My Favorite Christmas Moments!

Christmas this year was perfect! We had a great time doing so many fun things. There are a few highlights that stand out in my mind...Some of my best memories of this Christmas are...

**Having our first Christmas with Max! Our best friends Michael and Laurie adopted Max in July after years of waiting and then a really rough year with adoption. Max is their miracle and ours too! Max was truly our best gift of the season (after Jesus, of course!) 8-)

**Paul and Addie spent much of the holidays laughing and playing. They have so much fun together. They really enjoy each other!

**Paul was on the verge of not believing in Santa this year (due to kids in his class telling him Santa isn't real). He told me one day "Mom, I'm having a hard time believing in the flying reindeer"! We weren't ready for the awe and excitement of Santa to be over so we found "Elf of the Shelf" at a store in town and began it as a Christmas tradition in our house. Paul got into it 100% and fell back in to the magic and awe of Santa. It was so much fun!

**Singing carols at my parents house with all the grandkids. That was a fun evening!

**Paul reading "The Night Before Christmas" to the entire family for the first time. He has just learned to read in 1st grade and it's amazing to see him read and be excited realizing he's actually reading!

**Emma this year really got into one of the songs from the Christmas program we did at our house..."Go Tell It on the Mountain". She stood alone at each family gathering and belted out her version..."DON'T tell it on the mountain, over the hills and every way, DON'T tell it on the mountain, over the hills and every way" (that part repeats endlessly..."that Jesus Christ is born"...never comes unless you cue her)! I'm going to try to blog the video of it if I can figure it out.

**Christmas Eve was so much fun....watching their faces getting the cookies, milk, and picture Paul had drawn for Santa ready. They could hardly go to sleep. The excitement continued when they woke up and Paul raced to the living room!

Christmas was a wonderful time this year! Being with all of our family and friends made it so special for all of us. We are truly blessed in so many ways. The gift of His Son is our greatest blessing and having Jesus helps us to enjoy all the other blessings we have.

Oh, What a Night!

Last Sunday, December 16th, we hosted our 1st Annual Kelley Christmas Program. We had such a special evening with all of our friends. A month or so ago, we invited 20 families from our Sunday School class and Small Group that have kids the ages of Paul, Addie, & Emma to be a part of our Christmas program. The plan was for the parents to drop their kids off on Saturday morning the 15th for a couple of hours to "practice" and then come back to our house on Sunday evening with the entire family for the program and dinner. We ended up with about 30 kids participating and about 46 adults returned on Sunday night to see the program. We did the traditional Christmas pageant complete with speaking parts, costumes, and music. It was quite an evening....nothing was "perfected" but everything was precious!

Well, it's Christmas time at the Kelleys and we've had lots of activities going on....school parties, church parties, play dates with friends, excitement around the house (wrapping, cooking, decorating)...it's been so fun! These are great ages for the excitement of Christmas...7, 5 1/2, and almost 3...perfect ages!

We've taken lots of pictures of the kids dressed in their Christmas outfits so "clean and put together"...but we've also captured more "everyday" shots from around the Kelley household. Just come and take a glimse! Never a dull moment!

When You Get the Chance....TAKE IT!

Emma and I were heading to the mall to do some Christmas shopping. She is almost completely potty-trained but for this trip I told her she was wearing a pull-up. I am lazy at the mall and don't want to have to run on spur of the moment to the bathroom. She's in the kitchen ready and asked if she could have a cookie..."Yes, just one Emma." She took one cookie off the counter. I turned around to grab my purse and coupons. When I turned back around...EMMA IS STUFFING 3 COOKIES DOWN HER PULL-UP! Unbelievable! She saw a chance to stash a few cookies for later....AND TOOK IT! 8-) How can someone that cute be that bad???