1.04.2011

{Merry Christmas}


 all is calm...
all is bright...
till three little angels wake-up!

The first one on the scene was little Miss Aubrey
she was a bit mesmerized by Santa's rocking horse
but not ready to jump on 
quite yet

Next one to wake-up was little Miss Riley
she said she had done a bit of sneak peeking at 6:30 while I was in the shower
she had already spotted her surprise gift from us
a new reading chair for her room.

Leave it to sweet Janey to sleep in a bit
not sure if she will ever make it down first on Christmas morning...
she has some pretty stiff early rising competition!

{not quite sure how to set my camera to capture these fast moving sweeties in low-light conditions....tried to just capture the moments...blurs and all...}


reading letters from Santa


It's our tradition to try and open stockings first 
then have a Monkey Bread breakfast 
before continuing with presents.

this year Santa filled our stockings with Smencils, Squinkies, baby bottles and fake earrings
I think the earrings were the biggest hit

we made a half sized version...less baking time and gone in one sitting!
but still oh so yummy


let the squeals of delight begin....


whew...that was fun

and we have a tired baby to prove it
I hardly ever get to hold my sleeping littlest anymore
so I wasn't passing up this Christmas cat-nap opportunity

Dave made the most wonderfully scrumptious Christmas dinner
twice smoked spiral cut ham
homemade applesauce
homemade cornbread with jalapeno glaze
potato casserole
collard greens
and pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap cookie crust for dessert

my simple photographic abilities do not begin to do this food justice
it was all soooooo good!
love you honey!

Thanks Ma and Poppy Joe for sharing our Christmas with us
We love you!

18 comments:

  1. Your pictures are great Cindy!
    LOVE your new header...might be my favorite one yet!
    Must.Get.Cornbread.jalepeno glaze. recipe!!! :)

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  2. sounds like a fun and exciting day filled with yummy food too! Glad your little ladies enjoyed their holiday

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  3. You really captured some great moments Cindy!! The looks on their faces are priceless. You have such a cozy looking house too. Looks like it was a fun day in your house!

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  4. a couple of times recently, Lydia has fallen asleep on my lap too. And like you, I haven't been in any hurry to wake her up or move her somewhere else. The grow up too too fast!

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  5. fun fun fun - love the photos!! My sister in law makes that same pumpkin cheesecake with the gingersnap crust for Th'giving each year, it's a serious crowd pleaser!! About the monkey bread - do you do it from scratch?? We've done it from a "kit" of sorts, and it's ok, but I'm curious to know how difficult it is to do from scratch (or if you could recommend a yummy kit!)

    Great post, Cindy - glad to be caught up again ;-)

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  6. Wow, your girls loaded up on some fun gifts! Love the pictures. The food looks SO good. :)

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  7. Looks like a wonderful holiday!
    Blessings,
    Jill

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  8. I love, love the picture of your living room after the Christmas morning fun! I should have taken that one! I had trouble with the blury, low light pictures too. I think you're supposed to crank up your ISO for the low light and crank up the speed to 800 if they're moving. *but i'm no expert. Have a great day Cindy, tara

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  9. I love, love the picture of your living room after the Christmas morning fun! I should have taken that one! I had trouble with the blury, low light pictures too. I think you're supposed to crank up your ISO for the low light and crank up the speed to 800 if they're moving. *but i'm no expert. Have a great day Cindy, tara

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  10. I love monkey bread!! why have I never made that for my kids??! =) We usually do stockings first too... then breakfast ... then presents... this year they were anticipating getting the Wii...so they begged for no breakfast break!! haha! We just had hot chocolate and coffee instead! I love the horse!! My daughter had one very similar at age one... it neighed as well... does yours neigh?!! we need to see pics of her on it now!! wink wink! great job with your new camera... (I am still jealous! he he!... I am still learning to use my new fancy snap and shoot!) =)

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  11. Cindy, it looks like you had a great Chsistmas! I too would have rocked and held that baby girl if she were mine!

    To answer your question about my new lens: I love it. It's a 50mm 1.8. The 1.8 allows me to lower my fstop or apperature so I can have more light with my indoor photos. I have sooo much to learn, but I'm finding that to take good pictures, it's part camera, lots of knowledge, and having the right tools.

    Like you, I want to learn more, but it's hard finding the time. One day at time right?

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  12. Don't sweat the blur! It shows the excitement of the moment. That food looks soooo good!

    Do I spy a little blue sewing kit for Miss Riley?

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  13. Hi Friends
    Thanks for the comments...
    Kerri~ I will get that recipe to you ...you will love it!

    Sloan~ We do make our Monkey Bread from scratch, and it is super easy! I think if you google the recipe you will find tons of them. Basically biscuit dough rolled into balls and put into a bag with cinnamon sugar, shake it up and then pour this lovely gooey buttery cinnamony mixture over top...YUM!

    Jen~ Aubrey's horse does neigh...and clip clop! She has yet to sit on it without the "assistance" of her sisters, but soon I'm sure!

    Kim~ You have good eyes...we have been enjoying some beginning embroidery and cross stitch!

    Enjoy the night!

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  14. Blurry pictures and all, you captured the moments of the day. Love the monkey bread and the picture or you holding baby. Just the best.

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  15. Looks like a lovely Christmas and I am now officially hungry!

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  16. What great pictures of a beautiful Christmas. I especially love the girl's stacks from Santa. So sweet. Yes, Santa hooked us up with American Girl goodness too!

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  17. hi again! Thank you for your sweet, encouraging comment yesterday. I took your advice and did some FUN stuff today. Thank you friend! :)

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  18. Looked like a lovely time Cindy. I wish now I had taken more pictures of the whole thing. I will have to remember this for next year. Loved the sleeping baby shot. Precious.
    Dana

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