Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope you enjoyed the holiday as much as we did.

Eli and Carli realizing that Santa visited our house.

Sammy got new mittens in his stocking and he absolutely loves them! He would keep them on all day if I let him! He sat on this chair for a good fifteen minutes admiring his new mittens and striking poses.

Carli got a new Red Wings hat from Uncle Dru--and it's pink!

This is what you get when Dad takes the kids shopping at the dollar store for Mom's Christmas present. A package of pink disposable razors and a tube of multicolored miniature bath scrubbies. How did they know just what I wanted??

Most successful present: The animal train from Nana and Papa. Sammy loves it and all three kids have been playing with it. I keep trying unsuccessfully to put it away, but it has now taken up permanent residence on the main floor.

Eli got a bunch of Ben10 stuff this year, including the Omnitrix (the watch that turns Ben into 10 different aliens. It's like an alien zoo around here!

Cute Nana and Papa. We're so blessed to be able to have them visit us for Christmas!

Best reaction this year, if I do say so myself. I was absolutely stunned at the present Jane and Bill got us this year--a new Nikon D40 digital camera. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Ben fooling around with our new camera. This is his "Blue Steel" look.

A perfect first grader's reaction to getting underwear for Christmas!

Nana and Papa looking through the memory book of our trip to St. John (our gift to Ben's parents, sister, and brother).

I got some awesome new running shoes from Dru (Ben's brother). This is the perfect gift for me. I love the color too!

Papa and his extra long ties.

Ben's favorite gift of the year: The Abominable Snowman figure by Jim Shore. Thanks Susie!

Carli and her new Cootie game.

This is what happens when Nana gets runover by a reindeer.

Me and Susie outside Old Chicago restaurant. I'm so glad she got to come for a few days. I wish she lived closer so we could see her more often--she's honestly one of the funniest people I know! But now that we have new phones with text, we can keep in better touch! Yay for texting!!