it was a family affair

it was my family for Thanksgiving, so for Christmas it was rob's. we were so excited to see everybody. even his grandparents got to join in on the fun.

and here's four generations of douglases. douglases...is that a word?

emma enjoyed her time with grandmother, papa, grand-dad, and nana.

carson did too.

it's always a special treat to see everybody...if only we lived closer.

emma even got to hang out with her cousins, and after that we headed over to Santa Land to check out their magnificent drive through display of lights.

my sister and uncle dill stopped by rob's parents house on their way home for a visit, but you would have to check her blog for those photos. i guess i was on camera break while they were here. we also got see my other sweet sister and cam (i think emma really likes cam :) for lunch on the way home. camera break again...no photos. we enjoyed our time with everyone...thanks to everyone for stopping by. it's not always easy making the rounds with little ones :)

he came.

Santa Claus. he really came. Ask Emma. She heard him. And the reindeer. And the elves. I'll have to post that video SOON...

Rob and I were both too excited to sleep, so we headed upstairs to wake the munchkins up...

Carson was first with a diaper change.

And, Emma was second, with visions of sugar plums STILL dancing in her head.

We headed downstairs...

And, the fun began....

I'll let the photos speak for themselves, at least for a little while...

Then we opened gifts, and witnessed many magic shows...

Carson enjoyed the wrapping paper.

And, Emma was thrilled about her train.

I'll admit that all four of us enjoyed the toys that day. Our pj's stayed on us all day and we enjoyed our Christmas with our kiddos.

I am pretty sure that from the looks of things, Carson had a wonderful very first Christmas too.

We are blessed...

It's Christmas morning, and I hope you are all with family, enjoying this magical morning. We are spending a quiet morning at home, just the four of us. On this special day, I am reminded of this verse...

For unto you

is born this day

in the city of David,

a savior

who is

Christ the Lord!

Luke 2:11

Emma was asked to memorize that verse for her preschool program. There's just something special about a little voice speaking the words of the Lord. And, as the title of this post suggests, we are blessed. I am so grateful for my family, including my amazing hubby...

This sweet little girl...

And our newest addition, this special little boy.

Merry Christmas to all of you, from all of us!

On the eve of Christmas...

We all dressed up for church. Carson was just too cute in his little plaid outfit. I LOVE plaid for Christmas, don't y'all?

I attempted to get a photo of brother & sister, but it didn't work out too well. I am sure that y'all can relate.

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I imagined a family photo, and this is what I got...

I set the timer and ran *many* times, and if I could show you all of the out takes, you would just die :)

So, almost late for church and sweating from all of the timer setting, I ended up with this one and was pleased, well sort of.

After church, we came home to homemade stuffed shells, which had been baking in the oven while we were away at church. Thank you Lord, for not letting our house burn down. Carson definitely enjoyed his very first Christmas Eve dinner :)

And, Emma carried on the tradition of sprinkling reindeer food on the front porch.

She was also very meticulous in setting out her cookies for santa....the placement was key :)

By now, our little buddy was fast asleep, and it was just the three of us. She was SO excited...

Listening to her on Christmas Eve is one of my favorite things in the world.

Everything is so magical and just so fun.

Miss Emma ended the night watching Santa Tracker on the tv. She was really into it...trust me.

cookies for santa...

I rounded the little miss up on Christmas Eve morning to make some reindeer cookies for Santa...

We started with this cookie mix, mixed it up, and rolled it out.

Then, we used a cookie cutter to make hearts. After that, we baked them in the oven, according to the directions on the back.

Next, you will need icing+chocolate chips+red m&m's+pretzels. Turn the hearts upside down, and believe me when I tell you that your little ones can complete the project all by themselves! Start with two dabs of icing for the eyes. Then add your chocolate chips...

This kept her busy for quite a while, and I was glad to have her help in the kitchen :)

Add a dab of icing at the bottom of the heart for the red nose and use your m&m's for this part. I thought that the peanut m&m noses turned out much cuter than the regular m&m noses :)

After that, we broke our pretzels up, and used them at the top of the heart, which is actually the bottom point of the heart, for antlers. We were left with some adorable reindeer and plenty of cookies to fill Santa's big belly.

i'm holding...

holding onto last year. i've decided that i've aged enough, but i couldn't convince miss emma of that this year. she loves birthdays and insisted on decorating my birthday cheese cake...the one that my sweet hubby made himself.

she was so proud, and i considered myself pretty special to have her animals on top of my cake.

miss emma even picked out her very own special gift for me. it was new pj's with snowflakes on them. she was so excited!

here are my boys...

otherwise, i don't have a lot to say, other than both rob and emma worked to make my day special. they were both so sweet! buddy even threw in his very own gift of sleeping until 7:30 that morning. i was in heaven! my hubby got a sitter and took me out to dinner, just the two of us, which is always a special treat.