Brave

Kiana has been the one in our family who always says amusing things to keep us thinking and of course, laughing. The other morning I was cleaning the stove top and Kiana stopped to watch me for a minute and then exclaimed; "Wow, mom, you're really brave!" I asked her why, and she said that she didn't think she'd be able to clean a stove. I tried to explain that when you're a mom you have to do things to take care of the house. She wasn't convinced--I guess cleaning food spills off of a stove is a brave act in the eyes of an eight-year-old!

Christmas Day

Here are some pictures of Christmas morning at the Chatfields. The kids have never been early risers on Christmas morning--thank goodness! Maybe because we keep them up so late the night before or because we tell them not to wake us up before seven.

We start our morning reading the nativity story from the bible, while the kids reenact the story using a special nativity set that I save just for Christmas morning. The set was given to me by my mom. We used it when I was kid. You can tell that it has been well used & loved due to the many scratches of paint and the missing donkey's ear and angel's wing.

After a family prayer, the gift giving and opening begins. I've noticed that since we've had kids, my favorite part of Christmas morning is watching them open their presents. I love to see their reactions to the many gifts that have been hiding under my bed or in my closet for months.

A lot of fun things were given & received. The top picks this year were; Aaron & Seth received guns (Ruger 10-22s). Kiana received her very own radio/cd player, Andrea received a new camera, and I received a great new pair of jeans. (They fit perfectly--one of the many benefits of buying your own Christmas gifts)

Grandma Ruth & Grandpa Mike were able to be with us in the morning and enjoy Christmas breakfast with us. In the afternoon we went up to Paradise to have dinner with them. Christmas was great once again and being with family is always the best gift we receive, year after year.

Christmas Eve

Once again we celebrated Christmas Eve at Grandma Leila's & Grandpa Rick's house. We always start off with a delicious meal and then we all participate in our annual Christmas pinata. Despite the protests of some, we continue to sing Christmas carols and the kids get to open their gifts from Grandma & Grandpa. The adults then have a gift exchange followed by more delicious desserts. Wow--that's a lot to put into one night, but we enjoy it every year.

December Happenings

The month of December has gone by very quickly. Here is a short recap of the many things we were able to do before Christmas was upon us!

Kiana was a snowflake in her class play

We took a trip to Redding for a bball tournament for Seth--while we were there, we visited Great Grandpa Harold.

The girls went to see the Nutcracker ballet in Paradise.

Happy 38th Birthday Gina--Yummy breakfast in bed!

Merry Christmas!

Here is our Christmas card for 2009. It was so quick and fun to make--thanks to Costco. I guess it also helps to have some fun pictures of the family to use.

Basketball Season

Basketball season has started again. We've been gone for the past two weekends attending basketball tournaments. It's been a lot of fun. Enjoy the video below--we have our eye on #4!