The Walter Family

We headed to IG for Christmas this year and it was a bit different. This was the very first year that no one else came home for Christmas but us. We had a lot of fun with my parents and enjoyed the one-on-one time but it just felt like something was missing. And there were 9 big something’s missing! We missed Brooks acting like the kid when it came to present time even though he is the oldest; we missed Stacey’s company and all of her help with appetizers; we missed Dylan to play games with and to be the much older/wiser cousin; we missed Adam and all of his goofiness; we missed Amy’s company and her help with appetizers; we missed Baily and Jackson’s giggles and snuggles; we missed Patrick’s young/fun stories and we missed Tomarra’s company and help, again with appetizers!  We missed you all but still tried to carry on our tradition of spending the holidays enjoying each other’s company, making lots and lots of food, singing Christmas carols, going to church, having yummy appeti...

Oh December has been a sick month for me! “Ugh” really describes how I have been feeling. I just can’t get better. I have had bronchitis, upper respiratory infection and a sinus infection. After a few different rounds of antibiotics – I think I am finally on the mend!

The girls were VERY excited to see Santa this year! I was so proud of both of them that they didn't get scared and sat on his lap and told him exactly what they wanted for Christmas! And, of course, gave him lots of hugs! Kylee asked for a purple sparkly barbie car and Natalee asked for a baby care kit (diaper bag with goodies for her baby dolls).

We celebrated Christmas early with Eric’s side of the family in Lansing. We had a great weekend with them and the girls were spoiled with presents and fun cousin time. Unfortunately I haven’t been feeling well so I wasn’t up to hanging out much and spent a lot of time napping but I know from the giggles I heard – the girls had a blast! It was nice to not have to travel and be able to spend time with everyone.

Eric received something very special this Christmas season - his Grandma and Grandpa's nativity scene. It has been in the family for years and now it is our's to treasure. It brings fond memories for Eric to look at it and remember it being displayed at his grandparent's house.

Elf on the Shelf arrived for the first time at the Walter house this year and so the girls named our elf, Snowbell. Snowbell has been very sneaky and funny hiding in new places every day. The girls love her!

I love pictures! I have always loved to take a ton of pictures and often go through my old pictures and reminisce. We take lots of pictures of the girls but I didn’t realize how long it had been since we had a family picture taken until I was looking at our family picture with Natalee 6 months old (she is 3 now) and Kylee 18 months old (4 now). I had hopes of going out and taking family pictures this fall with some beautiful wheat grass and the fall colors but we didn’t get that accomplished so we headed to a local studio and had some family pictures taken. I still want to do the fall themed pix but guess that will wait until next year. At least for now we have some updated family pictures and I think they actually turned out pretty good.