Day by Day....The Bible in a year!

We did it! Tonight was the last night. Eli read through the ENTIRE Bible this year! So proud of him. Most nights it was he & I reading but Daddy and Grandma read some too. We missed a few nights along the way, especially when Eli was feeling bad or sick, but always caught back up. I don't think we were ever more than 2 or 3 days behind. We took his Bible with us on vacation and trips and, as it says, Day by Day we read the entire thing! 6 years old and Eli has already been through the Bible once. There are a lot of adults who've never done that. So proud of him!

Eli was super proud when we finished!

 Day by Day Kid's Bible (it took us a little longer than 7 minutes a night because we read it all out loud). I am so glad we did this together! 

Post-holiday fun

This weekend Grandma C came up to see the boys and play with them and their new toys. We had a great time playing and hanging out. We dared to take everyone out Saturday night for Red Robin (YUM!) and the boys did great. After dinner, I tried to show that I still have my claw game skills (and I do!). Growing up, I used to do the crane / claw game all the time at the grocery store to win things for my little brother. I got pretty good at it. And I showed that I still have it! I "grabbed" two balls in three tries so Eli & Cole each got one. They were super excited. 

It was a quick visit with Grandma but we loved having her here for the weekend. Thanks Grandma!

A little Friday afternoon rest.

This was our Christmas card display. I loved being able to look at all of the photo cards when we walked by. Eli & Cole looked at it quite a lot and loved seeing their friends up there. 

One of my favorite cards - from Aunt Cary. =)

Outdoor fun with Grandma

Eli is still trying to kick a field goal. 

Cole wasn't happy with how the football game was going...

so he snagged the football and sat by himself. 

He was all happy though when he got a chance to kick off the tee. 

A little tetherball. 

Thanks Grandma for coming to see us!

Eli is getting so big!

A little tv time with Daddy. 

2013 adventures of Elfie Jim

Oh my goodness.....Elfie Jim was so busy this year! Not only did he go back to the North Pole every night, he found time to surprise the boys and do something every day! Eli and Cole loved looking for him each morning and seeing what he was up to. Such a fun (and exhausting!!) tradition! Now that he has gone home until next year, it's time for a recap.......

11/30, Saturday - Elfie Jim arrived in the kitchen via zip line

12/1, Sunday - Elfie Jim was all excited about the Panthers football game 

12/2, Monday - Elfie Jim got into they boys' Clif Z bars and decided to have one for himself!

12/3, Tuesday - Elfie Jim swinging around with a message to start our day. 

12/4, Wednesday - Apparently Elfie Jim made the Lego men mad. We found him held hostage this morning!

12/5, Thursday - Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! He saved the day by rescuing Elfie Jim and capturing the mean Lego men. 

12/6, Friday - "It's Friday! Have a great day!"

12/7, Saturday - Elfie Jim decided that he wanted cookies. Of course, I had happy helpers to oblige! 

12/8, Sunday - Elfie Jim had fun in sack races with Perry the Platypus, Mickey Mouse, Phineas, a Reindeer and the Red Angry Bird. Elfie Jim won (of course!).

12/9, Monday - Apparently Elfie Jim thinks very highly of himself. We woke to five pictures of him on the mantle. 

12/10, Tuesday - Looks like Elfie Jim had a little accident. He was most certainly up to no good!

12/11, Wednesday - He turned Eli & Cole into little Rudolphs. 

12/12, Thursday - We woke to find Elfie Jim resting under the tree. Being an Elf on the Shelf is hard work!

12/13, Friday - A special surprise! Elfie Jim brought powdered donuts. 

And a super note for the boys!

12/14, Saturday - Elfie Jim gift wrapped the toilet. The boys found it hilarious (again!). 

12/15, Sunday - Eflie Jim.........underwear on the mantle?! Where are the boys' stockings?

12/16, Monday - Elfie Jim continues to be a loyal Panthers fan. 

The perfect Elf for our house!!

12/17, Tuesday - we woke to find Elfie Jim in the tree with a scroll. 

The scroll let the boys know that Santa had sent video messages to them!

12/18 - Wednesday - A countdown chain to Santa's arrival!

12/19, Thursday - Elfie Jim spent the night in Cole's room because Cole wasn't feeling well. He watched over our sweet boy. 

 12/20, Friday - Elfie Jim spent last night in Eli's room watching over him. We're fighting lots of colds and ick in our house. Hope it goes away soon!! 

12/21, Saturday - we woke up to find that Elfie Jim had toilet papered our Christmas tree.  

He thinks he is so funny! 

 12/22, Sunday - we got home from the farm to find that Elfie Jim had started eating Eli's gingerbread house!! Eli was NOT happy at all about that. 

 12/23, Monday - Elfie Jim was hanging out in the mixing bowl. Guess he was trying to remind us to make cookies for Santa. =) 

12/24, Tuesday - Elfie Jim wanted to let Eli & Cole open presents first thing this morning. And of course, the boys were MORE than happy to oblige! It was our last morning to see Eflie Jim because he went back to the North Pole with Santa that night. 

Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa N

While the boys were napping, Grandma & Grandpa N arrived and it was super nice to have them here. They arrived in stellar fashion with light up glasses and antennae headbands. We got a little bit of quiet time before the boys woke up (and I worked a little bit on our dinner). Of course, as soon as they got up, they were ready for more presents! We had a wonderful afternoon. The boys showed off their new goodies, enjoyed ones from Grandma & Grandpa and played outside a whole lot. We had a yummy Christmas dinner - turkey, ham, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and mac & cheese. I also made Rocky Road brownies to serve with ice cream. We all went to bed last night with full happy tummies! 

Funny Grandparents

Eli loved them!

"Who's present is this?"

Little boys don't get very excited about clothes but Mommy sure does!

We all love books. 

Classic! Rubik's cube was a great idea. The boys have had fun playing with them. 

Gonna look handsome!

Eli had fun throwing the trash paper balls through the uprights. 

The boys had been begging to open the gifts their cousins in Florida sent. 

And they totally ripped into it! Fun tetherball set. Good outdoor fun!!

Cole helped Grandpa open his first gift. 

And it was hilarious!

Grandpa loved his 60 ounce flask!! =) He'll have fun showing that one off to his RV buddies. 

Grandma was happily surprised to get her own wool blanket (she loves ours and we thought it would be perfect for their RV).

I love Eli's face here - he was having so much fun with Grandma. 

Sweet and silly. 

When it was time to go play outside, THIS is how Cole dressed himself. It was a little too cold for this brilliant ensemble. 

Super Panthers fun ready to have fun on the tree swing Santa brought. 

Eli was practicing kicking his new football off the tee and trying to make a field goal. 

Cole kept playing on the swing 

and making himself sideways

until he flipped himself over.

For some reason......

falling in the leaves was hilarious! 

Football with Grandpa. 

Grandpa tried to kick a field goal. 

Eli decided to try Cole's swing game.

He flipped himself over and

found it quite funny. 

The football continued into the night - Daddy kicking off to the boys. 

And running / tackling fun. 

Yummy dinner!

Stocking Slinky didn't last long. 

Merry Christmas Grandma & Grandpa!!