Christmas

The "Fab Five" on Christmas Eve after we returned from church.

The "Fab Five" on Christmas morning.

These are our boys! TJ will be 18 in March, Ty just turned 16 in November and Dane will be 13 in February.

Tyler was thrilled with a special gift this Christmas...a set of Ping G 5's.

The girls love their jeep although they are a bit baffled as to how Santa brought it down the chimney! Lily does most of the driving and Sarah controls the real radio!

The Alexander Cousins: Eleven Kandels, Five Alexanders and Three Coopers.

Well, to those of you who read this who are typically on our Christmas card mailing list, sorry....we did not send out cards this year! I just didn't get around to it.

We had a great time celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior! We had several Christmas programs at the school and at church. First, we had the preschool Christmas program. Lily sang and signed, "Happy Birthday, Jesus" with her preschool class. She was majorly into it! I can't remember what Sarah's class sang, but keep in mind, Sarah refused to sing! She just stood their playing with her hair! She tells me, "I'm an artist, not a singer." We then had a Fairfield Christian Academy program where Dane played the violin. He did a great job as they played several arrangements of Christmas songs. We also had the church program. Tom enjoys directing a full orchestra at this time of year...he did a great job. It was fun to watch the girls watch their daddy direct all of those instruments.

We went to church Christmas Eve and then spent the day on Christmas Day at home. We did get to have dinner later that evening with our friends Brad and Lorissa Bennett. Brad and Lorissa are patiently waiting for their adoption from China to happen. One year down, yikes.....who knows how many to go!?

We then headed to the farm for a few days. We love seeing all of the Alexander cousins together...it makes for a wild time. I'm so thankful to God that my kids get to be part of the extended Alexander family! Their is a heritage of faith that means a great deal to me. I so appreciate Tom's parents, too. They love the Lord deeply and it is evident in their love for their family.

We did make a day trip over to Girard, Ohio to spend with my family. None of the pictures came out clear so I didn't post any...sorry. My mom looked great for having just had surgery on her shoulder. A number of the Johnson cousins were there. Katy is the oldest and I'm guessing she might be 30 or close to it now! The youngest is James who is just a bit over one year old. There are 20 in between the two of them.

We returned home and have been busy adjusting back to our normal school routine. Ty and Dane continue to be busy with basketball. The girls are excited to be back in preschool. They are even more excited about giving ballet a try as they will start this Saturday.

I hope everyone who reads our blog had a great Christmas. Blessings to all of you in this new year!