What a Day!

Haynes waiting with Daddy in E.R...looks miserable huh?!?

Brian took the boys over to Lolli and Champ's to build snowmen and sled for a little bit. They walked in the door and Haynes apparantely tripped over his boots and hit his mouth on the coffee table. He bit through his bottom lip! We took him to the Emergency Room and it was a 2 hour wait. We decided that there wasn't much to be done for it and took him back to play! (He was more upset about missing playing in the snow than his lip) We called our friend, Matt, and he called back a few hours later saying we should go back to the ER. Brian headed back to the ER with Haynes. About 2 hours later they said he was fine and it would heal itself!

Praise Jesus!

As they were headed to my parents to celebrate Christmas with my brother, I was meeting him there with Ella. I hopped out of the car and as I was walking around the car it LOCKED by itself!!! We don't know where the spares are, but my brother and Jenny headed to my house to look. I called a towing company that told me I had to call the police since my daughter was stuck in the car....all that to say about 30 minutes later Ella was freed from the freezing car! Thank you Jesus for watching over us!

What a Day!?!

Playing in the SnOw!

Daddy starting our fort

Daddy and the boys

The boys had a GREAT time playing in the snow! Brian loved building a fort, Port and Haynes loved eating snow and sliding on the ice! Every time we go get in the car the kids run to sit in the fort first...we are hoping it doesn't melt for a while!

BaBy!

When Ella sees any baby she squeals "BabY!"

The other morning she insisted on her baby eating breakfast with her:-)

Hartsock Family Christmas

Preslee and Ella

Happy Birthday Jesus!

another Christmas play...check out the wise man worshipping Jesus:-)

Christmas Day we have lunch at Grandad and JuJu's with all the Hartsock's. The kids have a great time playing together, and I always love getting to see Marta, Mel, and Savannah. They set up a bounce in the courts, and I had to go get Braxton, Sutton, and Port for a family picture. We had a small snowball fight on our way back into Grandad and JuJu's:-) The boys were so funny because after a minute they said "We can't my mom said not to get our clothes wet!" I told them to tell her it was SaSa's fault...and of course they did:-) I love those kids!!!

Christmas Morning

The kids enjoying Granma's cinnamon rolls in their new teepee!

Brian got a guitar for Christmas. He had to do a scavanger hunt to find the end gift...it even took him through the snow:-) We can't wait to hear you play, we are expecting worship next year on Christmas morning!

Kristin's husband got stuck at work because of the snow and then had to work another shift, so she came and did Christmas morning with us. It was so fun combining family and friends on Christmas morning. We loved getting to spend this special time together! We love you Kristin!!

Ella Rose was SO tired, we couldn't wake her up! We started around 7, but she didn't move until around 8:30...sleeping beauty!

We were sure that the boys would be up at 5 a.m. but we were wrong! They woke up about 7 a.m. Brian and I were standing outside the door listening to Port sing

"Good morning God,

this is your day,

I am your child,

show me your way."

We went in and told them we would count to 3 and they could come out, here they come!!!

This might be one of our favorite Christmas's so far...I'm sure it will only get better. I felt like my boys really understood that Christmas is about Jesus. On Christmas morning we usually read the Christmas story, but as Brian was getting ready to read Port announced that he wanted to tell the story. It was probably my favorite part of Christmas, to hear his genuine excitement and love for the story of baby Jesus...priceless! (Maybe I can figure out the video and put it on here) Also they seemed to have genuine grateful hearts. Don't get me wrong...could they want for anything more...probably not:-) But I honestly believe that they really are understanding the concept of having a grateful heart. Thank you Jesus for good fruit!!

Christmas at Poppy's

Christmas Eve we go to my Poppy's house to celebrate with all my cousins. We exchange names and then do stockings together. This is a picture of all the great grandkids with Poppy. My boys love playing with Hanna and Lilly, Ella will love playing with Isabella one day too!

We each take turns opening gifts individually. My Uncle Tom went first and Port just happened to be sitting next to him so he got to go next. Haynes really waited pretty patiently, just asking me every time someone went if it was his turn yet. Finally he just picked up his gifts and moved next to the person opening their gifts...isn't he so smart!?! Thanks for being patient Haynes:-)

Christmas Eve and SnOw!!!

