St. Nicholas Tag

We didn't forget St. Nicholas Tag (St. Nicholas Day) in all our celebrating this December. Adam wakes up to a shoe full of surprises.

I'd be happy if I got presents first thing in the morning too.

Dinosaur and fruit.

More Princess stuff!

Christmas at Fort Croghan

We liked Fort Croghan (in Burnet) so much that we decided to head to Burnet two nights in a row to attend their Christmas celebration. We don't have as many pictures, since everything was lit with candles, but we had a great time. Adam checks out some animal furs with the Indian tribe.

The kids enjoyed all the old fashioned Christmas trees decorated with cornhusk dolls, paper decorations, and popcorn!

The kids had fun eating popcorn and looking at the tree with Gram.

Fun with Bapa!

Main Street Bethlehem

On December 11, we got to visit Main Street Bethlehem. A Baptist church in Burnet puts this on every December - it's supposed to be a representation of how Bethlehem might have been on Christmas Eve when Jesus was born. We knew to arrive early. Adam and Lottie had a grea time jumping on rocks and kicking the dirt. They even shared some candy canes with new friends.







Enjoying time with Daddy (home for a court martial). Gram and Bapa were also along to visit.

Visitors camping out in town for the census.

Roman soldiers patrolling Bethlehem.

Adam and Lottie got to pet the goose. Really soft!

Adam inspects the reeds used to make bedding mats.

Uh oh! Someone got in trouble.

Double trouble.

Reading the Torah at Temple.

Paying their taxes.

Testing a newly made rope.

Lottie was excited to pet the camel.

The main show. Adam was really excited to see baby Jesus. I think he was a little disappointed that he didn't get to hold baby Jesus. He would have been REALLY disappointed if he had realized it was just a baby doll. We had a good time. The people at the church did a great job of conveying the atmosphere and events of the time.

Early Christmas

Because Chris had to return to Halfghanistan before Christmas, Santa came early. Lucky kids!

Lottie shows off her Princess scooter.

Adam and Lottie were super excited about their new kitchen. Lottie tests out the phone's reception.

The tree before the present-opening frenzy.

Decorating the Tree

Chris got to come home for a court martial in December - just in time to put up the Christmas tree. This was the year that Adam decided decorating the tree was the most fun ever! I didn't have to do any of it, except for the lights. I just put them on the coffee table, and he did the rest. Lottie helped too.

I did have to pack the breakable ornaments away this year. Small price to pay for all the help.

Then Daddy helped Adam put the angel on the tree.

Success!

Christmas Pictures

Photos for the Christmas card.

Christmas on the Farm

Only in Texas would you have an event called, "Christmas on the Farm." We enjoyed horseback riding. Adam got the festive horse with jingle bells and Santa hat!

Lottie rode a huge horse - all by herself.

Some indoor tractor riding.

Mary, Lottie, and Adam are ready to play some games.

Adam blindfolded to play Pin the Tail on the Reindeer.

And of course we got a picture with a cowboy Santa - notice the boots. We missed the redneck Santa in overalls chewing on a piece of hay.

Phone Pictures

I've had a little fun with the retro camera app on my new phone. Here are some pictures of the kids "decorating" Christmas cookies.

More like drenching the cookies in sprinkles, but they had a good time.

Wanting to open all the presents soooo badly.

More Snow Pictures

The last set of snow pictures. These are from the beginning of the storm. Making snow angels!

So excited about the snow.