Family time

This holiday season has left us with so many great celebrations and times with family. We are so blessed to be loved and cared for by so many. Our girls are not short on being given love and we hope their hearts overflow because of it.

It starts at home. Dad's love is an ever constant.

Christmas at Mee-Maws was extra special this year because of Finn. He will be one in Feb. and even with feeling a little sick, he grinned and shared his love.

Mee-Maw found some great treasures this year!

A new connection for all of us this year was our time with Gary and Peg aka Poppy and Nan! We snuck in two visits...cause one was not enough. The vast amounts of art supplies now fills our home and the girls are putting it all to use!

We had an early Christmas dinner with Grandpa. He requested his favorite, turkey wings and the fixins. So we did. We had some good laughs, Olivia really cracked him up!

Our church brunch was so much fun. The girls were dressed so pretty and there was delightful entertainment. Olivia played "Jolly Old St. Nick" for her first in public piano playing and Stephanie sang " Deck the Halls" and stayed on pitch!

Gray-day, had a few in house visits this colder than normal December. She would come in for some warm milk and then go and lay under the tree. We thought it was very cute, but within minutes, she was ready to go back outside.

Our annual Christmas time with the Gideons and crew was great again. The kids had their own table outside to be loud and it seems all the presents were the best ones for each kid!

We ended up our weeks-long holiday celebrations with a New Year's lunch at Grandma-ma's. The girls love visiting their great aunts, the cousins and their Great-Grandmother. The pets always are the entertainment and my girls love all the art around the house too!

There is something to say about Family. Some come from the gene-pool and some are just gifts to make life more enjoyable. We are thankful for both. Many of our other times were not included in this post, but were just as important. Our Christmas eve was spent with Steve's parents and his siblings. The squeals from the girls and the dancing from Theresa made it a very special time, I was so busy enjoying myself I did not take photos. We were able to spend some time with special friends, Mr. and Mrs. Russ...it reminds me every time we are around them how God's plans for our future are His alone. We are thankful for Mr. Russ and the quick healing of 2010.

And so we begin this year with nothing certain except for Christ. He is ever faithful. His love endures all. His mercies are new every day. He is my hope.