'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Santa came early over at the cattle farm where Andrew and Darci live. We went over on Thursday night to share pizza along with the night-before anticipation of Santa's visit. Matthew has decided to start a collection of business cards. Here, he shows off his dad's and his Grandpa's.

Sweet baby Ella is ready for Santa.

Haleigh gets all dressed for bed in her Christmas jammies.

Grandpa snuggles with the kids while Matthew reads a story.

He was working hard reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas', on a recordable book. Pretty cool.

Haleigh was listening...

until she tried to "help" him by hugging him around the neck.

It made it just a little bit hard to read.

Grandpa and Ella were dozing during enjoying the story.

Daddy and his kids, all ready for Santa's visit.

Of course, we went over the next morning to see what Santa brought. Seems he brought the first calf of the year, a heifer.

So cute...

standing on wobbly legs.

The other heifers were interested in all the commotion, each waiting for her turn to be a first time mommy. I need to borrow the little butterfly that the Pioneer Woman uses to hide the, um, backsides of the animals in her photos.

Grandpa and Matthew worked together on his Snap Circuits. There are 100 configurations, each resulting in a completed electrical circuit to produce light, sound, or turning of some kind.

There was even a fan that actually lifted off and flew in the air.

Haleigh was busy serving up some pizza. Mmmmmm....

And she has some cool new sparkly shoes.

Somehow sweet Ella got a scratch on her cheek. Crawling babies are bound to get some bumps along the way.

We spent the day anxiously awaiting the arrival of David and Shylah, driving from North Carolina. Unfortunately, the trip did not go so well, and West Virginia ended up like the Redneck 12 Days of Christmas. Their version went something like this:

Car and dog all loaded

2 hours of traffic

1 speeding ticket

Changing a flat tire

Wal-Mart tire repair (a la 5.... flannel... shirts, 

or golden rings, whichever you prefer)

Waiting with the dog

Back on the road

WV in the rearview

And finally home for the Christmas dinner!

Meanwhile, we had the table all set, beef tenderloin in the oven, and cold beverages in the fridge. :)

After dinner, we shared some gifts around the Christmas tree. Matthew reads his certificate for a day with Aunt Fer and Bryan.

Had to crop this one of Big Jon.

Andrew's new Purdue shorts.

Matthew's Saints blanket. Who Dat!

Matthew got some building sets. The Empire State Building, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

David and Jonathan asked for golf clubs. So that's what they got.

They were thrilled.

I'm sure it will improve their game. New clubs always do that, right?

David was anxious to try his out.

Haleigh got a talking Dora doll. She loves Dora.

"We did it!"

She was actually a bit scared of dear Dora at first. I don't think she knew she could come out of the TV.

Haleigh also enjoyed the golf clubs. Maybe the big boys will have to share.

Matthew read a certificate for Jim and me from all the kids. It was a donation to Family Health Ministries for the orphanage in Fondwa, Haiti. Just what I wanted. A perfect gift.

Their stockings held two t-shirts for each one. A Purdue shirt...

and a Saints shirt. This one is my personal favorite. :) Drew Dat!

I like this one pretty well too.

Darci and Andrew looking good.

And Jennifer models her new DKNY cozy. There are at least 12 ways to wear this soft sweater. I don't think this is one of them.