Christmas Break continued: Christmas started at 8 am. We couldn’t believe the kids slept in, maybe that Christmas Tree slumber party did the trick? Pax gets up at 6:15 on the dot every morning, with the rest meandering … Continue reading
We got the kids home for 2 whole weeks for Christmas Break! There is nothing that makes me happier than when we are all under one roof together.
I have to show you these photos I found on my camera when I was uploading Christmas!
We even had our first big snow of the Season, just in time to have a White Christmas….
I love living in a place where we experience all 4 Seasons to their fullest!
The photo above {right side} with the little shed, made the local paper!!!! So exciting when that happens 🙂
We got 9 and a half inches of snow, so it was pretty tough to get around, but everyone had fun….
UNTIL the Snow Ball Fight started.
Apparently, Snow Ball fights sound a lot more fun than they actually are.
Just sayin’.
Avery is sobbing and Pax grins, “Hee hee! I do it, Momma.”
Last year I got a beautiful picture of the kids having fun in the snow. I guess I waited too long to get a shot, because by this point everyone but Ty was in tears.
I told him he might as well cry for the photo too. He is a good faker.
The tears continued as we tried to walk in….
So I assigned partners and sent them in to warm up. We will try, try again next snow!
Christmas Eve Eve I took photos of some PRECIOUS newborn twin girls!
Their sweet Momma needed photos done ASAP before they got too big to be sleepy. They were 13 days old, and much after 10, they are no longer sleepyheads.
I told her if we could keep it short and sweet, and she didn’t mind my living room, I could fit her in before our family came over for Christmas.
I have never ever shot in my house before, and I was so worried about lighting and the timing of it all. Sometimes newborns can take HOURS to cooperate.
God was gracious, I was able to get all the food made in the morning, and put the ham in before she arrived. The light was fine, and the girls were angels!
Here are my favorite shots:
About the time I cleaned up, Dale’s siblings and dad arrived for our traditional Christmas Eve Eve get together. The kids always have fun with their cousins and aunt and uncles!
The next night, Christmas Eve, we had some surprise company from Phoenix, Uncle Marion & Aunt Judy. We just sat around and talked and of course, ate tons of good food!
That night, we decided to try the first annual Sleepover in front of the tree. I always did that growing up and we are finally at a stage to do so.
Dale and I lay by the kids and sang Christmas carols until everyone was relaxed enough to sleep. A couple of them were still up at ELEVEN!!!! Ack!
Oh well, they all must’ve been very tired, because they all slept until 8! That never happens at our house….
WordPress always gets mad at me for putting on too many photos, so I am going to start a new post for the rest! 🙂
Hugs, T
I have the song stuck in my head today: Back to life, back to reality. Ugh. Winter Break was great and I am SO sad to see everyone back to school and work routine!
I think I enjoyed this break extra much, because after a busy end of the year push, I am all caught up on photo editing for the Season. That means I am actually enjoying taking photos of my own family again. {This is something I want to take into consideration next year when taking sessions.}
After all the Christmas Celebrations passed, we had lots of time left to just enjoy each other before the break was over and Daddy had to go back to work. We didn’t make any big plans, just hanging out, reading, doing crafts and playing games.
We introduced the kids to the game Guesstures
There was lots of Lego building and Lincoln Log constructing over break.
Thank you Sock Bun, for making it look like I have time to curl my daughter’s hair!
Wednesday night church party:
Dale decided to teach me Texas Hold ‘Em over break. Lets just say I kicked some booty! I like Beginners Luck! 
Second and third night we played? Not so much beginners luck leftover, bummer.
The girls got this cute kitchen for one of their Christmas gifts from us. After they went to bed one night, I decided to play a trick on them.
I had their Dolls trash the kitchen and raid it of ALL it’s sweet things!
Oh such NAUGHTY little girls! I think they have tummy aches.
My girls thought it was pretty stinkin’ hysterical!
We went to the library for new books, and I even got some! I spent a few quiet nap times with a bowl of soup and a super good Christian fiction. Oh, how I have missed reading a grown up book!
There was plenty of time for Crafts after 2 days of beautiful snow, YAY! I will share more about this particular snowy day craft another day.
There is always time for a chapter book before bed, this time it’s The Mouse and the Motorcycle
And lets not forget all the Plays that were put on!
Tomorrow will feature 4 frosty little Fergusons, from our snow day fun!
~T
This is post 2 for today. I KNEW WordPress was going to be grumpy at me for all those pics! I just had to try 4 times to get it to stick. 
It is so important to me to document all these special moments, because I would still love to someday print off these blog posts in a book for my kids.
Anyhow, for the 2nd time ever, we had a quiet Christmas at home on Christmas day. We LOVED it! We used to have to have everyone dressed nice, food prepped, presents opened and never played with, to be out the door by 11. This time, we had a leisurely brunch and Birthday party for Jesus, followed by the Christmas story, presents and PLAYTIME! After nap we headed to be with the family. It was just right!
