Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We've got lots of Christmas Eve pics, so here they are.

In the morning... Deacon and Maren open the last door on the advent calendar.

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We had a very nice church service at 7:00 p.m., and the kids were on their best behavior. But of course they couldn't wait to get home to open presents! Here are a bunch of self-explanatory pictures!

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'Tis The Season...

...for more singing! Even though they're both coming down with yet another Christmas cold, the kids sang beautifully this morning at Calvary Chapel Burbank.



Here's a movie...

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Maren, in another new dress

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It's too bad Deacon is so shy and reserved.

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Sing sing sing!

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Maren

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Mommy and Daddy sang more than once this morning, so Deacon and Maren did, too! Here's a picture from the sound booth upstairs, during the 3rd service...

This Day In History: December 23, 2002

A picture from the photo shoot of Deacon's 1st birthday party invitation cover, from December 23, 2002

A Gingerbread House

It was party time in Kindergarten today! Here's Deacon with the gingerbread house he made!

An Evening at St. Paul's

Last night Deacon sang and performed recitations as part of the Kids' Christmas service at St. Paul's. Here are the kids before we left...

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For Maren, the evening was all about the debut of her new purse (with matching dress).

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A few more on the porch...

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Deacon went with his class to Build-A-Bear in Hollywood (they took the subway!) and got this Triceratops.

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A couple of pictures during the service...

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Maren enthusiastically skips back to Deacon's classroom after the service. I like that her hair is caught "mid jump."

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Deacon and his teacher, Miss Miller, after the service.

Paper Snowflakes

Meant to get this posted a couple of days ago, but better late than never! Just a picture of Deacon making snowflakes. We now have paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling in the front room and, like Maren said yesterday, it's a "snowy wonderland".

This Day In History: December 18, 2005

Terri and Maren, from December 18, 2005

Susie and Molly: Back in Burbank!

We had a great visit today with Susie and Molly at Ailette's house. They're becoming regular Southern belles, those two. But it was so nice to have them back in Burbank for a little while!
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They're here!!

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Deacon made a friend...

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and so did Maren!

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Susie's birthday was on the 13th! Happy Birthday Susie!

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Susie and Derek

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Terri, Nancy (Susie's cousin, also recently transplanted from Los Angeles to North Carolina) and Susie

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Deacon, Molly and Maren

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A group photo...

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Susie makes Maren laugh.

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We were leaving as Regina was arriving... here's Regina and Susie.

A Shining Star!

From shooting stars to shining stars... Deacon's been a great helper at school and he received his latest shining star for stacking all the nap mats in his classroom.

Naturally I took cell phone pics! :)

A couple of shooting stars

As Biggs Darklighter said to Luke Skywalker in a scene that was mercifully cut from Star Wars, "We're a couple of shooting stars."

We went outside tonight for the annual Geminid Meteor Shower and saw, yes, a couple of shooting stars. Not bad for two sleepy kids at a time that was much too early (8-9 p.m.) to see much of anything!

Once they got comfortable, with pillows and blankets and stuffed animals galore, they were fine little amateur astronomers and enjoyed watching the sky, even though the meteors weren't quite spectacular yet.

Watching...

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Waiting...

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After a half hour or so, Maren did finally give up and played happily with her dog and baby bird.