RATS spelled backwards is STAR!!

Pictures from the Nutcracker

Here are some of the pictures from the Nutcracker Ballet.

Trying to get that perfect shot

Well we never quite got to get our pictures to the print shop for Christmas. We had so much going on.... the Nutcracker Ballet; Mike's parents began having some health problems and Mr. C had bypass (5 bypasses) surgery the Friday before Christmas, just to name a few. And as you see, the longer it took for me to get that "perfect" shot the less patient the kids were with the photographer. But I will admit, they are great subjects to photograph, even if I am a harsh critic of my abilities to take a "good" picture.

We made it through the 1st Christmas with my family and plan to celebrate Christmas again with Mike's family sometime in late January or early February depending on Mr. C's recovery from surgery.

We celebrated my baby girl's 7th birthday on the 28th.

We hope that all of you had a very Merry Christmas. Thanks to everyone who sent us cards, we loved hearing from you and enjoyed all of the pictures.

May God bless you in the New Year!




(I can't take this anymore!!!)

The house that Mandy built...

Today we had children's choir rehearsal (musical tomorrow night!) followed by the children's christmas party. After the kid's ate lunch we had a "build-a-gingerbread house" contest. Here's Mandy and her team (Ethan, Brandy and Garret) building one. Pretty cute... they came in 2nd. Unfortunately, some of the others didn't make it to the judge's table. The kids had a great time and got a good sugar high too! Thanks to Ms. Marcy, Ms. Rhonda, and Ms. Rachel, Ms. Candy and Ms. Patti for all of their help. After the children's christmas party we dashed off to ballet for our Nutcracker rehearsal. We were pretty tired when we got home around 4:00pm, but since Mandy had not seen Jake all day (he was still in bed when we left this morning) she got her second wind and talked him into going out back and throwing the frisbee with her. What a great brother!