Christmas Eve

The boys, especially Carter, couldn't wait to open gifts this morning!  If I could bottle up that energy and excitement, I could power the house for a year!  I am always amazed that we spend months shopping for just the right gifts, hours wrapping all of them, and only a few minutes opening them.  The kids are happily playing with their new toys now while I work.  Christmas music is playing in the background, we are snacking on food that isn't the healthiest for us (but tastes so good), and all I can think is that life is perfect right now!  I have everything I need in life, within the 4 walls of our home.  Life is good!

Santa

Carter put out cookies for Santa tonight before bed:

I was lucky enough to get a picture of Santa filling our stockings:

There's going to be a lot of excitement in our house tomorrow morning and I can't wait!  :)

Charlie

Charlie returned to our house on December 1 and has been full of mischief since.  The boys (especially Carter) were thrilled to see him again.  They can't wait to see what he is up to every morning when they get up! :)

Arriving with a letter from Santa and a movie for the boys:

Playing Hide and Seek in the toilet paper:

Stamping his name on a jewelry disc:

Snickering about confiscating Carter's tooth fairy money and making it into a paper airplane:

Making 2 small loom band bracelets for himself:

Charlie went shopping - he bought a scarf and boots for himself (it has been really cold here), a Gingerbread house for Carter, and loom band refills for Ryan:

Hunting with Hunter Dan:

Winning a Nerf gun fight against one of Carter's robots:

Playing tic-tac-toe with Bullseye on the boys' bathroom mirror:

Bringing the boys a new movie they wanted:

Reading in a comfy chair:

Tag team wrestling match with Carter's wrestlers.  Charlie took down Randy Orton:

"Decorating" cookies:

We had a flu bug in our house last weekend.  Charlie must have caught it as well:

Playing Ryan's "instrument" that he made for inquiry class at school:

Watching Minecraft on Ryan's iPad:

Santa sent magic elf dust because Evan accidentally touched Charlie, causing him to lose his magic

Making a mess in the boys' bathroom, because I don't have enough to clean up in there already!

Wishing Ryan a Happy Birthday:

Saying a prayer and thanking Ryan for volunteering at Feed My Starving Children:

Sack races with his friends:

Bungee jumping from the ceiling fan:

Goodbye letter from Charlie:

Grandma and Carter reading the letter that Charlie left for Carter:

Santa released Charlie's magic for a few minutes after Carter read the letter, allowing him to hold him to say goodbye.  The look on his face was priceless!!!

Kisses for Charlie - goodbye until 2014!

Mackey Christmas

We had our annual Mackey Christmas gathering at Dennis and Monica's today.  It was a fun day and great to see their new home.  They've been in it for 18 months, but this was the first time most of us have seen it.  It is just gorgeous and Monica has it decorated to feel very warm and inviting inside.  Most of the Mackeys were able to make it - it was quite a house full!

Ryan lucked out - a Skylanders Swap Force character, iTunes Gift Card, Target Gift Card, binocular glasses, and a harmonica (what was Aunt Teresa thinking with the harmonica?)

Evan and his siblings:

The outlaws:

The grandkids:

The grandkids and the great grandkids - there are getting to be so many of them!!!