A Week Full of Christmas.

It's been a busy week here in the Morgan household. Christmas sure came in a hurry but we are still prolonging it. We have had something to do every day since Christmas Eve and it's been fun.

We started Christmas Eve morning with making a gingerbread Santa's sleigh. My mom always makes houses with them and did after Thanksgiving.(I forgot my camera that night) But I did take pictures of the sleigh the kids made:

We then went to the French Tea Room for our usual Christmas Eve lunch:

And then made LOTS and LOTS of cookies for Santa:

For dinner it's always been a tradition to eat Lobster. This was our first year to do Christmas Eve by ourselves so we made it easy and ordered take out from our favorite restaurant Amerigo's and got Lobster Pasta and Tour de Mozzarella. It was dreamy....

After dinner we got Santa's cookies and the reindeer's food all ready, said goodbye to Clark (Our elf) and read Twas the Night Before Christmas in our Christmas Jammies:

Then Santa and Mrs. Claus got to work. And no Mrs. Claus was not out in the street riding Gavin's winged scooter before it was even put under the tree...no, she would NEVER do that. After getting the scooter back inside, and the basketball goal together Santa and Mrs. Claus were ready for bed:

Christmas morning was a blast. Gavin came down first with his eyes SO big as he looked at all the gifts under the tree. But he only looked for a second before coming into our room for a "Christmas snuggle." It was really cute. Ellie and Hadley were up within minutes of Gavin and were anxious to open gifts. Every present was "What they have always wanted!" It was so cute. I must say the biggest hit from Santa was the winged scooter for Gavin, pixo's for Ellie, and the pink push car for Hadley. Overall (out of all the gifts from Christmas) I think Gavin's top picks were the DS, scooter, and webkins. Ellie's was her water baby, animal hospital, camera, and plasma car. And Hadley's push car, sing along stage, and books were her biggest hits.

Frank and I had decided we have everything we need so we'd just do stockings and take the kids either skiing or to Disney for our gift. But then Santa showed up with an IMac for me. I never asked for one, or really knew what all the "mac" buzz was all about, but now I GET IT! For me with pictures and video's-it's right up my ally. Luckily for me I had done Frank's birthday shopping early so he got his birthday presents for Christmas. Note to self- never trust my husband when he says we are not exchanging gifts. It was a very thoughtful gift though that he was very excited to give me and he put a lot of thought into it. And I do love it!!

Thank you Honey!!

I must say that the best Christmas present we got was finding out there will be a new baby in the family....For those of you wondering....NO IT IS NOT ME. My sweet sister in law and brother in law who spoil my kids rotten are expecting their first baby and we are BEYOND Thrilled. I knew it was coming, was hoping it would be announced at Christmas, but had no idea they would already be 14.5 weeks pregnant. She came out with a "Baby on Board" shirt and he was wearing "My Boys Can Swim" shirt. I wish our reactions could have been recorded. We were all screaming, jumping up and down, and when I saw the little peanut in the u/s picture, was crying. We can not wait to have a new little Morgan in the family.

We had a Great Christmas that lasted several days with different members of our family. We hope all of you had a Very Merry Christmas as well!!

That's it for now folks'-that is Christmas in a (not so small) nutshell.

Hope you all have a Great New Years!! I'm sure there will be lots more pictures to come in the new year- (who are we kidding.....this is me we're talking about- more than a few.)

A Christmas Kind of Weekend..

Yesterday after running 14.86 miles (Go Me), I came home to get ready for a day we have been excited for, for a long time. Our church adopted some kids in Tamina and threw a party for them yesterday. It was more than AWESOME. We have been talking to our kids a lot about how not everyone has everything they do. It was so nice for them to meet the kids we bought gifts for and watch them get so excited over their presents. So gracious, so kind, so adorable. One of our little boys we adopted came up to us not knowing we were the one's who adopted him. He was playing with Hadley, rubbing her cheeks and making her laugh. Then he grabbed Ellie's hand and they walked around the Tamina community center looking at all the presents under the tree. When we realized that was "our" little boy we were so excited. Frank and I both agreed, we could have taken him home with us. He was precious. I took lots of pictures, but don't think I should post them on here except maybe one that doesn't show his face or name. But, it was such an awesome day that we will cherish forever. Our church does a lot for the Tamina Community. Our pastor has a big heart for them and it has been fun doing things with them this past year, but especially yesterday.

