a christmas to remember

three and a half years ago, we pulled out of our street (a big ol' penske truck & clifford the big red van) leaving our family behind...a mix of tears and joy as we started this crazy adventure. who would have EVER guessed that there would soon be a southern migration of family? christmas eve we gathered for a traditional dinner:

crazy crazy kids:



ahhhhhhh...thank you LOL

think hudson's a little excited? hee hee

my friend sent the boys matching argyle sweaters...aidan showed up in a coordinating one. aren't they all so handsome?

after everyone left, it was time to sprinkle the food for santa's reindeer:

all decked out in new jammies, ready for a sleepover in the boys' room, dog included:

christmas is always such a special time of year. even though we were in our home last year after hurricane ike, it wasn't until christmas eve. so this was an extra special christmas since we got to celebrate the entire season here. we're so very thankful for a roof over our heads and food on the table. really, what more does one need?

despite bobby's layoff, we still felt incredibly blessed. but imagine how much MORE blessed we felt when a friend of mine asked permission to adopt our children for christmas. i cannot even begin to express to her our gratitude. her family went all out and she insists that it was equally a blessing for their family as she used it as a teaching opportunity for her children. because of their generosity, bobby and i were able to just purchase one gift per child. this was a huge relief for us.

we also received blessings from our church and other friends for the kids, not to mention the family gifts. so our children had a christmas unlike any they've ever had before. before we opened gifts we were able to talk to them about how all of this was a gift from God...a tangible sign of his love for them. what a moment.

after we opened the gifts on christmas morning, we headed over to nana & papa's for more christmas celebration:

check out carson's face when he finds out that nana & papa got the kids a trampoline (theirs was crushed during IKE):

he was so excited he wanted to kiss it...crazy kid LOL

and christmas wouldn't be christmas without the collins & kankelfritz family. we decided to skip tradition and have FELIZ NAVIDAD instead...tacos & tamales...stacey made a version of chuy's jalapeno ranch dip, chuck made some INCREDIBLE salsa and becky made tres leche cake. what a way to end the day.

we cannot begin to express our hearts of gratitude toward our friends & family for the love they have shown our family this christmas. we feel so loved and so blessed to have you in our lives.