Merry Christmas!

This is the season, beloved of the year
Sing a rhyme, Christmastime just has been here
Tell the true story of Jesus' birth
When, as a baby, He came to the earth!


This is the new star shining so bright
Lighting the world on that first Christmas night
This is the angel, proclaiming the birth
Singing, "Hosanna!" and "Peace on the earth!"


This is the stable, shelter so bare
Cattle and oxen first welcomed Him there
This is the manger, sweet hay for a bed
Waiting for Jesus to cradle His head


These are the shepherds, humble and mild
Hastening to welcome the heavenly child


These are the wise men who followed the star
Frankincense, gold and myrrh brought from afar


See the sweet mother, Mary, so fair
Joseph, who guided the donkey with care
See the dear baby of Bethlehem
Little Lord Jesus, the Savior of men


A favorite Christmas tradition, joining our Washburn cousins
in wishing all of our family and friends a holiday filled with love and cheer as we celebrate the birth of that special baby boy
who makes all joy possible!


May your days be merry and bright...
Lots of fun, food and family made this Christmas one to cherish.

Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Joyce's house




Christmas morning at home





Gifts we LOVED....


A Stealth composite baseball bat

Graeme's handmade ceramic ornament for Dad

GAP brand underwear and socks

A scooter

Matching sweater and hat knit by Grandma

New games for the Wii
Disney's Ultimate Band for the little boys and
Guitar Hero for the middle school studs



A surprise trip to Medieval Times dinner theater with all the cousins in lieu of a gift exchange

... and those very cool Hollister sweatshirts from Aunt Meg that Connor and Graeme are wearing in every picture because they did not take them off for two solid days!


... and gifts we did NOT love

Reilly got coal in his stocking with a note from Santa warning him that he'd better stop sucking his thumb this year!

Owen got piano lessons from Mom (yes, mandatory).
Graeme feels your pain.


Wishing You a Merry Christmas and...

... a Happy New Year!
"'Til Gabriel blows his horn!"
Hook 'em Horns at the Fiesta Bowl vs. Ohio State
on January 5, 2009!

Cookies, anyone?

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Who's got a beard that's long and white?
Who comes around on a special night?

Beard that's white, special night...
Must be Santa, Must be Santa,
Must be Santa, Santa Claus!

I knew that guy would give me something good!

A Christmas Carol

Owen and Reilly's Christmas Pageant at the Naval Academy Primary School is a holiday highlight for us. We LOVE going to a school where the children still put on a huge nativity play and sing every Baby Jesus song ever written! They are so precious in their white cottas. When the curtain opens on all 300 of them, there's always a giant sigh of awe from the audience, and lots of tears by the time it closes again. To be a kid at Christmas!

The public middle school big boys also treated us to an evening of musical, um... holiday cheer. They asked Santa to come again in June, regaled us with Zum Gali Gali, wishing us a Happy Hannukkah, and jammed out to the soundtrack of Broadway hit Rent's Seasons of Love, electric guitars and all. It wasn't quite the same as NAPS, but Happy Kwanza to you just the same. Anyway, don't they look smashing in their tuxedos?!

Sleep in heavenly peace.....

With teething and winter ailments of various kinds, Mom and Dad haven't enjoyed a silent night in more than two months. Please pray for Little P to sleep through the night again soon!

For all that God in mercy sends
For hearth and children, home and friends
For our family, kind and dear
Who bless us all throughout the year

We Give Thanks

That's all folks!

(Unless, of course, you want to see what we did in Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown every hour of the day in video, still photography, and slide show format, then you should visit Jennie's blog!)

A Walk in the Woods
We all took the road less traveled in Williamsburg, VA the week of Thanksgiving. We had fun counting tree rings, spying fish, sneaking up on woodpeckers and generally pretending to be Powhatan Indians at the time of Pocohontas and John Smith. What a fun place to spend our Thanksgiving holiday.