Christmas Eve

The morning started off with presents from Grandma and Grandpa

ready to open!

Grandma and Grandpa knew just what to get- a horse and a hook-up truck

Grandma gave Grandpa a picture of their Chelan property.

the girls ready to cook

the Glassers and Langstons come over for Christmas Eve fun

toasting to good times

6-Pack plus Rigo

Langston-Glasser Crew

LOVE these girls

New pj's opened for Christmas Eve

ready to sleep so Santa can come!

Cousin's Christmas Weekend in Oly

Heading off to sing with Grandma and Joysong as soon as we roll into town!

the girls hanging out while the guys golf

the two who make it all happen

HEadlights from Grandma and Grandpa-perfect for these boys!

ready to eat!

the little cousins

the most mature group of the night!

a jewelry board for Gianna that Uncle Jared and Aunt Toni made

Jonathan was Santa's helper this year...Santa gave a bag of gifts to Jonathan for the kids!

Dan is VERY excited about his gift! (the revolving picture of Vinny)

This was our dancing queen! She loved the  song Jared wrote and performed about Vinny!

The Cousins

Shining on Stage

Ready for their first Christmas performance at our church

not shy at all!

Our sweet friend Liz brought each of them a special gift for their performance

love this shot of Dom

Gianna at her Preschool Christmas performance

G in her Kindergarten Enrichment performance-the legend of the candy cane

Dom loved holding baby Emme while listening to his sister

Kinzley and Gianna after the performance

Dominic is such a great concentrater!

Christmas Eve performance at our church- Dom was so sweet and looked out for his sister the whole time on stage.

first weekend of December fun

Getting ready to open 2011 ornaments

They all got nutcrackers this year for ornaments.

Tree decorated

Sequim Santa Breakfast

Decorating Gingerbread houses

all done

Gianna's year to put on the star

Friendship

Nick and Payton

We are so thankful for this friendship in Nick's life. Payt brings out in Nick such great qualities; light-heartedness, laughter, and appreciation for the good things in life. Payton has shown support for Nick, love, and will also challenge him! Vinny and I love when they spend time together.

G's Snow Attire

G's idea of ready for snow!

We don't know why but whenever the weather is really cold, Gianna gets in her bathing suit! Funny girl.

G loves her kitty

Our girl has such a huge heart. Every single morning, as soon as she gets out of bed, (after giving us some snuggles), she goes out to the garage, where the kitty is waiting, and snuggles her up. Even though it is FREEZING out there, that does not stop Gianna- her first thought is for that sweet kitty...and the kitty is always waiting for her:)

Sometimes we even let her bring the kitty inside for a few minutes in the evening- a big step for this family!



"Mr. Hustle"...apparently aka Nick!

So we have a teenager in the house, and he has never been known as "Mr. Hustle" when it comes to chores, or waking up, or basically anything! BUT Tuesday night at Nick's Bball awards we found out there was a whole other side to him!...apparently on the court and in practice he is "Mr. Hustle!"

WOW! we would love to see some "hustle" instead of saunter around this house!!!

Warming up

Nick and his buddies ready to hit the court!

Dom and G ADORE their big brother and were so excited whenever his team scored! Their cheering was the most heart-warming thing to hear.



Date with Dom

I was so privileged to take Dominic for a date this weekend. The two of us don't often get just "us" time. There is usually someone else (aka Gianna) around. He was the sweetest date! We went to Starbucks, per his request, where he had hot cocoa and an old fashioned donut. Then we ran some errands together...just being with him, doing the little everyday things, was so fun! I love hearing his thoughts and feelings. This is one special guy!

Grandma June aka Bramma June

G holding and stroking Grandma June's hand

We went to visit my Grandma this weekend, and got to spend some special moments with her. She is in the last stages of her life, and our visit was so bittersweet. One of the sweetest moments was watching Gianna, instinctively kneel down by Grandma, take hold of her hand and start stroking it, when she saw the pain that Grandma was in. She sat there for so long, comforting Grandma.

Gianna sang her songs, and then Grandma asked for her to sing more songs. After singing You Are My Sunshine, Grandma, who can barely speak because of the effort it takes, breathily sang it back to Gianna. They have such a connection, and I am so happy that our kids got to know my grandma in some of the special ways I have known her.