12.30.2011

{Two Week Glimpses...Christmas Style}

hi friends!
remember me?
the girl who hasn't blogged in over two weeks.
the girl who is staring at this blank screen after editing 300 photos going...hmmmmm...where do i begin?
so let's backtrack shall we....way back...to the friday our vacation began...

we headed to the mall for our annual Christmas portrait, visit to santa, dinner at the mall adventure.
things were going so smoothly. the portraits came out beautiful and everyone was happy.




but this is as far as we got.
not only did little miss aubrey want nothing to do with the guy dressed in red, my camera battery, which i swear was fully charged yesterday, went kaput!!:(

so the big girls talked to santa, told him what they wanted (figit friends and pillow pets) and then i dragged them all back a few days later to do it all over again. this time with a fully charged battery!



aubrey stood with me.:)
*******************************

we spent the rest of the week having fun and preparing for our company's arrival.
thank goodness the girls like to play "hotel" with me...cleaning and prepping like we are maids in a fancy resort.

one morning...i just happened to capture the sweetest thing....
the big girls were sleeping in and it was just aubrey and i at the island getting ready for breakfast.
she started crying and asking for her sisters. i guess she had gotten used to them being around all the time. she had eyes filled with tears crying for riley...saying she missed her and really loved her...riley snuck up behind her and gave her a big hug...aubrey hugged back and said "dare (there)" in that sigh filled calming way a mommy soothes a baby...it was the sweetest thing.


oh how i love my girls
and oh how i love their love for each other!

********************************

mimi and poppy (and golden maggie) arrived bringing lots of goodies. my mom visited a trader joe's and loaded us up with yummy treats. and mimi always travels with her own hot chocolate.



it has been over a year since we have seen my brother and his family. we sure wish we lived closer and could see them all the time. we saved all the extra fun Christmas things for when they were here...we had a lot to pack into those few days!

...cookie time...





they did pretty awesome huh?
we used tara's recipe and loved it.
thanks tara.

...gingerbread house time...


team jessi and riley


 team emily, janey and michael
{poppy the judge was sequestered at the computer watching jeep videos!)


and team grown-ups (dave and i not pictured :))






quite the creative bunch i'd say.
poppy declared it a tie!:)

...Christmas Eve...

getting everyone dressed up and out the door can be a challenge,
but surprisingly we were all ready with time to spare.
perfect photo moments were waiting....


notice the curls?...thanks jessi and emi









after church we came home and opened our traditional first present...new jammies!





fondue and appetizers for dinner





lots of love in that room!

we got ready for bed and put our wish lists and thank-yous by the fire.
along with some cookies, carrots and milk.











aubrey was already sleeping

then all the kids headed to their basement sleepover spot  to hear poppy read
twas the night before Christmas.

...Christmas Morning...

 
it's hard to sleep late in the basement!
they were creeping around and peaking way before 7.


 
santa visited and left quite a pile too




i did still manage a sleepy Christmas morning shot.



this year we were waiting on aubrey for a change.
usually it's janey who sleeps in.


and believe me...waiting wasn't easy.
there were never 5 kids happier to hear aubrey on the monitor.:)

we open our stockings, presents from santa and then have breakfast.
this year janey got an extra special gift in her stocking.
santa found the "babi"  she lost in the orlando airport when she was 3.
his note said he found an extra one in his workshop and thought she might like it!




amazing!

after breakfast it was pretty much a sea of wrapping paper and a chorus of delighted squeals.


not quite sure how i manged to capture this peaceful moment.


after all the hoopla was over, we pulled out one last gift for the girls.


riley's a  faster ripper then janey and discoverers something hidden inside those flip gloves.


i love all the interested looks from the cousins.
poor emily literally got caught in the middle.



riley figured it out and poor janey is still trying to get the tape off!:)



priceless


i guess waiting in the freezing cold outside target's black friday sale for 3 hours was worth it!!

 
...the aftermath...

