new year, new blog. :)
alright, after five and a half years of blogging on xanga, i’ve decided to start the new year with a fresh new blog. not really a big fan of change, i had to mull over this decision for an undisclosed number of months. but the troubles i’ve lately encountered with xanga’s photo uploader has finally pushed me over the edge. so here i am, a little unsure of how this will turn out, but excited nonetheless! and i come armed with pictures, as always.
and, as always, i have a bit of catching up to do. funny how living life often gets in the way of trying to keep up with it.
so, the very first entry on the new blog in the new year will be about… christmas! be warned, there are kind of a lot of pics. again with the whole catching up thing. hopefully i’ll be better able to keep this updated so i won’t have quite so much catching up to do in future posts. but we’ll see.
we put together a gingerbread house on christmas eve. phil was in charge of the icing. he’s a little heavy-handed with it. but at least this year, he kept most of it on the house rather than squeezing it into his and the kids’ mouths.
there was a lot of this going on…
from her, too.
but then they both settled down and got to work…
lauren got to supervise this year, but required a steady supply of samples sent her way.
ta da! the finished house. ok, so it won’t win any beauty awards, but the kids were so proud of if and we had a great time working on it together.
they all dove in to it the moment it was finished.
once the kids were in bed, i finished wrapping the presents and did the final touches before turning in for the night.
the next morning, phil wanted to have a short little devotional with the kids to focus their hearts on the true meaning of christmas.
and then came time for presents! what i loved most was seeing the kids get excited for each other as they saw what the other got.
she’s all about dressing up these days and has been wearing a princess dress every day since christmas.
giving it the twirl-test. i think it passed.
and not to worry, the little one got in on the fun, too.
she was so happy, she kept giving her pony hugs.
and she couldn’t wait for daddy to finish putting it together so she climbed in to try it out.
all finished and she loves it!
after the present-opening frenzy came to an end, it was time to get dressed for the day. allie wore this outfit two christmases ago, and now came lauren’s turn to wear it. the girl loves hats and wanted to be sure you all noticed it.
then my brother’s family came over to hang with us for the rest of the day. hello hugs and kisses all around!
i put everyone to work decorating cookies. this is what happens when you lick your fingers in between sprinkling on sprinkles.
my happy little nephew.
i think they came out pretty good! 🙂
meanwhile, phil got the crabs ready for our christmas dinner.
me and my baby.
kid pic!
group pic!
the kids now outnumber the adults and we actually need a kids’ table when we eat together. that’s crazy to me.
a laid-back celebration with family and lotsa good food. my favorite. hope yours was great too.
7 Comments
Jenny
woo hoo! i'm your first reader on your brand new blog. 🙂 glad we're making this move together.
i look forward to your new blog and all your amazing pictures. you have become quite the photographer michelle!
kavedissian
like the new blog, i totally get the frustrations with Xanga. Your Christmas looked great!! What a great family you and Phil have made.
Funny, Megan has those same jammies Allie was wearing. 🙂
stella
great new blog michelle! seriously, xanga is out! maybe one day i'll be brave enough to start a new blog. for now fb is enough for me. 🙂
janet
your new blog looks great! honestly, i've been thinking about moving my blog too. xanga is really dead now. decorating christmas cookies is a great idea. sounds really messy but fun!
joyceandnorm
This is mamajoyjoy from momaroo. How funny, I've been with xanga/momaroo for about the same time as you (right before getting engaged!), and I'm "taking a break" from it now too. We're entering our 2nd year on our family blog at wordpress.com. Very different from xanga, but it's beginning to feel like home.
I love all the fun that your family has. Happy new year!
– Joyce
evangeline
i love your new blog and your pictures!
Anonymous
James Lee- awesome! nice pics michelle! very sharp lens!
January 3, 2010 at 12:25am
Jenny Lee- once i get my comments section fixed, i'll join you soon my blog friend. 🙂
January 3, 2010 at 9:01am
Kelly Yee- Nice! Can I be invited to your Christmas gathering next year? I want to do the gingerbread house – – actually, I want to eat it. haha!
January 3, 2010 at 1:34pm
Bruin Doms- YAY!! i'm so excited that you started a blog…!! I love it. Keep posting!
January 3, 2010 at 9:00pm