He Really Was Here!

It looks like Santa enjoyed his snack...

He even left the kiddos a note, which my son read out loud for all of us to hear.

He was so proud to be able to claim that he was the one who made those yummy Chocolate Chip cookies. 'Course as far as he's concerned, there is no other type of cookie!

Hey! You're not Santa!!

Izzy was posing for me, dressed up in her Santa outfit, when Rusty jumped into the chair with her. Fortunately, my trigger finger is quick!

Merry Christmas!

We hope that you all had as great a day as we did!!

Mmmm...chocolate...

My husband brought home a 2 pound block of milk chocolate! It was beautifully decorated and yummy!! I guess all the snow shoveling will help us work off the extra calories...

Santa will be here soon!! Our family will be following his progress on NORAD. It has become a tradition for the boys and one of their favorite parts of the holiday!

Big brother to the rescue!

He saved the hat from getting chewed up...

Daisy, the dog, just loves to chew up everything she can! I'm told that's a labrador trait. The other night we rescued a pair of scissors from her mouth!! Although, from the look on her face, I don't think she intended to chew on them. She had just picked them up because a boy had dropped them on the floor and she picks up everything that she finds on the floor...

Naughty puppy!

That big, fluffy pom-pom was just too much to resist, so she snatched it right off his head!!

Isn't it pretty?

We're so lucky to have such beautiful trees right here on our property!

Carrying it home...

Here they come across the front lawn...almost there, guys!

Measuring the tree...

The tree that we cut down was much too tall to fit into our house, so the boys laid down beside it and Dad was able to cut it to size. The extra branches around the base will be used for making wreaths.

Cutting down the tree...

My husband used the chain saw to cut that wedge out of the tree, and then gave the boys a hand saw so that they could finish taking it down. That way, they could say, "We cut down the Christmas Tree this year!" You can't see him, but he was behind them, pushing on the tree, so that there was no chance of it falling on the boys...

Another Helper

Even my husband got into the holiday spirit!

Santa's Helpers

The boys wore their Santa hats when we went out into the woods to get our Christmas tree. They're all excited about the coming holiday. Last night we bought some gifts and they had fun picking them out. Each year they get more and more helpful! I had to drag them kicking and screaming into the girl section though, to pick out a tiara and princess slippers for their cousin. The color pink terrifies them....

Santa & Mrs. Claus

Throughout the day Saturday, during the West Paris Christmas Fair, children were able to sit on Santa's lap and share their wishes with him. However, as it turns out, children weren't the only ones with wishes...

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Here you can see the little tree, all lit up, and the people, all bundled up and ready to head home for a nice, warm dinner...