The snow was past your knees on our front walk way! Brian and Port cleared a path just in time for the wind and more snow to completely cover it again!

We baked all morning...sugar cookies, brownie bites, etc

These are some of mom's cookies, I had a creativity outburst in the middle of the day:-)

The boys made some too, but I didn't get a picture of all of those. I'm sure you can imagine all the icing and sprinkles that covered them!

Last year I didn't have any snow clothes for the kids. This year I found snow clothes early and bought them just in case...and we are also going skiing in a few weeks. The boys were so excited to get their snow gear on and head to the snow.

I put one gift under the tree for each of the boys on Christmas Eve.

They were so excited when they discovered them!!

This year Christmas was spread out over a 1 week period, which at first seemed a little overwhelming but actually was really nice. Christmas Eve we are usually running from the Hartsock's to get naps and head off to the next Christmas. The kids were so excited that it was going to snow, but I wasn't convinced that it was going to do too much...man was I wrong!?! We never left the house, so it was a wonderful day enjoying the beautiful snow and peaceful time together. Brian came home from work early...it couldn't have been more perfect!!!

Christmas Pajamas

Ella eating her ice cream cone with one finger

The girls

The boys

My Granma makes everyone Christmas pajamas every year. This year Josh and Jenny were going to be in Austin for Christmas so we did pajamas a day early, which actually turned out well because of the weather (Todd and Robin live in the city). Everyone's pj's fit perfectly and Ella's nightgown was by far the cutest outfit of the night! Thanks Granma for working so hard, we love this tradition!

Caroling

My kids have been dying to go Christmas caroling this year and we just barely fit it into the schedule. Tuesday night we caroled to the Primrose's, Bonner's, and Wright's house with the Friedmann and Billingsley families. Port played his guitar with Jim and Haynes and Ella used their jingle bells. This picture is pretty bad, but it's the only one we got. It was a beautiful evening and so fun sharing it with friends. We can't wait to do it again next year!

Poppy

So I think I've mentioned that my kids LOVE apples and the grocery store. Usually when we go to the grocery store we will see my mom, my dad, my Uncle Tom, my Aunt Diana, my Cousin Jenny or my Poppy...who all are amazing at entertaining my kids!

Usually the kids will go up to my dad's office and find some treat, play on the computer or the phones. My Poppy was there last week and he offered to peel Haynes apple, so Haynes patiently waited for him watching every move. I'm so thankful for my Poppy and the fact that my kids know and love him so much!

Cousin Fun Night

Ella was a little jealous she didn't get to join in the fun

Port and Jade's

"Candy Carrying Train"

Anna and Haynes

"Beautiful Train"

Marci and Blake got to teach at Jake and Kourtney's training school on Monday night. Brian and I got to watch their kids, so that all their parents could go to the class. We had a GREAT time! We did a Gingerbread Train Decorating Contest...Jade thought it was best to put all the candy in the train while Port mostly enjoyed eating it! Anna and Haynes train actually looked really great...I'm not sure if Brian or Anna should get the credit on that, I'm leaning towards Anna!

Our kids play together so well, it was a ton of fun! The hardest part of the night was staying up until Blake and Marci got here. Brian and I were so tired from the previous 2 days, we were passed out by the time they got here. The funniest part was Brian actually went to check his phone at one point and went to bed!!! I couldn't find him once they got here and found him asleep in bed!!! Oops?! Thankfully all the kids were fast asleep as well:-)

Hartsock Christmas

Ella Rose

Our new

TrAmPoLiNe!!!

Each year we spend the night together at JuJu and Grandad's on the 23rd, but this year Blake and Marci needed to be in Waco until Christmas Eve so we adjusted our plans. We all spent Sunday night together and opened gifts on Monday morning. It was a dream come true for my kids...a whole day with their cousins plus spending the night together!!!