Then this morning at church Ellie and Gavin got to sing on stage at the end of the service and it was precious. Ellie ran out of line into the audience to give Frank, Pepa, Mema, and Nanny a GREAT BIG HUG. She was so excited to be performing for us. Gavin on the other hand was yawning, looking up, and blowing his cheeks like a blowfish in between singing bits and pieces. He said he was "embarrassed." But it was adorable watching them get up on stage and sing songs to our God. Here are a few pictures from them this morning:

From Chistmas Performance at Church

And tonight we will end our festive weekend with a Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve service. Since we meet at a school, we have to do our service tonight, but we are REALLY looking forward to it. What a wonderful weekend spent experiencing the true meaning of Christmas and really focusing on what Christmas is all about.

School Christmas Parties

So I am not sure why...but once again I decided at the beginning of the year that I should volunteer to be room mom for both of the kids classes. It is not that big of a deal until they have Christmas parties at the exact same time on the exact same day. Luckily Frank took a late lunch break to come help, but it was still a lot of running around. I'd leave one class to go to another and then back again. And each time I'd feel guilty leaving the one I was leaving. But the kids had fun. Sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, did book exchanges, decorated cookies and Christmas tree cones. And I think the teachers enjoyed their gift cards from the class. The kids school is awesome. I love their teachers. I love the directors. And I love how much they teach my kids about the bible. Between school and our church, my kids "get it" this year. They know the true meaning of Christmas. And they are really into the nativity scene and acting it out. Ellie wants to be Mary and she wants Hadley to be Jesus. :) So cute. And hearing them sing "Away in a manger, " and "Happy birthday Jesus-I'm so glad it's Christmas" makes my heart just melt. Ellie and Gavin keep asking when we get to celebrate Jesus' birthday and Ellie wants to know if God and Mary will be coming over to celebrate with us. Too cute!

And when we got home, I was trying to get some better walking shots...Ellie was trying to help her.

10 Months and Walking

Hadley is now 10 months!! What a big month she has had. Since turning nine months our baby girl has taught herself to WALK! Watch out world...she's on the move!! She took her first steps on Thanksgiving and after a few steps here and there...she started walking between furniture and before we knew it- she was full fledged up and around. She now will walk and if she falls she crawls to something to immediately pull herself up to walk again. She is our earliest walker beating her brother by a few weeks who walked on his 10 month birthday.
Hadley has also gotten really good at waving "Hi" and "Baa bye." Finally got "Momma" down and has really started babbling up a storm. She is loving balls, and touchy feely books. Still loves her sister and brother and her favorite thing to do is follow them around. She also has FINALLY started sleeping through the night. Hooray!! She usually sleeps from 8-5:30ish and boy oh boy is sleep so nice. :) She still has only two bottom teeth but I am thinking the top ones have GOT to be on the way- any day now! Here are a few pics of my big girl:

CHRISTMAS PICTURE AND LETTER.....
Most of you who keep up with our blog, got this in the mail and have already seen our family Christmas picture and have read Frank's annual letter. But, so I can have it for our blog book, I am posting it below.

From 2008_12_07

Dear Friends and Family,

On behalf of the now five members of this segment of the Morgan family, we send you a heartfelt greeting, and our most sincere wishes that you and your family enjoy a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This has proven to be a tumultuous year in many aspects for everyone, but we hope that you are all able to step back from the current state of affairs and simply enjoy the most wonderful time of the year, making the most of every minute you get to spend with your loved ones, release your inner child, and spend time being thankful for all we have. From all of us to all of you, we hope you each enjoy a safe, happy, and festive holiday season.

