And we're...DONE!!!

This was the first time in 10 years that we have celebrated Christmas at our own home just with our family. While we definitely missed our family it was nice to have a low key, relaxing Christmas that we didn't have a lot of running around and traveling to do.

We started the celebrations off at our friends house for a nice Christmas Eve dinner. Hence Tommy getting drunk on his Martinelli's.

This is the only picture of me for all of Christmas (lovely, I know)...I guess I needed to prove I was actually there. Point proven.

After we had a nice dinner and played a bit we ended Christmas Eve watching Luke II. I love how the little girls are all piled on Tommy.



That night Santa had come and eaten our special treat: milk and cookies of course, and Tommy convinced the girls that Santa would love a Slim Jim this year...you know what..he was right...Santa gobbled it down and left the trash as proof. I guess he was in a bit of a hurry.

Alli's Santa gift this year; a reindeer collar (those were in high demand with her friends this year) a penguin Webkinz, which was retired (Santa must have really worked some magic to get that thing) and a sweet bike that I forgot to take a picture of, but it came complete with handle bar tassels. This year Alli also left a little card for Santa with questions about him, such as when his birthday is, how old is he and how old is Rudolph. Santa was nice enough to take a little extra time from his hectic night to leave a note for Alli answering all of those very specific questions, so I guess Alli is an expert on Santa now.

Claire has been asking for Heely's for two years now, Santa has finally obliged to the request along with her mothers request of some safety gear to protect her noggin. She has been dillegently trying to figure those things out...I'm sure it will come in no time for her, she has a knack for that sort of thing.

Last year Santa brought Alli and Claire both Nintendo DS' and I think Ainsley felt a little left out. That was all she could think about asking for this year and her wish was granted. She has been hauling it around with her all week long and I think she is pretty happy to be part of the Nintendo crowd.

Santa was good to Rainier for his very first Christmas; he brought diapers...what any 3 month old dreams of and a nice attachment for his car seat to keep him entertained. Oh but wait there was more...of course a Star Wars storm trooper...the other thing a 3 month old always dreams of.

And then the obvious began....

the tearing open of presents....

and checking out the goods.

And the aftermath of Christmas joy.

It was a nice gloomy day to spend inside watching movies, staying in jammies and hearing the girls happily play with all of their new goods. I couldn't have asked for a nicer day.

Melt

Yep .....this is what my son...
turned into this weekend:

a thumb-sucker.....I have to admit, I love it!

Wrap it up

Getting Closer...

Last week I loaded up all of my Christmas gifts (yep I finished shopping, I did most of it in one day, I was tired of stressing about it) and took them to Erika's for a gift wrapping party...anything with the word party always makes it more fun right?



And with the help of friends (thanks friends) got them all wrapped up. (How pretty)

And safely nestled under the tree.

Looks like my Christmas nightmare won't be coming true....whew!!!

All that jazz

Two Christmas Concerts down...

My pretty little Claire all dressed up and ready to perform.

Where in the world is she and how are we going to be able to see her?

Oh we're not, but thank goodness Alli isn't afraid to stand in front of people to get some pictures for us.

Check Claire out, she knew all of the words to Jingle Bell Rock, yep every single word. She studied and sang and studied and sang some more. Watch if you dare... Alli recorded this and suprisingly enough the song just keeps on going and going and going...who knew?

My pretty little Ainsley all dressed up (in Claire's clothes of course) and ready to perform.

How are we going to see her...especially with all of those beautiful hats they've made?

Don't worry I wasn't afraid to step on a kindergartner teacher's fingers to get pictures of my baby girl. There she is while Claire is reaching to give her a hug. (Gotta love the sisterhood) What a lovely Christmas Tree hat you have on Ains.

Watch if you dare to get a little motion sickness, those Christmas tree hats were really hindering my video recording. Oh and this one is a bit long too, but my girlie's will love it if I post them so they can watch them over and over and over.

...and now we're that much closer to our Christmas goal.

Blessings

Amidst all of the Christmas chaos I did want to take a minute and write a bit about Rainier's blessing. I can't believe that we have blessed our last little baby (that's right LAST). Thomas and I have enjoyed every minute of his life so far and I must admit as a mom, knowing he is last brings a bitter sweet moment at every milestone we hit.

Tommy's grandparents, Tom Sr. and Glyda flew in from Colorado for the blessing. It was great to have them here. There was some upset in the family because we didn't carry on the tradition of the Thomas Nelson Gearhart name, I hope that with their time with Rainier and our family they have some peace at our decision not to make Rainier a fourth. We love them and all of the Gearhart family and take great pride in the name and the examples that have been set before Rainier and know that he will be just as stellar of a man as those before him.

My dad and Nancy were able to come from Utah for the blessing also. What a great help and comfort they were to me that weekend. Nancy quietly did most of the cooking and cleaning and my dad was a great help with the kids. I'm not sure I would have survived the weekend without them at my side.


We got a great surprise when GP, Thomas' dad, called to let us know he was on his way from Chicago for the blessing. He has never missed a grandchild's blessing and had the hard decision of leaving Teresa (Grammy) at home since she was recovering from surgery. I could tell he missed her a lot (we did too) but we sure feel lucky that he was able to come and spend a little time with us and meet Rainier for the first time. It is always great to have him in our home with his smile and all of his energy.

I feel so blessed to have such a sweet family and a great husband who his worthy to bless our children. His blessing of Rainier was truly inspired and truly beautiful. It brought me feelings of peace for the name we chose and for the man our son will someday become. I don't think that I could have been a luckier woman to have met and married this man. What a beautiful family we are raising together.

My sweet little man, with his chubby, chubby cheeks. Rainier is such an easy, happy baby. He rarely cries and rarely requires much beyond the basics of baby life. He brings us so much joy and warmth in our family. I am so glad that we decided to bring another child into this world and that we were lucky enough to be blessed with this sweet little guy.

On another note I want to again express my love and gratitude to my dear friends that made the effort to come to his blessing also. As I have probably said too many times before life here without you all would be miserable as you have turned into our family, and no life is good without family. Thank you!

Almost

Another Christmas task done....

A visit with Mr. & Mrs. Claus, to whisper all of our Christmas wishes in their ears.

Dreams of Sugar Plum Fairies

So I woke up the other morning from a nightmare. It was Christmas morning and no presents were under the tree and the family was upset, I found myself frantically shopping all Christmas day so that we could actually open presents, too bad we didn't get to open them until 7pm Christmas day. I woke up panicked...because the sad thing is; this dream could actually come to reality. I have barely started shopping and can't seem to make a single decision on my own. Poor Thomas is getting 50 phone calls a day while I walk aimlessly through stores asking him if the kids would like UNO, if he thinks 20.00 is a good deal on pop-up books, or if he thinks I'm nuts...poor guy. I think I'm supposed to figure all of that out on my own, including the nutty part (my answer: yes!).

So I am now trying to get in the Holiday spirit, trying to get gifts bought, and trying to rid myself of nuttiness (that's probably not going to happen). So to chronicle my efforts and chart my success here is my first venture of the Holiday Spirit this season.

So my stockings have been hung.

My tree has been lit.

And a few decorations are out.

Hallelujah!!!!!!!!

Cheese

So I had these adorable videos of when Rainier first started cooing and smiling and he and Thomas were having a "conversation"...it absolutely melted my heart. Well of course I accidentally deleted them and have been trying to duplicate them ever since with no such luck. But here is a little demonstration that doesn't come close to the first, but it melts my heart just the same.