Christmas Wrap Up

We had our Bricker family Christmas on Sunday and had so much fun watching the kids play with each other and get all excited about their new toys!

















It was just the perfect way to wrap up our Christmas weekend and by the time we got home everyone was more than ready for a nap. And mom and dad were more than happy to let them take one. I ran to my favorite store, Ulta, while Dustin joined the kids in a little afternoon snooze.

A few loads of laundry later....and it was time to end the day.

It's amazing how quickly days go when they are filled with fun times and laughter. But in saying that...it's also going to be good to send one little boy back to school and two little girls back to daycare. There are so many new distractions in the house and those pesky things called "rules" tend to be forgotten by children when a new toy is in front of them.

A little structure and our normal schedule would do us all good right about now. ;-)

Pure White

The girls are home this week so that our daycare provider can enjoy some time with her family. So, it was a special treat for me to "sleep in" until 6:30 this morning! When I got up the kids were up and ready for some breakfast. I figured since we had a few extra hours together I'd whip together some french toast for them. I came down the stairs and almost had to close my eyes from the glare of all the white outside.

At first I thought the trees were covered by ice and began to panic a bit, but then I realized they were all coated with these light, fluffy snow crystals. They were absolutely beautiful so I grabbed my camera. As I was standing outside in my pajamas taking photos I looked up the street and one of my neighbors was doing the same thing!

Christmas Day 2010

This morning we all hopped out of bed and got ready for church. Trying to get kids ready for church is normally a little stressful, but trying to do it while they are distracted by a toy store full of new toys is dang near impossible!!

Nonetheless, we did it and in record time. We arrived at church and I looked at Dustin and said, "So, THIS is what it's like to be at church early." We were able to have Larry, Toni, Gretchen, Adam, Reagan and Avery join us for service so it just made it that much more special for everyone!

After church, mom, Ti-ti and Uncle Joel came over for our gift exchange.







And now everyone is gone again and most of my immediate family is napping. I am attempting to enjoy the quiet while it lasts but wanted to get some photos on the blog for our family and friends who could not be with us today. I did not plan a big meal this year and have instead let my crock pot do the cooking and hope to enjoy some beef stew later. I told anyone who had complaints will be in charge of the cooking next year. ;-)

We have one more celebration with family tomorrow and are sure to have a fun time with all five children together. If nothing else...the photos are sure to be full of energy!

All, in all, it has been a great Christmas. We have much to be thankful for this year and are always glad to be reminded of the true gift we have all been given - a Saviour. Blessings to all of you and your families today and always.

Two Visits in One Night

As luck would have it Josh lost a tooth as we were getting ready for Christmas Eve service. Who would have thought that we would get a visit from Santa AND the Tooth Fairy in the same night!?!?!?

Christmas Eve 2010

Our house has had quite the week! Lauren threw up at the dinner table on Sunday night and that pretty much kicked it all off! I thought for sure we were in the clear by Tuesday night but wouldn't you know just as I put Ella to bed on Tuesday I heard her start to cry and went to check on her just as I saw her puking in her bed.

I told several people this week that no matter how many times I see my children get sick I always have the same reaction: shock. I pulled her out of her crib and set her on the floor and just stared at her for thirty seconds as my mind processed what I should do. I crouched down to her to attempt to comfort her and yelled for Josh to grab a towel. He, of course, wanted to see the show and ignored my command in order to come get a front row seat. And that's just about when she coughed and sprayed me in the face. I believe that is also the moment when I caught the flu because by Wednesday night I knew I was in for it.

I had planned on taking Thursday off to enjoy a day with the kids and finish some last minute tasks, but you know what they say about the best laid plans. ;-)

I was utterly and completely out of commission on Thursday. It was awful. Everything on/in my body hurt. And, as luck would have it, the children were back to normal. It was about as bad as things could get and I wasn't sure if we'd make it to Christmas Eve or not. But, alas...we did!!

The kids put out their cookies and milk for Santa and I think he may have had some help in eating the cookies this year because Mattie had a hint of sugar on her breath when we got home. ;-)












Ella decided to take a break from all the unwrapping to shove as many M&Ms in her mouth as humanly possible. That girl is pretty particular about what she will and will not eat....but chocolate is always good, apparently!









We had a wonderful Christmas Eve!! After church and after snacking and after all the gift unwrapping we were able to just sit around and play for awhile with the kids. Their feet were barely touching the floor as they ran around with excitement over their new treasures! If only their parents had as much energy as they.

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas!

Boy, oh boy did we ever get some snow!!! And since we didn't have to travel and no one had to travel getting to us on Friday I can say that it brought nothing but smiles to the faces of the Bricker family! When I came downstairs on Friday morning and looked outside to see several inches of snow on the ground and the most beautiful, fluffy white snow falling...I about cried. It truly was a snow that people dream of having on Christmas Eve and we were all so happy to be able to enjoy it.

So many times when it snows it is merely another nuisance of life, but yesterday...I felt like a kid again and was thrilled to not have to the leave the house until nighttime. The kids got to play in the snow, Mattie got to run around and we all got to enjoy some hot cocoa. It was just the perfect day!!

Merry Christmas from The Brickers!!!

There was more than one Christmas miracle to celebrate last night - the Brickers got a nice family photo!



We hope that everyone has a blessed Christmas and that with all this snow you were able to have safe travels and lots of yummy goodies!

PS. It wouldn't be complete without one of the children to be covered in boo-boos, so Lauren sacrificed herself this year and took a major face plant on the living room floor on Friday. Complete with rug burn on her lip and everything. ;-)

First Christmas of 2010

Dad and Thomas came to celebrate Christmas with us this weekend and thankfully the weather cooperated with our plans! Once the kids woke up on Saturday morning they were all excited to open presents. It's funny how there are all these presents under the tree and they never ask about when they can open them but as soon as a few new ones show up they ask when we get to open gifts every three minutes.






While waiting for the Zupfa to rise the girls worked on a art project to pass the time.





After church on Sunday we went to Zin's for Brunch with Santa. The food is always fabulous and I had hoped we could get a few pictures with Santa. I don't know what I was thinking.

Josh did great, of course.



Ella came close enough to grab a candy cane out of his hand.



And Lauren stood off to the side, carefully watching his every move. Even though I didn't get my picture of the kids with Santa...I did get some other good ones and even a family photo that wasn't awful. All in all...it was a perfect weekend and, like it always does,....it went too fast.