Just some fun pictures.... :D

Holiday Highlights......

We had such a wonderful CHRISTmas, celebrating Jesus' birth AND having FUN with gifts (both giving and getting) and Santa! :) We always love to make it memorable and fun for the kids!

The kids set out cookies, milk and notes for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph. They were very cute about the whole thing! :)

We have our tradition of opening Christmas p.j's on Christmas Eve....Pey sporting his!

CHRISTMAS MORNING.......

Charlie got a NEW bed for Christmas! He was very happy and slept in it ALL day long!!

Sophie smelled her treats in her stocking! She was very interested in getting those bones out of there! :)

Christmas HUGS! Peyton was so happy with what Jenna gave him, that he reached over and gave her a hug! :)

Jacob got a snowboard!

Mark made this for Jenna! She really wanted an armour for her American Girl dolls! He worked very hard to make it a lot like the one in the magazine! He did a GREAT job......she said it was BETTER than the one in the magazine! :) ....made her Christmas!

Then we went to Cadillac and enjoyed family time up there for a few days! Here is Ben!

All the Grandkids....(minus Brady)

Jacob and Abby

Mom and Dad got all the kids matching striped sweaters for Christmas. All the girls have the same and all the boys have the same! I think we'll have to do a picture soon..... :D

Jacob opening his stocking at Papa and Na's house! We always open stockings first thing! :D

The kids had a chance to go sledding in Cadillac and FINALLY get some real snow! They didn't even have as much as last year, but it's still a lot more than we have here! Before we left for Cadillac the kids went sledding at our house and Jenna told me she went down the hill and got GRASS stuck in her teeth! ummmm....I think that means there's not enough snow to go sledding!! :D The kids had a lot of fun sledding in Cadillac though! :)

We celebrated Molly's birthday since we were all together over Christmas! Happy Birthday, Molly!!

Thanks for the fun and memorable Christmas! We always LOVE spending time with family and friends during the Christmas season! We have so much to be thankful for! We are blessed!! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday too! :D

Braeden Fekete Pictures

I had a chance to hold Brady some while we were in Cadillac visiting family! We were there for the weekend for Christmas and it was fun to see family and spend time together! :) I will have more Christmas pictures soon, but for now....here's a few of Brady! :D

Little Santa Hats......for Santa! :)

We decided last minute that we will do Christmas Eve tonight and our Christmas in the morning. That took some quick creativity to explain why Santa is coming a day early! :) We also had to quick make some cookies for him! This recipe is SO easy and takes very few ingredients, so we went with the Little Santa Hats! If you like meringue, you'll like these little cookies! :D

.....whisking into stiff peaks....

I always have good little helpers in the kitchen! :D

They are ready to go in the oven......200 degrees for about 2 hours!

......in they go.....

......here they are! Cute and ready to eat! So easy and Santa will be happy!! :D

We spent the evening eating pizza, watching Home Alone, opening our Christmas p.j's and getting ready for Santa! :))) I LOVE all of our traditions and so do the kids! We'll have more posts tomorrow on all our Christmas fun......stay tuned!

Little Santa Hats Recipe

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

red colored sugar sprinkles

Heat the oven to 200 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks start to form. Beating all the while, add the cream of tartar and vanilla, then slowly add the 1/2 cup sugar. Continue to beat until the peaks stiffen. Spoon the meringue into a quart size plastic bag. Snip off a corner and pipe 2 dozen triangles onto parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the triangles with lots of red sugar. Then pipe on the red pom pom and the trim. Bake the hats until they're hard but not brown, about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the hats in it for an hour to crisp before removing! Enjoy the cute little guys! :D

Having fun with the camera.....:D

Peyton wanted me to take some silly pictures of him! :)) Apparently his tongue is his "funny face". :)

Jenna playing in the snow today! It was actually very mild and warm outside, so I was able to go out and take some pictures!! :D

....and one of me.....just goofin around! :)

Then of course....Sophie! (with her eyes open, Curt! :)