Simon Michael Ebenezer

Late Sunday night we got the awesome news that we have a new nephew! Simon came into the world around 11.

Bess and Simon are both doing so well. We know that Veda and Clive are going to be so good to him.

Welcome to the family little man, you are so loved already.

Cutie Goofs

This boy is just too adorable for words! And by adorable I mean super awesome and cool!

These two, I just love them.

Every once in a while Sadie convinces Andy that sleeping on the floor of their room is a super good idea. He obliges, and they are super adorable. 

Basketball

Julie is playing basketball this year and I get to be her coach. We are having a lot of fun on the "Silver Express"

Julie is getting really good at shooting, and is one of our best defenders.

She also really likes bringing the ball up. I am pretty happy I get to be a part of her team!

Christmas Morning

Of course we were all excited to see if Santa came.....but the kids were a bit over excited, waking up at 5 AM!!! I blamed John, saying it must have been some sort of payback for waking early when he was little.

Sadie got exactly what she wanted for Christmas. Her very own umbrella!

Andy got a creature power suit that he has barely taken off. He loves playing all kinds of creatures!

These sisters are the cutest friends. They had a lot of fun opening their stockings together.

Julie got an American Girl Doll that she named Roserella. She looks just like Julie.

After playing with their new toys for a bit, Memere, Grammy and Pop Pop came over with MORE presents! Everyone was a little excited.

Sadie had a few wardrobe changes throughout the day. I tried to catch them all, but not sure if I was successful.

Andy in his creature power suit and "night vision goggles" that are basically goggles with little lights on them. He thinks they are awesome and was sneaking around the house in the dark with them on.

Trying out Andy's rocket from Uncle Justin and Aunt Audrey.

He also got this super awesome game from Auntie Bess that he happens to be amazing at.

We had the family over for lunch. It was a lot of fun and very relaxed. The kids were running all over, playing with their new gifts. We spent some time outside playing on Julie's new scooter and Andy's new skate board.

The girls set up Sadie's new tent from Aunt Arlene and camped out in the living room before going to visit Grandma Hazel. All in all a great Christmas.

Grammy's Birthday!

Christmas eve is always full of excitement, but it is especially exciting for us because it is Grammy's birthday too!!! Happy birthday Grammy! Good thing you had all that help blowing out your candles.

When we got home from the birthday, John read the kids "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and then the kiddos went to bed in hopes of Santa visiting.

Holiday Fun with the Hammers!

There are a few holiday activities we love to do with the Hammers.  One of them is the Margarita Tree Lighting. It's so much fun to get all bundled up, going to sing in the park, then pile into trailers and go all over town singing to the older folks.

Of course there is lots of coffee and hot cocoa involved.

This year we even decorated ourselves with battery operated lights. It made finding all the kids (and John and Chris) much easier.

This will likely be the last year that Andy will be getting on Chris's shoulders. But he loves it while it lasts!

Another holiday favorite is cookie baking. Every year (for at least 8 years, so not as long as 'Cut n Gut' but still a long time) Kay and I like to get together and bake up a storm.  We didn't take any pictures but Chris got some great ones of the kids decorating the sugar cookies.

This is how the kids get to help and they give Kay and I a little more room in the kitchen by getting out of the way!

Sadie had a hard time keeping the frosting on the cookies.

Even Uncle Monster decorated a few. Bunny ears!!

After the cookies were done, cleaned up and way too many eaten, we headed over to Cambria to walk through their holiday lights.  The girls loved this Alice in Wonderland tea party.

Andy loved getting extra snuggles with his little sis.

Such pretty girls!

And finally, a picture of all 4 of us! These are few and far between but I love this one that Julie took of us!

We love the Hammers and all the holiday fun!  Nothing better than great friends, especially when Christmas lights and cookies are involved!

Class Parties

This year I got to help out with Julie's Holiday Class Party. I also got to pop into Andy's class too. It was fun to see them in their element enjoying their classes.

First stop was to see Santa. I missed Andy's class visiting him, but I got to see Julie. She looks all together too grown up in this picture!

  Andy was way more interested in eating the cookie he decorated than talking to me or smiling for a picture. But he's adorable either way.

I love that Mrs Teel wanted to take a picture of me and my girl. I can't believe I have a second grader. Shes so awesome.

All the kids had a blast building their graham cracker houses.  They took their time and did a great job.

I don't help out in the kids classes too often, but when I do, I am reminded of what a great environment my kids get to be in every day. Their teachers are amazing and I am truly grateful for them.