Holiday pics

Wednesday evening we had a great Christmas Eve program at the church. One of the best gifts of the evening was having our pastor deliver the devotional during the service. Now that may not seem unusual, but as many of you know, our pastor has been very ill for the past four months. In September he was on a respirator after suffering 2 heart attacks, a kidney stone, and pneumonia (on top of diabetes). The fact that he was able to be at the service was a special blessing, but having him able to give the devotional was extra special.

The older kids were up very early Christmas a.m. and were busily completing chores when I came downstairs around 6:30. I thought the incentive was the presents, but Matthew quickly corrected me...he wanted the cinnamon rolls!
The boys love to dress up for paint ball in the back field. We found a surplus military company that sold grab bags of at least 10 military clothing items for a very low price. The boys were thrilled with their 'treasure chest'.

Rachael loves a good mystery and goes around talking about Sherlock Holmes almost constantly. A family from our church surprised our family with a tree full of gifts. They found a very special hat for Rachael. I bet you can guess what Rachael's favorite gift was!

The same family gave Jonathan this giggling gorilla. He's enjoyed making the gorilla giggle and shake.


Yes, Katelyn made sure Captain got a present. She found an ear warmer in the winter hat basket and thought it would make a good neck warmer for Captain. He was a very tolerant pup and wore it for most of the morning.