Fox Family Christmas/New Year Week

Sunday was nice to see all my old friends at church. Elisha stayed in the nursery, and it wasn't soo full that I felt I needed to stay and help. It was nice to relax with the adults :0)

Afterwords, we all came home and took a nap.... or so I thought..... I found out I missed out on a walk with my sweet hubby as I fell asleep on the bed in Elisha's room as he was laying down for his nap. *** sigh*** I asked for a rain check :0)

We had a fun time with Mom and Dad, Amity and Justin (My sister and brother-in-law), watching them as they interacted and got to know Elisha a little better. And the yummy caramel corn we made wasn't a bad treat, either!! We all sat down and watched Evan Almighty together after we got Eli settled in for the night. How nice to snuggle with my sweetie, surrounded by family.

Monday morning, Katie, the adorable little 18-month old girl my mom cares for, arrived. Worked out perfectly that Elisha woke up and was out of the crib just in time for Katie's morning nap. They seemed to have fun playing together- the little bit they were awake at the same time :0)

Monday afternoon my brother and his family, Rick, Tara, Kylie and Veronica arrived. I had been looking forward to seeing the girls- kids grow up sooo quickly!! and we don't get to see these little ones that often, and it is nearly impossible to keep up with a child over the phone.
What fun we had fitting all our family, plus some friends around the table for dinner. Conversations elicited quite a bit of laughter and groans as it usually does when we are all able to get together.

Tuesday evening we gathered the children in the living room and each opened a gift. Elisha saw the presents and asked if it was a drum......

He got a cool bowling set!! Here we are with me teaching him how the game goes. Unfortunately, he had more fun running into the set and knocking them over than using the ball... very frustrating for his 2 slightly older cousins who kept trying to set up the pins....

My other sister, Charity and her fiance, Brian, arrived on Wed afternoon. Again, I must say, how wonderful it is to see family again after a long time apart. I haven't seen all my siblings together since July- and Christmas before that. Life is so busy.... Makes me thankful for the holiday tradition of spending time together.

My how the household has grown!! From 4 kids growing up to 8 adults, 3 grandchildren, 4 children Mom has watched through the years, a few close friends of the family, Mom and Dad and you have what Christmas dreams are made of- quite a full house!!!!
Mama wasn't feeling the greatest over the week, but we had lots of fun!!!
After dinner, on New Year's eve, we celebrated Christmas with my family. It was fun to gather together and give and receive gifts and feel the love of family all around.
Elisha was very thankful for his presents- here he is hugging Kylie, thanking her for the gift she gave him....
Yeah!! Presents~~~

Tim and I got that rain check walk in on Thursday before we headed out. Elisha didn't take very long naps through the week, but today, when we planned to leave a little early, he slept until almost 5!! This is the covered bridge one door down from our house. I remember the little old lady my mom used to buy groceries for that lived up the street. She would tell me stories of how she and her friends would play house on the bridge and when a horse and buggy came along, they'd have to pick up all their toys and get off for the drivers to pass. Ahhhh- I wonder what memories she would have had of Christmas....... We walked down past the cemetery to the Cumberland Falls. We always just called it "the Falls" growing up- part of Muddy Creek. It was quite pretty- especially as the sun was sending it's rays down through the mist, creating a "Mary's veil" look that was just stunning.
You can see it a little bit here in this picture. We are standing under the overhang where the falls come down. One of my favorite places to come and think and pray as I was growing up- during those teenage troubled times.

Before we all went to bed on New Year's Eve, we got the family photo. How nice to have us all there together.... All of us. I remember last year praying, hoping, yet sometimes doubting our little guy would ever be in that picture. Thank you, God, for such a beautiful end to our 2008!!!

The Fox Family Photo

Happy New Year to everyone!!

PS we made it to Oglebay on the way home. The lights were pretty and Elisha loved being able to ride on Mama's lap through most of it during the scenic tour.