Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

We hope all of you are enjoying the holiday season with all of it's blessings!

The kids' last day of school was on the 19th and we relaxed at home for a few days before heading out to Atlanta. It was nice having some quiet time at home before the hustle and bustle of extended family gatherings began! The kids made a gingerbread doghouse and opened a few early presents before we left town...

You won't catch Jacob in an apron very often....

Mary Rose took over icing detail.....

The finished product, complete with a little "Gypsy" at the front door....

Early morning stockings.....

We left for Atlanta on the 24th and had a great time with family and friends there. We are home again now, but just for a couple of days, as we will be leaving to spend New Year's with Kevin's family in Kentucky.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas at Papa & Mimi's with most of the Tant family.

Mimi and the girls....

10 of the 16 Tant Cousins.... (Susan and family were with her in-laws on Christmas Day, and Jeff and family didn't get to make the trip from Oregon this year)

Jacob, Mary Rose and cousin Rachel.....

Santa's little helper, Eli, passing out presents...

Sisters - Shawna, Susan, Sharon and Shannon....

In addition to all of the other festivites, Kevin turned 40 on Christmas Eve and Isaac turned 6 on the 27th. Here are a couple of pictures of Isaac celebrating at Aunt Sharon's house...

Have a wonderful New Year's, everyone! See you in 2009!

Kevin's 40th surprise party

As most of you know, Kevin turns 40 this month and we had a HUGE surprise party for him. Over 80 friends and family from Texas, Indiana, Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia showed up to toast him and roast him. It was quite an evening with lots of love, laughter, and embarrassing moments for Kevin!! THANK YOU to everyone who helped "behind the scenes" that night and in the weeks leading up the big event....I couldn't have pulled it off without you! We are so blessed to have friends like you! Special thanks also to Conrad for filling in as our entertaining emcee! I think Kevin's favorite part of the evening was the kids' performance. They had been secretly working on a very special song that they played for him and all the guests at the party. It makes me smile (and cry a little) every time I watch it!

Here are a few other pictures from the party....

Thanksgiving at Dale Hollow Lake

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Stinson side of the family at one of our very favorite places to visit....Eagles Haven at Dale Hollow Lake.

The whole Stinson clan....

The Thanksgiving Feast.....


Hanging out by the lake....

Rock-skipping contests.....

The Stinson siblings, Kevin, Melanie (& Bo), Stephen & Eric....

Super-hero cousins Van, Isaac, Lex & Clint......

Eagles Haven is a beautiful home that we rent from time to time, which is perched on a hill above Dale Hollow Lake, just a couple of hours northeast of us in southern Kentucky. The Dale Hollow area is absolutely pristine, one of the cleanest lakes in the country, and is gorgeous anytime of year. But it is really cool in winter, because it is one of the largest nesting grounds for bald eagles in the South and you can spot them so much easier when all the leaves have fallen off the trees.

The house has a huge deck overlooking the lake which is great for eagle-watching in the day and star-gazing at night.....the sky is AMAZING there at night!

Anyway, all of Kevin's side of the family gathered there for a few days and it was great! We stuffed ourselves, played games, built bonfires by the lake, ate some more, took naps in front of the fireplace.....a blessed and bountiful Thanksgiving in every way! Hope yours was great, too!

Happy Fall, Y'all!!

The main reason I haven't posted more this month is because it's been BOOK FAIR time!

For those of you who don't know, I spend way too much time up at school in the elementary library, especially around this time of year. Our elementary bookfair happens every November and involves lots of preparation and projects. This year's theme was "Book Fair Safari" so we had fun transforming the library into the Serengeti! We have some tremendously talented moms, and super supportive parents who all work together to make our elementary book fair the BEST one you will ever see! Here are a couple of shots of the library all decked out...

Yes, that is a real stuffed impala and an authentic Zebra rug hanging from the ceiling; and a few other exotic pelts were draped all over the tables (we have a kindergarten dad who goes hunting in Africa every year...how cool!)

And here is Sophie with her face painted during Family Night!

Also keeping us busy this month is Mary Rose's art exhibit. She was invited to show some pieces in an exhibit in downtown Nashville, so she worked hard and created some really nice pieces that were displayed and all sold on opening night! Thanks to our good friends and patrons of the arts...Brenda Preuett, Norman & Renita Harber, and Brenda & Emily Thompson for supporting Mary Rose's debut!

Halloween pics...

Well, I'm way behind again, so I thought I'd post some Halloween pictures quick before Thanksgiving gets here!

This year we had a cowgirl, Darth Vader, a nerd, and a GIRL pirate roaming the streets....

My nephews, Eli & Cooper, made the cutest Peter Pan & Captain Hook you'll ever see!

And Silas was a very sweet Ninja (is there such a thing?)

Here is Isaac visiting a very scary witch at the nursing home....(our friend, Nellie Mayes!) They kinda remind me of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones...the Men in Black are back! Or maybe not so much....

And here he is with his pumpkin project for kindergarten. He was supposed to decorate it like a character from his favorite book. He chose Max, from "Where the Wild Things Are."