What a difference 10 years make!

These first three pictures are of Brianna's first birthday 10 years ago. This week she turned 11 and it amazes me how much she has grown. She is such a great kid and we are so grateful for her.





Brianna at 11:



Forgive the silly expression but we were working on a cover for a book that she was writing. Here is how the cover turned out below.

Christmas Recap

We had a wonderful Christmas and we hope that you did too!

The kids had an amazing time opening presents and their reactions were more than I could have hoped for. We had Andrew's parents here along with my Mom and Craig which made it even more wonderful. Here is a list of some of the highlights of our Christmas season.

• Andrew and I were able to enjoy a night at the Nashville Symphony earlier in December as part of his company Christmas party. The food was very good but the music (Canadian Brass) was fantastic. I will have to go every year from now on. It was perfect for getting me into the Christmas spirit.
• Andrew and I attended a 'couples-only' Christmas Party, the first we have ever attended. We were instructed to bring a good gift and a "white-elephant" gift. It was a super fun night filled with lots of laughs and tasty treats (the bacon-wrapped chestnuts were our favorite).
  
• On Christmas Eve, the kids had to go on a hunt to find their new pajamas. I was just so sick of wrapping by that point that hiding them seemed to be both fun for the kids and merciful to me. I will have to do that again next year. The boys got matching pajamas from Old Navy. Brianna's were also from Old Navy (yes, they were having a gret sale on cool, soft jammies!!) Ella got a set of super-cute Care Bears pajamas that were hand made by her Aunty Maren.
  

• Brianna's best reaction to a Christmas gift was when she opened the book Brisinger. It is the third book in a series and she has been begging to read it for a long time. I know she is already well into the 400s of the book's over 700 pages! She brings it with her everywhere. She is also very excited for her 5 shelf bookcase and her microscope.

• Arick and Ty received Star Wars sheets and the news that there were getting a Star Wars themed room. To say this Christmas had a lot of Star Wars stuff is putting it lightly. The star wars stuff found under the tree this year included light sabers, R2D2 and C3P0 Fathead stickers for the boys room, Millenium Falcon and Tie-fighter kits, star wars t-shirts, a clone-trooper helmet etc. etc. etc. All THREE boys were delighted ;)

• Ella had a great time this year. She quickly learned that presents can be very fun. She was so excited for everything! When she opened up a princess costume, she had to put it on right away. Her big present this year was a super cute wood kitchen from Gigi. When we first unveiled the huge gift, Ella didn't react at all and I was a little disappointed. She quickly and resolutely turned around, walked over to her pile of presents and pulled out the set of pots and pans she received earlier. She then walked right over to her kitchen and started cooking up some grub. It was so cute to watch her. She played for hours!
• Ty was so much fun to watch as well. His reaction to his new nintendo DS and game was perfect.
  
• I was spoiled the most of everybody, I swear. Andrew totally surprised me with an iPhone which I love, love, love! I found it at the bottom of my stocking (which we open last). Just as I was putting my hand in there, the toe started ringing and vibrating. Totally scared me, lol! I loved it. Andrew and the kids also gave me my Swarovski and my Lenox 2008 snowflake ornaments which I collect. My other big gift is something I received in the summer and I that I mentioned before. It is a trip to Phoenix to a photographer's convention. Anne Geddes will be speaking there.

• The favorite gifts I gave this year include a set of architectural blocks for my mom that she has wanted for a while and the R2D2 robot for Andrew. The reactions were fabulous and totally reminded me why it is so much better to give than to receive . . . unless you are getting the iPhone. :)
  
• We enjoyed a tasty breakfast casserole and fresh fruit in the morning and in the evening we had a delicious ham dinner.

• We had a lot of fun with family. I finally learned how to play Settlers of Catan and I loved it. We spent a lot of time relaxing, chatting, seeing the movie Bolt in 3-D, enjoying the kids and eating great food. A wonderful Christmas was had by all.