Our Little Family: December 2008

So, we got to spend a little time with Jason and Heather this Christmas. Mike only had to work from 6am to 10am this year! We've never really had that much time together on this holiday before. It was great. Hope you all enjoyed Christmas as much as we did.

This picture cracks me up because Heather looks way more excited about Jason's present than he does. :)

Dad called us Thing 1 and Thing 2. So when I heard Universal Studios sold these sweatshirts I knew it would be the perfect gift - for Jason and Dad.

Mrs. Thing 1 and Mrs. Thing 2 :)

Jason and Heather's dog, Spike, dressed up for Christmas.

Mike and I have been discussing getting a new vehicle for a while since he has had older, unreliable ones. We were just going to test drive a couple of cars.... however, we only drove one and they gave us a deal we couldn't resist. We got a new car at a used car price.

Mike and his new car. It fits him much better than the last two cars he's had. We both really like our new 2008 Nissan Xterra.

So, it's been really busy around here lately. We thought we'd get everyone up-to-date on the goings on of our family.

We recently took a hike close to home with our dogs. This is Crickett, and she is probably freezing in this picture since she hardly has any hair.

This is Molly. She got so tired of walking she finally grabbed her leash and started walking herself back to the car! :)

We celebrated Thanksgiving the Saturday after due to Mike's and my schedule. We had our daughter, Shaelyn, as well as our three nephews and Mike's brother, Bob.

Our two youngest nephews thought it would be fun to get inside the cat house, until the older one got stuck inside.

This is the oldest of these three nephews, Gabriel.

After Bob and his sons left, Shaelyn and I decorated the house for Christmas.

Our tree.

Shaelyn and Mike. You gotta love the cheesy smile. At least Mike's looking at the camera!

Shaelyn had a choir concert early in December. We arrived right on time, so we had a seat at the back. This is the only picture we got of her. Unfortunately, I noticed she was the prettiest girl on stage. :P The concert was great and thankfully Mike and I were able to attend.

Shaelyn and her bff, Cassie.

Our family started a Christmas tradition the first year Mike and I were married. We always get together for a Christmas craft. Shaelyn chose painting Christmas ornaments, while Mike and I were working on a similar project. We can't tell you what it is since they are going to be Christmas presents.

I'm sure Mike gets tired of all the crafty things I like to do, but he sure puts up a good front and pitches in wherever I need it. Here he is gluing parts of our project.

We had to celebrate Christmas with our kids early since they are heading to California for Christmas with their mom and step-dad. This is Saturday morning and Daniel and Shaelyn had fun opening presents.

I made cinnamon roles for Christmas breakfast. Mike had put his plate down and left, so Gomer jumped up and looked like he was ready to chow down on a roll of his own. :)

I made 5 dozen cookies for our church's Christmas service on Sunday, so here are some pictures of Mike, Daniel, and Shaelyn decorating the sugar cookies for me. The turned out great! (especially since I didn't have to do all the work)

It was so good to see Daniel. He is currently attending Job Corp to get his GED and specialized training in welding. He is doing well. We are very proud of him, but we also miss him a lot since he is now in Grand Junction, CO - about a 5 hour drive from Colorado Springs.

After presents and cookie decorating, we headed over to Bob's for a family dinner. Sshh - don't tell but I played hooky from work so I could spend time with the family too. This is Mike, Bob, mom Beth, and brother, Drew playing "May I". Drew was the winner for this round.