A Little Out of Order

I'm a little out of order on all the Christmas catch-up posts I've been doing. These are pictures from the live nativity at our church last Wednesday night (12/21). Henry sat with some of the big boys, who were extremely nice to include him in their group for the evening. He was thrilled to sit with the big kids instead of us! His friend, Brandon, who is probably twice Henry's age is always careful to make sure Henry is included. He is so sweet to him, and it means the world to Henry. Grace stayed close. She's not a fan of wild animals or anything smelly. Grant mustered up the courage to go pet a few donkeys after carefully keeping an eye on them for a few minutes first! It was a fun night!

Merry Christmas!

We loved having Christmas on a Sunday this year. There is no better way to explain the true meaning of Christmas than to take your kids to church! It was a great, short, kid friendly service, complete with one of our members sitting in a rocking chair and reading Luke 2 to the kids at the front of the church during the service. It was really a wonderful Christmas, and I hope our kids were able to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season! Sunday night we also had a "Happy Birthday Jesus Party" and ate cupcakes!

We also enjoyed getting to see so much of our family on Christmas Day. Nana and Papa met us at church and brought a copy of the Cullman Times, where the grandkids had made the front page with their gingerbread houses! How special!

And a few fun Christmas videos below.... Grace is not so big on videos, so she's not in many of them these days :) We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Untitled from Brooke Patterson on Vimeo.

Untitled from Brooke Patterson on Vimeo.

Christmas Eve in Cullman

On Christmas Eve morning we headed to Cullman to go visit Nana, Papa, Aunt Jill, Uncle Brian, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Phillip, and all six cousins! The kids had a blast! The highlight gift for Grant was a huge container of peanuts--his favorite! It is so funny to see kids get excited about the smallest of things. He did not even open his other gifts for a few minutes, because he was so in awe of the giant container of peanuts! Henry had fun playing with the big boys, and Grace had fun spending girl time with Kate!

Christmas Eve night we were back home to put out reindeer food in the yard and snacks on the coffee table for Santa!

And a Christmas Eve video from the boys before bed....

Untitled from Brooke Patterson on Vimeo.

Christmas Eve, Eve with Mimi & Papa!

We had a great time Friday night eating dinner and exchanging gifts with Mimi, Papa, Grandmother, Uncle Wes, Aunt Lindsey & Uncle Michael. The kids were overwhelmed with new toys and had trouble leaving them alone long enough to sleep when we got home! What a fun night!!

One Crazy Sunday

Sunday morning before church :) After church, we headed to Leeds for lunch and exchanging gifts. Then mid afternoon we headed to Cullman to go see the kids' six cousins perform at their church. We were worn out Sunday night, but it was great to get to see so much of our family!

Silly faces!

Grant loved his new spiderman!

Grace's classic pouty face!

Kate, Carter, Grayson, Reid, Will & Preston singing sweetly :)

First Basketball Game!

Henry and Trey :) Trey is one of Henry's best buddies in the entire world. They have been in school together practically their entire life. This year Trey moved to another school, so we are playing basketball with Trey primarily to let these two have the chance to hang out together on a regular basis.

This picture is of Henry scoring his first goal. He was so excited!

Henry had his first basketball game last Saturday. He had a blast, but I think the parents had more fun than the kids. They broke every rule in the book, had no clue, and kept on playing! On two occasions the ref lifted a child who was having trouble scoring to let them drop the ball in. It is definitely a fun and encouraging atmosphere for learning the game!

Thanks, Arthur!

2K Christmas Party

Grant and Grace had so much fun at their Christmas Party. David made it back in time to come too! Between two crafts, snacks, and exchanging gifts, we nearly ran out of time! I hate I did not get more pics, but as room mom I was a little busy keeping everything going!

4K Class Party

Henry had a great time at his class party today. They made Christmas trees out of ice cream cones, exchanged presents and then went out on the playground to get rid of some of their energy after consuming all that sugar! It made me a tiny bit sad to realize that this was Henry's last Christmas party at his school. It is so hard to believe he won't be in preschool next year!

Winter Wonderland!

Yesterday we went to McWane to visit the Winter Wonderland Exhibit with Lauren, Brooks & Elizabeth. Everyone had a great time, played hard, and G & G took long naps when we got home!

Breakfast with Santa

We had breakfast with Santa on Saturday morning, and it was SO nice. I must say that is the way to see Santa. Sit down and eat peacefully, enjoy some crafts, and take your time visiting with Santa by the fireplace! We will do this again next year for sure! It was MUCH better than going to the mall. Now only if I could get Grace to get within ten feet of Santa. She wavers between wanting nothing for Christmas (out of pure fear of Santa) and having Henry get her a barbie doll so that she does not have to interact or even be acknowledged by Santa in any way!

David had to walk Grace around while the boys talked to Santa. She did not want to be anywhere near him! Grant needed a little encouragement, so I agreed to go up there too ;)

Henry and Pierce were ready to see Santa!

Grant literally drank his syrup. We nicknamed him Buddy the Elf!

This last pic is from the luminary night in our neighborhood. It was so pretty! If it had not been so cold, I would have taken the kids for a walk.