Our kids wake up around 5 a.m. lately...even with no nap and going to bed late! Brian, the boys, and I shared a room together, Ella was in the utility room:-) The boys were up and ready to go around 5:00 a.m!!! We quickly realized that there was no going back to sleep, so we had to quietly distract them until at least 7:00 a.m. We were exhausted to say the least!!!

It was such a fun night for the parents and kids! We are so thankful for an amazing family!

Liddell Christmas

Ella and Sutton

Christmas story

Waiting for the play to begin

We get together with the Liddell family every Sunday before Christmas. It one of the most fun/chaotic times of the year!!! There are so many kids...21 great grandkids under the age of 12 (1 more on the way thanks to Luci) We put the Christmas story on as usual, but added a few characters with our growing numbers...a star and a few animals. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, so the kids played outside all day long! I'm so thankful that we just love spending time together as a family, it always seems to fly by when we are together.

Greek House Church Christmas

Painting during worship

Most of our actors

Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and the animals

We combined the two Greek House Churches for our Christmas Celebration. We did a little Christmas pageant with some songs intertwined, thanks to Kerri Grigor, it was really cute! It was a great week getting to join our house churches together to celebrate Christmas!

(Port was Joseph, Haynes was a Shepherd, and Ella was suppose to be a sheep...she took a nap instead)

Wedding Night

Aren't they precious!

They are getting too big!!

We went ahead and pushed the limit by driving by the Chesapeake Lights...we just didn't know when we would be up there again. They were amazing, minus the screaming in the back of the car:-)

We have been so excited to go to Michael and Amanda's Wedding (Kourtney's brother and now sister-in-law). We absolutely LOVE their family, and they are gracious enough to love our kids really well. All of the cousins were in the wedding (Kooper a candle lighter, Braxton & Sutton ring bearers, and Preslee a flowergirl) We didn't make it as long as we would have hoped...kids were sick, mom didn't plan well, etc. The ceremony was beautiful and the kids did great! We were all so sad not to make it to the reception...that's how it goes sometimes:-)

*This was kinda the week of no matter how hard you plan, things sometimes just don't always go like you would expect!?!

Baking

Bread

Cinnamon Rolls

Every year I make the bread for Brian's family's Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. This year I made the bread a day early because I didn't think I could get it all done Sunday morning before house church...I don't think it was as good since it wasn't as fresh. I took these pictures Saturday afternoon because it was crazy how much I had made! The cinnamon rolls I make for our Hartsock Christmas morning and a few for gifts.

Merry Christmas Virginia!

Our dear family friends, Virginia and Natalie, always come to Norman for a few days before Christmas. This year Natalie wasn't able to come, and Virginia came on the craziest weekend ever! We actually only got to see her for a few minutes when she came by our house on Saturday morning. Thanks for the sweet gifts, they have LOVED playing with all of them. We love you Virginia and can't wait until your next visit!

Christmas Party

This year for our Christmas party we played it a little more low key.

Everyone brought their favorite Christmas treat and wore their Christmas "Comfies"

We played games and enjoyed some yummy treats with Cider and Hot Cocoa!

*We definitely missed some of our dear friends that couldn't make it!!

Alex and Wags

Kristin, Laura, and Brooke

Gerod and Brian

Jake and Kristin

*Jake won the award because when he first showed up he looked like a jogger in blue sweats and white t-shirt. He quickly drove to Target and found a new outfit, due to fear we would call him a Scrooge...now he's just the Grinch!

Gingerbread Christmas Party

Port with his stocking...

I was so proud that I made his stocking during naptime the other day. When he came out I proudly showed him and he wasn't that impressed:-) So I tried for a better reaction from my husband...Oh well, just another project for mom to enjoy!

Teacher Skye and Port

Singing with Jingle Bells

(Dax, Preslee, and Port are front row)

Braxton lead the hand song...

Sutton and Port were so cute singing!

Gingerbread had their Christmas Party on Thursday morning. Port hasn't been feeling great, but was well enough to go. They got to see Santa, play outside, eat snacks, sing songs, and open stockings. All that and add it to doing it with our best friends...Dax, Braxton, and Sutton...doesn't get much better than that!