Merry Christmas!!

What a fun and crazy morning!  True to form, both Zoe and Madelyn were up by 6am so we got a very early start on the gift opening.  Watching Zoe's reaction to her gifts was a neat experience, and it was heartwarming how she hand delivered gifts to Maddie and helped her open them.  Madelyn didn't really get what was going on this year, but she thoroughly enjoyed crinkling and eating the colorful wrapping paper.

The only thing missing from our Christmas this year was being with our families.  This was the first year we weren't able to see everyone, and that was hard.  Luckily, we were able to Skype and that helped a little bit.

Here are some photos from our Christmas Day.



Zoe and Madelyn testing out their new craft table.



How cute is this shirt?!  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Martin and Aunt Danielle!



Zoe helping Madelyn get the wrapping started.




This present is delicious!!



Zoe and Madelyn playing with the new toy Zoe picked out for her baby sis.

How our living room looked after all the presents were opened.



The Martin Family, Christmas 2010



Christmas Eve

Our first Christmas as a family of four- a little more hectic but a lot more fun!  I had good intentions of getting a great family photo of us all dressed up, but we barely made it out the door in time for church.  After the service, against our better judgement, we went out to dinner.  Let's just say our new tradition on Christmas Eve will be staying in and ordering a pizza.  Picture a very excited, fidgety 4 year old and a "I want to grab everything on the table" 7 month old- not the most relaxing meal we've ever had.  We made it home in time for each of the girls to open one gift on Christmas Eve, and set out milk and cookies for Santa, as well as spread reindeer food on the front walk.  I love the magical feeling on Christmas Eve, and the excitement of my little angels.

Preschool Christmas Program

Tonight was Zoe's Preschool Christmas Program.  She has been practicing her songs all week and was very excited to perform tonight.  Darryl and I were pleasantly surprised that our little shy girl was front and center, singing her heart out.  You make us proud, Zoe!!

I have no idea what they are saying, but it's still adorable!!

My favorite song of the night!

Lyrics:  I'm gonna wrap myself in paper,

Tie me up in ribbons too.

Then I'll put a stamp up on my head,

And mail myself to you!

Dedication

Today was a special day for Zoe and Madelyn.  They were both dedicated to the Lord at our new church home, Cornerstone Community Church of Moorpark. 



Waiting patiently for the service to begin.



Darryl introducing all of us.



Prayer and Dedication of Madelyn Grace




Prayer and Dedication of Zoe Renee

 Both of the girls did a great job being up in front of the entire congregation.  Even though Zoe has limited understanding of what being dedicated means, and Madelyn of course has no understanding, it was a special moment for Darryl and I as we made a promise to the Lord that we will guide our girls to understand God's love for them and one day accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. 

Something To Say

Translation:  Hey Everybody, I'm 7 Months Old!!

Little Reindeer

Tree Down

Nothing like being awoken from a deep sleep by a crashing sound. I thought someone was breaking into the house but Darryl immediately said, "the tree fell over".  Sure enough, there was our beautifully decorated Christmas tree lying on the floor surrounded by broken pieces of ornaments.  You can imagine our joy in cleaning up this disaster in the middle of the night, and as we drug the tree out to the driveway and scrubbed ridiculous amounts of sap off of our arms, we vowed that the next day we would be traveling to Lowe's to purchase an artificial tree.  However, Darryl decided to give this tree another chance at life in the Martin house, and after cutting a good foot and a half off the bottom, we set it up again.  And restrung the lights.  And decorated again.  (this time with slightly less Christmas spirit).  I'm happy to say that as I am writing this post our tree is still standing!  A few points to mention about this experience:

1.  First and foremost, we are so thankful that the girls weren't around and no one got hurt.  We found lots of pieces of ornaments on Madelyn's exersaucer, where she was playing earlier that day.

2.  Never buy a tree that is too big for your base to support.

3.  If you live in California, it is too warm for the tree's sap to freeze up and stop flowing, so be prepared.  Also, the trunk will be incredibly soft and the screws from your stand will dig right into the trunk and turn it to pulp.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!!

This past weekend was packed full of Christmas preparations.  We did most of our indoor decorating over the Thanksgiving break, but saved the outdoor lights and the all important Christmas tree for this weekend. We found a great cut-your-own farm close to our house and off we went...




Zoe and Darryl searching for the perfect tree.



"How about one of these, Mom?"



A quick visit with Santa (Madelyn is too interested in Mrs. Claus to look at the camera!)



Zoe's ornaments all in a line- can you tell how tall she is?!

Two more of our traditions- The Elf on the Shelf and the Gumdrop Tree ( Thanks Betty!)

There is always the great debate- live tree or artificial.  Having grown up with live trees (and luckily Darryl did too)  we have always gone this route.  A little more work, a little messier, yes- but totally worth it when you smell the fresh pine in your house.  Well, what happened next may forever change my mind about getting a real tree...to be continued.