Once again this year proved to be a blessed one in our home, as we are very grateful to have welcomed a new addition to the family in February. Miss. Hadley Faith Morgan came in to the world February 18th, and has captivated the hearts of every member of our family ever since. Hadley provides the perfect compliment to the other members of the family, with her laid back, independent demeanor, seemingly happy in any situation at any time. During her first year with us, we have seen her go from a little baby to a toddler, who just a few days ago took her first unassisted steps. Gavin and Ellie have both been a great help with Hadley, and the smile on Hadley’s face when Gavin and Ellie get near lights up the house. It is really incredible to see the bonding that goes on between the three siblings even so early on, and we cannot wait to see it grow as time goes on.

Ellie continues to be the spark plug of the house, and definitely has found her own way in the world. Even though she is fairly small for her age, she is one who stands her ground, knows what she wants, and knows how to get it (she asks old softy, her dad). Her personality really lights a spark in the house, as does her smile. It amazes me how there is something incredibly unique and wonderful about the relationship between father and daughter, and she and I seem to get more inseparable as time goes on. She definitely has me wrapped around her finger, but unfortunately for all of us she knows it! She has had an active year which included her first dance recital, gymnastics, hip hop class, and first family vacation to the beach, all of which she absolutely loved. She is an absolutely amazing little lady, and we are extremely thankful to have her in our lives. I honestly do not even think the word “love” does justice to how we feel for her.

2008 was a big year of growth and maturation for our little man Gavin. It is still tough for me to realize that our “baby” boy turned five this year, as it seems like just yesterday we were welcoming him to the world. Gavin continues to amaze us with his gentle demeanor, his caring nature, and how much he simply wants to make everyone around him happy. It is a rare occasion to see Gavin without a smile on his face, and he seems to live to be loveable. Gavin experienced some major milestones this year, with Lacey teaching him to read, ride a bike, a Monday Night football game, his first t-ball season, cooking school, and even boogie boarding at the beach. Gavin was absolutely enamored with the beach vacation, and has decided that he wants to live at the beach when he grows up, either for the water or the T.V. he had in the room of the home we rented. Gavin is a complete joy to be around, makes doing anything fun, and can beat any mere mortal at movie trivia and the Kung Fu Panda Wii game.

Amazingly, even with the addition of Hadley, and having three kids five and under in the house, Lacey takes it all in stride and seems to thrive on it. Lacey is most certainly in her element surrounded by children, commanding their attention, and finding ways to spend quality time playing with and teaching them. Lacey has become an avid blogger, a Sunday school teacher, and decided to train for the Houston Marathon this year, and has done a heck of a job dedicating herself to achieving this goal. It becomes more obvious as time goes on that she has found her role in the world and is willing to commit all of her time and effort to the enrichment of our children and support of me. The four of us are very thankful for her effort, love, patience, and ability to keep this wild family unit running smoothly.

As for me, not a lot changed for me this year outside of the continued growth of our family. I was hoping to grow an inch or two taller this year, but instead added an inch or two in width. I was fortunate enough to go on our first family vacation to Destin, Florida this year, and it was absolutely incredible. We had an amazing time spending a week all together with nothing to do but have fun, and we sure made the most of it. We hope to be able to make a similar trip in the New Year, and are counting the days until we have the opportunity to do it again. I also managed to pick up a new hobby, fly fishing. I was lucky enough to be invited on a trip to go to Montana to fly fish, and I absolutely loved it. I continue to feel fortunate everyday for the life I have, the loved one’s I am surrounded by and the support they give me.

It is amazing that yet another year has come and gone in a flash, yet it was filled with so many memories and things to be thankful for. On behalf of this segment of the Morgan family, we hope that 2009 proves to be a happy, healthy and prosperous year for all of you. We thank you for your friendship, and hope to see you in the New Year.

Best Wishes,

The Morgans