Christmas Morning

Chris and I were really looking forward to Ashton's "first" Christmas even though it's really his second Christmas. He's just at that age where he's showing so much expression. Our little bubble was burst when Ashton came down with a stomach bug just as we were about to head out the door for church on Christmas Eve. We also had to miss Grandma and Grandpa Hale's Christmas that night and didn't know what to expect for Christmas day. Ashton thankfully slept through the night and woke up in good spirits. We did have to throw him in the bathtub before we could start our morning since he unfortunately had a blow-out. Of course I had to put him back into pajamas for the whole Christmas morning effect (if you're wondering why he's still in pajamas and not dressed for the day). His BIG present was a red wagon. He thought that was pretty special, so special that we couldn't lure him out of there. He had to open the remainder of his presents while seated IN THE WAGON. We thought it was pretty cute. By mid-morning we made the decision to head to Grandma and Grandpa Olson's for their Christmas celebration. BIG MISTAKE!! The majority of family that attended also came down with the bug. Chris and I were the first to get struck - beginning mid-morning on Friday - and the others by early Saturday morning. It wasn't what I had in mind for my Christmas break, but I was quickly reminded that I'm not the one in control of things, the good Lord is. We were all pretty much feeling good by New Year's Eve and had a wonderful time celebrating at the home of our good friends, Winn and Betsy. Good food and fun was had by all. Chris got off of work at 10pm that night and was able to join in the fun thankfully.

First Encounter

This was Ashton's first year visiting Santa. He did a great job, and Santa was very accommodating as well.

Christmas Tree Tradition

My family had a tradition of traveling into Wisconsin each year to retrieve our Christmas tree and then head to Rocky Rococo's Pizza for supper. It is something I cherished and so Chris and I decided to carry on that tradition with our family. This year we traveled to a tree nursery just south of Eau Claire, WI. We found that "perfect" Christmas tree and had fun doing so. Here are a few shots from our day. If you'd like to see more you can go to my facebook account where I have all the pictures from that day posted.