger!  WOW!  Thank you little elf for taking such good care of her before she came home!    I guess you could say we are in {hog} heaven around here!

Em was equally thrilled with her iPod touch...I think the picture says it all! And Carter was happy to see that Santa left just what he has been asking for!   

But the most touching thing this morning was the calendar and ornament that Jackson made at school for Em.  He has been telling me almost every morning for weeks that he has been working on it.  The art work in it was unbelievable and the card that he made was precious!  

We think Santa still has plenty of toys to delivery!

Anticipation

The excitement around here has hit a new level...we heard from a little elf, that Santa sometimes comes a day early, so we thought that we would put out some milk and cookies and see what happens!  That sure would be great bec the weather in Iowa isn't looking good for Friday!  The kids have been bouncing off the wall in anticipation of the big guy in red, I hope that they are happy with all he has in his sack for them this year!  We had lunch with him this past Sunday, and Ollie our elf took our letters to the North Pole, so we are set!  (Thank you Ollie for saving me another trip to Santa!)  Jackson diligently wrote his letter with lots of details, and Em was very proud of writing hers all on her own!  Stay tuned to see what happens! 

Carter wants a train and a school bus, and has been talking about it for weeks!

Sissy wants an ipod and a Barbie scooter!

 

Here's what Santa thought about Jackson's big item!

 

Our brunch was great, Jackson thought that it was "so cool!" that you could keep going up and getting as much food as you wanted! 

 

Christmas in Lebanon

Last weekend we went down to Lebanon to celebrate Christmas with Papa and Tami.  The kids were thrilled with their gifts....(can we say spoiled?) Carter was soo funny, he would open his presents by tearing off small little pieces of wrapping paper and then running it to the trash! Saturday night we had dinner in a cave...what a cool place!  We also got to spend some time with "Big Emily", the kids just love her!  Thanks for a fun time!

Santa Claus at CNS

Last Wednesday Santa came to visit the kiddos at Countryside...I always love this tradition, he is so good and sweet with the kids!  This year Carter sat with Em and ran right up to jump on his lap with her!  Miss Anna was a little shy, and Miss Presleigh wanted Carla to go up with her! The kids also made their "pantyhose" reindeer for their parent gift!  All priceless pics!

Ollie...our magical elf on the shelf!

This year we welcomed an elf into our home over Thanksgiving weekend, (thanks to Nama!) and he has been keeping the magic of Christmas alive and well ever since!  Jackson named him Ollie, and he reports back to Santa every night on the behavior of J,E, and C...he has even left us notes...but he always surprises us every morning by choosing the most unique spots to land!  He has been known to visit everyone's room, several stockings, the Christmas tree, atop the cabinets, even on the chandelier!!  This past weekend he even followed us to Papa and Tami's house for Christmas!  (that sneaky little elf!)  We can't wait to see what he is up to next...if you haven't adopted one of these guys, we suggest you do!! 

KC Plaza 2009

After Em's recital we hopped in the car and dashed off to KC for our annual trip to the Plaza to see the lights!  This year we were minus the Roger's Family (we missed you guys!), but added a couple of Eddy's and a couple of Pioch's!  We still did our traditional Tomfooleries for dinner and then carriage ride after!  Last year Bill figured out that you can reserve a big carriage ahead of time so our wait was only a few minutes!  We had a blast singing Christmas carols all around the Plaza...great memories!  Hope the Iowa folks will join us again next year!

Here's a blast from the past!  We love taking pics with these cute penguin statues. The first one is is Jackson in 2002...who has changed more?!?! (The pics of me in 2002 would probably be even funnier, but I'm not posting those!)  We were able to celebrate Bill's birthday with my family and then on Sunday we drove straight to the Lake to have dinner with Papa and Tami! 

We love you Daddy, Happy Birthday!

 
 
 

The First Christmas...

Last Friday Jackie participated in his 4th year of Newman Center's Christmas Pageant.  For the 1st time ever he had a speaking part...so cool!  He still aspires to be Mary's donkey someday...(no jokes please! lol) the parts are drawn from a hat!  Em is so excited to participate next year!  I just love that the kids get a taste of the real meaning of Christmas! 

"Couldn't miss the fun this year!"

Saturday was Em's last Christmas recital....{sigh}.  We love the Christmas recital, but it's only for the {little girls} and so we must say goodbye this year!  The girls did a fabulous job, Miss Candice always seems to choose just the right music and fun moves for this class!  Our favorite cousin in the whole wide world came down to get in on the fun this year too!

We think that Em has been growing lately....these two BFF's used to be the exact same height!

 

Em would tell you her favorite part was jumping off the stage at the end!

  
It's almost worth repeating Dance II to have another year of Christmas recital....almost!  

Yummy balls!

This year Joey's annual cooking party was all about balls, (and yes, we giggled like grade schoolers making ball jokes all morning!) We have been enjoying them for a week now!  As always, a great time was had by all...can't wait until next year girls! Happy Holidays!

{Kissmas} Lights

This year we were ecstatic to have a big tree in our front yard to wrap with lights!  The kids all 3 cooperated to put them on the tree, with a little supervision from Daddy...(amazing, I know!)  Buggie has been so cute, and he shouts out "Look guys {kissmas} lights!" every time we drive by a house or business with lights!  He is in LOVE with Santa...this year is going to be so fun!  

Nutcracker Ballet 2009

This afternoon Em and I caught the matinee performance of the St. Louis' Ballet production of the Nutcracker.  We started this tradition 3 years ago and were lucky enough to keep it alive again this year.  We met the Hodge girls at Addison's before the show for some yummy dessert....(that was a great addition to the tradition, I suggest we do it again!)  This year our souvenir from the show was an old pointe shoe, signed by none other that the Sugar Plum Fairy ballerina.  I wonder if Sissy will ever get to wear pointe shoes?  She is pretty excited to try out Jazz class next year, so I'm not sure?  She was frantic that we couldn't find her best bud Anna...we hope she enjoyed the show too! :)

LFCS Festival of Trees

A couple of weeks ago Michelle emailed me and asked if we would like to attend the annual Festival of Trees gala hosted by LFCS.  I was thrilled to go and support this wonderful organization that helped us tremendously with our adoption home study, and who helps many families complete their dreams of adopting children!  The main live auction items are beautifully decorated Christmas trees....little did I know that I would get in a bidding war with fellow MBS folks, and bring home the most magnificent tree there!  These pictures don't do this gorgeous tree justice, so you will just have to come over and see it in person!  We all just love it, and it reminds me of what could have been with our own adoption. 

As you can see it is a bit of a tight squeeze here at the rental...I'm looking forward to next year when we find a special place for it at the new house!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you our family and friends (who are like family) we are truly blessed to have you in our life!  Hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing weekend.  Here's to keeping the true meaning of the season in perspective this month!

And after reviewing all my pics I realized that I didn't have a single one of my sister and Hank!