MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Santa and I had a GREAT time.

Cousin Cyrus & I love singing Christmas Carols

I love ripping paper!

Kate with Grammy & Papaw Briscoe

Cousin Tate, Mateya & Tregan were so much fun.

Sorry it has taken so long to write! We made the trip to Virginia to be with our Briscoe family this year and we finally slowed down enough to add to the blog. Our family had a wonderful time in Virginia while celebrating Christmas in Indy before and after with the Cole and Toombs family. Ice storms and thunderstorms aside, it was a wonderful celebration with all our family and we thank everyone for all the wonderful memories!! Kate enjoyed ripping paper this year, probably more than finding out what gift was inside. She also was very peticular about throwing away every piece of gift wrap before she would open another gift! Kate made the memorable trip to the mall to have her picture made with Santa, and as we suspected, what an experience!! We will forever cherish the picture of her on Santa's lap. The funny part was as soon as we took her off his lap she started waving bye bye to him as fast as her little hand would wave! Kate had fun with all her cousins during the holiday, and Kate loved following Tregan around as he played basketball. Tate, Mateya, and Tregan kept Kate tired for Mom and Dad which meant she slept very well at naps and bedtime. We attended wonderful Church services and enjoyed celebrating the REAL meaning of the season. We thank the Lord for sending his Son that we might have life! Thanks again to everyone who made this Christmas season so special. Kate now refers to Santa as "HO-HO" and loves touching his white beard (at least grammy's fake santa!). We wish everyone a very blessed New Year in 2009! More Christmas pictures to come!

Ok, Jamie's turn to write!

I had to share the story of our eventful trip down to Roanoke. We drove into a bad ice storm after we crossed the Ohio border on Saturday evening before Christmas. We passed eight cars in the ditch, and many semi trucks were creeping with their hazards flashing. We decided that we would drive to Dayton and try to stop. Chad decided we could just "stop by" our friends, The Kelley's house in Dayton and ask if we could stay the night. I was worried about how Kate would sleep since we were not traveling with a pack-n-play for her to sleep in. We also were not sure if our friends would have a full house of their own family for the holidays. We were welcomed with open arms to stay the night and Mrs. Kelley mentioned that there was a crib set up in the guest room! God knew the need for Kate and mom and dad to get a good night's rest, and He provided a wonderful place to stay the night. We joked with the Kelley's and said they didn't know they were going to have baby Jesus knock on their door looking for a place to stay! Thank you Lord for providing the Kelley's, and thank you Kelley's for your wonderful hospitality! The beauty of God's provision even to the tiniest detail of a crib in the Kelley's guest room makes me certain of God's faithfulness and caring about even our smallest concerns.