The Children Were Nestled...

...let the tradition begin.

Elfie.

Ben and I were super stoked to have the kiddos home in time for the Family Christmas Eve service at The Way.  Babe and Harris enjoyed singing carols, laughing at "Elfie," and playing with the glow sticks that were used in lieu of actual candles.

Hadley especially loved Elfie; she couldn't get enough of him! 

I'm thinking it's because as soon as she laid on eyes on the man, she yelled out, "Look, Mommy, it's DJ Lance!"

Christmas Eve.

Cassidy had to work, so I headed to Conyers with these fellas:

Yep.  Merry Christmas to me!

Actually, we had a great time celebrating with Dad's side of the family.  Jimmy made some kick-butt queso dip, and Uncle Jerrell gave tasers as Christmas gifts.  Nothing screams "Happy Birthday, Jesus," quite like melted cheese and concentrated electricity.

Except, of course, for this:

It's just not Christmas until someone gets tased. For the record, the whole thing was Tyler's idea.  And he walked away (once he could stand) with $81.00  Merry Christmas, indeed.

Here's our first attempt at a family shot.  For some reason, Aunt Connie didn't realize Ben was part of the family. 

Here's take two.  We certainly don't want him feeling left out...

We missed you, Cass.

Cookies.

Oh, Santa.  I hope you like sprinkles.

A whole lot.

These guys sure do.

Countdown.

We've got quite a few "Christmas countdowns" happening around these parts...

By the time we look for our elf, Herman, open up the door on the Advent calendar from Mimi and Poppa, and add a number ornament to Harris' "Mickey Mouse" and Babe's "Winnie the Pooh" trees from Granti, it takes about ten extra minutes to get out the door in the morning.

I don't mind, though...the countdown has always been one of my favorite things.

Well, He Wore It.

The Singin' and Dancin' Show.

While I'm not sure that was the official title, Harris was beside himself excited for "The Singin' and Dancin' Show" put on by his preschool class last week.  He was fabulous!!!

After enjoying our Christmas lunch, we were treated to three Christmas songs performed by fifteen of the cutest four-year-olds I've ever seen.  Harris sang every word.  Loudly.  I was so, so proud of him!

Hadley dug the singing, too, and even joined in on quite a few of the verses.



Harris and his classmates participated in a book swap after their performance.  I absolutely love watching that kiddo interact with his friends.  He's become quite confident this year, and is even starting to become slightly bossy (I have no idea where he gets that from!).

He was thrilled with his book, "Biscuit and the Baby."  I was blown away by the fact that HE CAN ACTUALLY READ IT.  I seriously had no idea he knew so many words.

Oh, he melts my heart.