Christmas Day 2008!

Kara running to her wagon with mega blocks that Santa left for her!

Kara in her 'princess' chair!

Kara with her xylophone and Elmo Live!

Samantha with her new Canon digital camera!

Samantha received perfume from Aerie. She also received a new ipod nano and was loading videos and songs during the picture-taking. :-)

The finished product--not a pretty picture, in my opinion, but tasted so darn good!


We had a wonderful day celebrating Christmas! It started at 7 am with opening presents & stockings--which only took an hour! Then we had a yummy breakfast...eggs, home-made waffles, and ghutta (family recipe). Afterwards, Kara went down for a nap and the rest of us showered and got dressed for the day. Then we started cooking Christmas dinner. We prepared the turkey with a delicious rub my dad passed down to us. It is a mixture of olive oil, freshly chopped rosemary, freshly chopped basil, minced garlic, Italian seasoning and pepper. Tim followed in his older brother's footsteps and took a picture of the finished product above. Along with the turkey, we had sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and rolls. It was incredibly delicious, and we loved having our friend, Connie, join us for dinner.

Christmas 2008 has been one to remember!

Christmas Eve 2008

Tim and Kathy have decided to keep the tradition of opening up one gift on Christmas Eve...at least for the children in the family. Kara didn't have to open hers, because there was no way to wrap it! Kara loves her little pink pony from mommy and daddy! When you press its' ears, it neighs and sings a song. :-) It's just the right size for our little Kara. Samantha was dying (and I'm not exaggerating) to open up the 4th book in the Twilight saga! She finished the 3rd book about a month ago, and wasn't too happy about having to wait this long to start the last book. Samantha has been reading every minute since she opened the book (I was barely able to take her picture!), except while eating dinner and during the Christmas Eve service at church. The service was terrific, especially the wonderful music performed by many talented singers. Our family is very blessed and we're so thankful for everything, especially our two beautiful daughters!

Visiting with Grandparents and Great-Grandparents!

Samantha and Kara's grandparents, Nana and Papa, brought Grand Mimi and Grand Bob to our house today! We had a great time visiting before, during, and after dinner. :-) Kara was in rare form, as usual these days, and the center of attention! Samantha was a good, big sister and very helpful...especially during the picture taking!

Celebrating Sean's Birthday!

Our nephew, Sean, celebrated his 4th birthday with family and friends on Saturday! Isn't that smile adorable? We all had a great time eating the yummy food and socializing with the adults while the kiddos played. Sean seemed to really enjoy his cupcake and all of the cool gifts he received. :-) Kara also showed off her beautiful smile and her good walking skills!