If you follow us on 4 little Ferguson’s Facebook page, you will already know this story, but I sent out an SOS for uses for Rhode’s Rolls. Dale and I had gutted and cleaned out our huge chest freezer, and for some reason, one basket got left out…..OF COURSE, it was the Rhodes Roll basket, so the next morning he brings in 3 BURSTING bags of Rhodes rolls for me to quick figure out what to do with. You all were so helpful! In the end, I made a double batch of these yummy Bierocks, some Pigs In A Blanket for lunch, and a Cream Cheese Tea Ring for Jesus’ Birthday party the next day. This suggestion came from Liz, over at that Skinny Chick Can Bake. She has such great recipes, and this one did NOT disappoint! It is SO pretty and not too sweet, either. Well, hers is so pretty, mine was NOT.
Go check out her post for the recipe, I think you will want to make it!
Holiday Cream Cheese Tea Ring by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
The kids played while we cleaned up the kitchen…..
Then it was time for the Christmas story. Destiny was proud we used her Bible this year.
Things started off well and everyone sat quietly….well, kind of.
After a brief talking-to by Daddy, and a punishment of sitting on their hands to learn to keep them to themselves, story time continued…..quietly this time.
Next, Tylan shared the Symbols of Christmas, that he made in school.
Look Mom, J is for Jesus!
Present time! 3 for each kiddo, just like Baby Jesus….and I am proud to say, nothing required batteries this year, so it was a peaceful Christmas.
Oh, forgot Paxton’s tractor flashlight. Guess it needed batteries, but everything else did not.
Thanks to some Dog loving friends of ours, even Sophie had a present under the tree this year.
About this time, Destiny noticed our cat, Stripes crying at the window. She felt it was such a shame he couldn’t join in our Christmas fun, so we let him in for a bit. He was in Cat HEAVEN, Sophie was NOT impressed, but they did end up napping together for a bit.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good night!
{New Bible story book from Grandma Esther}
Tomorrow is Weekend Potluck like normal, but on Monday, I will share some photos of the fun things we did on our break, and the first good SNOW of the season!!!!!
Hugs, T
I have my babies home for 17 WHOLE DAYS this Christmas Break and I absolutely love it! Yes, its noisy, yes, pre-vacuuming, the carpet looked like I hadn’t swept in a month, yes, there are moments of sheer chaos that can make me lose my cool, but overall? I’d keep them home with me ALWAYS. Bonus: Dale takes the week off before Christmas and through New Years since no one really wants to see their insurance agent, so we got to enjoy him home, too! 🙂 It’s ALWAYS more fun when Daddy is home!
We had several Christmas celebrations and events that I am sharing with you today via a bazillion pics. 🙂 I know, I know, you aren’t surprised!
~T
Destiny and her cousin Brooklyn, singing solos in Sunday service. They did fantastic!
Preschool Christmas service, my little shepherd boy only made it as far as my aisle. He then feel asleep on Grandpa’s lap. 
Christmas with my side of the family…plus, my Uncle and Aunt from Phoenix were in town! It was fun to see them, and Great Grandpa got to come home from the Nursing Home to be with us, so it was extra special! My kids LOOOOOVE to go to Uncle Dan & Aunt Gena’s house!
Siblings minus one
Grandpa’s buddy
Uncle Dan’s infamous “swing”
I told Great Grandma, Nana and Aunt Gena, NO TOYS this year! So they were clever and thought of really neat gifts for the kids. Nana got us an early gift of Adventure In Odyssey Cd’s for our trip to Georgia. Great Grandma got the kids pencil sharpeners, erasers and a neat chair stacking game, and Aunt Gena made coupons for the kids to go see The Music Man play with her when it comes to town. COOL!
On the eve of Christmas Eve, we always have Dales dad and siblings over. We made a delicious Coke Ham, so easy and so yummy!
Uncle Mike got Paxton this HUGE Sock Monkey to add to his collection of bedtime friends. He LOVED it! “Beeg BEEEG Monkey,” he says.
Ty and Avery have a built in cousin friend about the same age, so they had soo much fun playing together. The boys played with the race track and the girls, well they musta been having fun, because we didn’t see them much!
All this playing is hard work!
Time for a Christmas movie before heading home….
All the cousins in jammies!
Next up, Christmas evening at Grandpa Kirk & Grandma Eileen’s house. Grandma Eileen picked up these darling horse marionette puppets for the kids. They had fun dancing them around and making them gallop on the kitchen floor.
I didn’t get another shot after this, guess I was having too much fun laughing until I cried, playing Loaded Questions
I am telling you, that game is HYSTERICAL for a group, I highly recommend it!
That’s enough pics for this post! Head on over to the next post of our Family Christmas. 
4 little Fergusons 