Christmas morning

Wesley and Will are happy with their XBOX and games!  They were adamant about getting up before Anna came in to see her gifts from Santa.  They wanted to see her expressions as she first came in the room.   They ended up having to wait as the princess slept in a bit....we do not awaken the sleeping princess unless we have too!  We actually had a thunderstorm Christmas Eve which is unusual for this time of year, therefore she went to bed later than usual. Anna was concerned about Santa and the lightning!  We had a great morning as we all got to enjoy the fun of Santa again through Anna, watching her priceless expressions as she opened gifts, and more importantly the gift of being together as a family as we celebrate and cherish the greatest gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;  Immanuel--"God with us".

Santa delivers Butterscotch for Princess Anna

Anna was thrilled to get her request of  "a horse she could keep in her room" and she has named her pony....Butterscotch.  Butterscotch makes galloping sounds and neighs when you press on her ears.  Anna drags Butterscotch by her reign, through the house as we have hard wood floors so pony can slide!  It is so funny to see her treat Butterscotch like a real live pony, dragging her from room to room (she is heavy!) and talking to her, as well as "feeding" her and giving her water. She also loves to dress in her princess outfits and pretend she is riding off to her castle.  Anna loved all her presents this year and she was so surprised and excited over each one.  After unwrapping a gift she would say, "Thank you, this is what I have always wanted"!  

Christmas Eve

After attending Christmas Eve services at our church, we took the kids' annual picture under their stockings. We always wait until Christmas Eve to hang their stockings.   As you can see this activity excites Anna as she realizes Santa will be officially on his way!   The boys laugh that Anna's stocking is quite a bit bigger than theirs.  Of course there is sentimental value as the boys have had theirs for many years and did not want new ones,  therefore when our precious Anna came along there was no way to match hers with theirs. Well, so it goes the princess has the biggest stocking and she is rather proud of that fact! 

Visit with Santa

Our boys never cared much for a visit with Santa and Anna has followed suit!  She prefers to mail in her list.  Well it was family night at our Chick-fil-a restaurant and Santa was there so we made plans to have dinner and see Santa.  Free, that is, which is really nice these days!  We figured if she decided not to visit, we would have dinner and just watch him from afar then put Anna's list in the mailbox they had provided.    She decided to be brave and visit, however as she was one of the first in line,when they called her up, she latched on to Will and begged him to come with her.  He was a good sport and gave her the support she needed.  All is well as she let Santa know what she wants for Christmas...... a HORSE!  Then she added, "one that can stay in my room"!  Note she is holding her beloved Thunder as she talks to Santa. To make double sure Santa didn't forget, Anna dictated to me as I wrote her request then she placed her list in the mailbox!  This girl loves horses so tune in after Christmas to see if Santa delivers!

Anna's Newest Ornament

Every year my mom gets the kids a new ornament and gives it to them on Thanksgiving.  They have quite the collection and she gets something that commemorates the year for them in some special way.  This year Anna was given a little ballerina as she started dance this year.  A ballerina in purple as this is her favorite color.  She also got a "My Little Pony" ornament.  Will got a GA Bulldog and Wesley got an Irishman.   Long story on that one!  Here is Anna showing us her ornament.  This is one happy girl as she LOVES Christmas and all the activities that go on this special time of year!

I Am Too an Angel! See My Wings!

Anna has added some new words to our family's vocabulary.  Here are just a few!  

Tomorning:  reference of time, to take place in the morning or sometime in the near future.

Yessernight:  another reference of time, last night or sometime in the recent past.

Pessert:  something yummy and delicious that gets to be eaten sometime after dinner.

Ms. Pizzazz:  term used by Anna's brothers when they want to get our Spicy girl all riled up.  They started this endearing term because she loves to be the center of attention and wear fancy costumes.  For some reason it makes her absolutely furious and at that point the boys do not think she is quite the ANGEL anymore!