 

can you see why i needed a week to recover?:) ha ha

mimi and poppy took us out to dinner the day after Christmas.
we came home and laughed and laughed over old stories.


i think this is a Christmas we will always remember.
the love
the fun
the memories.




janey bought fake glasses with her own money:)


we love and miss you so much guys.
thanks for making that l.o.n.g. drive to our house.
it's our turn next.:)

there were lots of tears the morning they left.
thank goodness mimi and poppy stayed an extra day
and we got some of the white stuff too.
snow always makes us smile.



hope your Christmas was a blessed one!
have a happy day,
cindy

{thankful for}
1. family
2. home cooked meals
3. sparkling grape juice
4. surprises
5. Jesus

13 comments:

  1. Hi friend! So glad to see your post. That moment with Riley sneaking up and surprising Aubrey when she was crying is the sweetest thing in the world. Love that you got a picture. Your Christmas looks amazing, I enjoyed every single photo. I'm so happy for you that you had so much family at your house for the holidays. The gingerbread houses look great...from Target huh?! :) I really love that you received a bunch of Trader Joe's goodies. How fun! I could go on and on, but I will stop. Happy New Year! ps. thanks for all of your comments this morning. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow! ou guys did have a lot going on. i love the santa letters, too cute. happy new year, Cindy!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like a fab Christmas, Cindy. I love cousin time. . .it amazes me!

    I'm still digging out from under too:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. glad you are back!! :) i love that riley and aubrey moment--- so sweet! and i loved your family picture! happy new year!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Cindy! Oh how wonderful to see your Christmas memories!!! By the way, you got amazing shots!!!

    It looks like your Christmas was full of love and laughter. I bet your girls loved having their older cousins over. Did you curl their hair on Christmas eve? It looked so grown up and so beautiful!

    Love the Christmas dress on little Aubrey and the close up sweet picture of her on Christmas morning. You really captured it all... love the one of everyone waiting for the baby moinitor sounds :) I can remember back when Anna waited for Abigail's monitor.

    I forgot to post on my blog that I got the family Christmas Eve shots idea from you from last year.. even the kiss one! And I was sooo happy that we got thsoe shots before the chaos! You have some wonderful family shots this year too!

    Love that Trader Joes; I go there weekly for "treats" and "aps" for Scott and I to have our 'girls asleep' date nights at home!

    Oh and your cookies came out great! How nice that you used that recipe. Hope it worked out well for you. Gingerbread houses... I've never done those sad to say, I guess they always look too hard for me. Maybe next year. Loved yours!

    So much to remember from your post and pictures... it sure was a happy one. I'm so glad that you got to see your brother's family and your parents. Happy New Year to you. tara

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a fun post. It looks like Christmas was wonderful at your house. I was wondering what you waited for Black Friday . . . glad we finally know!

    ReplyDelete
  7. fabulous!!! it was a very similar week for us, too ... well, minus the houseguests (!), but similar in all the laughter and love and it being a christmas we'll always remember! your photos are really sharp, cindy, especially the close-ups - i loved all of your shots, great job!! fun post - felt like i was there ;-) happy new year, friend!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. looks like lots of fun for all this holiday season. glad you got to enjoy so many special times with your ladies and extended family

    ReplyDelete
  9. Loved all the pictures Cindy! The girls are beautiful. I haven't been blogging, but wanted you to know that I still read yours. I love seeing your adorable family. I delivered Peter Abraham 5 days ago, and he's wonderful. Knowing you had Aubrey when you were older is one of the things that motivated me to try for another, and God am I glad I did!! Happy New Year to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my goodness. After looking at your holidays in one fell swoop I can see why you need time to recuperate. You captured some amazing moments. I love the wide shot of te aftermath. I live with a couple of neat nicks so they clean up after each present is opened. Happy new year.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wonderful pictures Cindy and what a great Christmas you all had!!
    That pic of Riley sneaking up and hugging Aubrey, Riley looks so much like you!!
    It's so funny to think that once a year nearly everyone's home looks the same on Christmas morning all covered in wrapping and gifts.
    We had smiles here too with an ipod touch :)
    Happy new year my friend!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a wonderful Christmas you capture with the photos. Lots of smiles, laughter, hugs and love...not to mention all the fun. It was the best Christmas and one to always remember. The best gift of all was having everyone together. Love You...Mom

    ReplyDelete
  13. JANE AND I LOOK SO DECENT IN THOSE PHOTOS! WE SHOULD BE SUPPER MODELD!
    I LOVE ELMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete