nashville christmas

yep, that's us....bundled up and ready to go.

the day after christmas we headed to nashville to do a little "look-e-see". we started with charlie brown ice.

bauer was amazed...

even though we had prepared and bundled like crazy, upon entry you were all given these blue hooded coats. when i asked if this was necessary the man said, "well, it is six degrees in there." um ok, i'll take the coat.

EVERYTHING was made of ice. even the popcorn and lights on the tree behind us.

and of course, snoopy.

we were very grateful to have pawpaw and gege on hand. especially, since every kid looked EXACTLY alike in those blue jackets. after a momentary scare of losing bauer...

the big boys decided to lighten the mood....isn't is a bit appropriate...the sign they are standing under?!

bauer and setler then decided to try out the ice slides (vivian would have NO part of it).

and after checking out some more charlie...

we then lost setler, (sigh...) but quickly found him, too!

who would have ever guessed these two little sweethearts would run off?

next, we headed to the opryland hotel to see the light displays, but unfortunately NONE of my photos turned out. (what??! why does that happen?!)

but the camera revived, as did the small children, when clif and i decided it was a good time to offer chocolate cake for dinner.

somehow, we convinced them....and they obliged! like i said, what sweet little children!! ;)

christmas in clarksville

christmas morning the kids were SO excited, they could hardly wait to see what santa had left! vivian was in awe of her dora mermaid doll...

bauer was in awe of his...banana?! well...whatever does it for you, i guess! ;)

after getting dressed and eating a little breakfast casserole, everyone opened presents from each other. pawpaw, obviously needed LOTS of help.

vivian was pretty happy about her scooby doo movie from cousin setler.

and the kids all got great matching, warm pj's from gege and pawpaw.

next, it was gege's turn...who also needed LOTS of help! later that afternoon the kids burnt off a little of that energy while playing outside...

god bless their hearts, they just aren't accustomed to such cold weather (nor am i, for that matter). but after much bundling...

they seemed to enjoy themselves just the same! what a wonderful, blessed way to spend christmas!!

christmas eve

on christmas eve we headed out VERY early to make the drive to clarksville, and spend christmas with day's. upon arriving we were greeted with hugs, kisses and a table set for a king!!

the kids loved their own spot, and the grown-ups weren't disappointed either!! after stuffing ourselves on joan's amazing cooking, we cleaned up, and headed to an early christmas eve service.

the little day family.

the mulhearn's.

the cousins. bauer 2, setler 2 1/2, vivian 4. next year, this group will DOUBLE in numbers. wow...i really still cannot wrap my head around that! i'll do the math: that makes a 5yo, a 3 1/2 yo, a 3 yo, a 9 months old, and TWO six month olds!!! see why i can't quite wrap my head around it?!

after church the grandkids put on their matching pjs. pants courtesy of moi, but shirts courtesy of aunt su.

and posed for a few more pictures. with sweet faces like those....i think i might could get use to the idea of six! we are beyond blessed!!! :)

clark's christmas

on the 22nd we had an early christmas with the clark side of the family.

daddy, dotdot, granny b and our crew sat down to a ham and potato casserole dinner (great aunt maude's recipe), complete with green bean bundles, and red velvet cake.

the kids opened a batman hummer,

and a barbie puppy from popa, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. it really was a wonderful night of laughs, old stories and cozy time by the fire. what a great way to start our multiple christmas celebrations!! :)

light nights.

we are very lucky that there are a LOT of large, free light displays around town.

which means a couple of nights week, we load up in our jammies and take a little spin around town. this was our first night out, and everybody was pretty excited!!

the following week we decided to join the lee's for a little fun. that makes five kids (all in car seats) and three adults (one of which is six months pregnant). that's a full car folks!

and as is another of our wonderful traditions, we visited santa down the street, with the lovely loibner's. every year, this couple transforms their entire garage into a winter wonderland village.

and invites the community to walk down and take a peek, receive a candy cane and take pictures. these two remember it well from last year, and were very excited about another visit!!

in addition, every year they add something new, and challenge you to figure it out...i NEVER can. NEVER...i have totally given up. ;)

after a fun night, we returned home to a roaring fire, and smores.

light nights are my favorite!! :) i wish there was a january-november equivalent.

daddy is 33!

on the 19th cliffy turned 33. what?! where did the young 25 year old i married go? or even my fellow 12 year old confirmand? sheesh...time is flying by!!

we had family (mulhearn's and clark's) over for a mexican feast, clif's favorite.

the cousins had lots of fun...

and so did the grown-ups. happy birthday, cliffy, we are so blessed to have you!!

traditions

with the holiday season quickly approaching it was time to get the ball rolling on lots of our annual family traditions (or in this particular case the rolling pin). every year vivian and i bake our first batch of goodies for the neighbors, this year was no exception. i especially love this tradition, because i have so many fond memories of preparing these same recipes with my mother!

this year we added a few new traditions as well....like wiener roasts. the kids thought this was TOO cool!!

and would sit very patiently awaiting their food.

of course the tree went up a few days after thanksgiving....(on a side note, clif LOVES to tease me about this tree....he says it reminds him of mardi gras on steroids!)

in addition each child donned their lovely christmas attire (poor vivian, i actually had a to MAKE her shirt about five minutes before she left for school. bauer could still wear his from last year, or i guess i would have been making TWO...ooops!)

so with traditions new and old....let the christmas season begin!!