Twelve Days of Christmas

Our family celebrates the twelve days of Christmas. This Saturday was our celebration with the Ardoin clan. This year we celebrated A.J. and Laci being back in town. All the cousins were together for Christmas. We know what it is like without every one together so we appreciated that they were back in town. We were sad that Angie and Troy could not be there with us but it is nice that they are closer than they have been in a while. This means that we may have the chance to see them a few more times a year. The kids were of course showered with more gifts. Among their favorites were the Star Wars movies (they now have them all!), and the dress up clothes. We ate very well as usual and enjoyed playing Aunt Annie's Wii until way past bedtime. That is what Christmas is all about.

We can"t all be butterflies!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning was a lot of fun with several nice surprises. The kids were pleased with Santa's choice of their favorite books, Star Wars toys, and sling shots. Gracie, although happy with her light saber, was tickled to see some girlie stuff as well. Sometimes the fact that Gracie is not a boy gets a little lost at our house. It is a good thing that Santa remembered. We quickly ceased the ogling of gifts to go to Mass. It is such a gift that Nanny Wanna and Gigi have started attending 9:00 Mass with our family. This is Mom's favorite gift this year by far. Everyone was dressed quickly in their new duds (Thanks Gigi!) What a beautiful way to start the day.
After Mass we came home to prepare for our company. Gigi worked the night before so we had a late Christmas celebration. It reminded me of mission trips in Mexico--hurry up and wait, wait, wait. The kids were trying hard to be patient.Santa (Gigi, that is) arrived soon enough with a sleigh full of goodies. We did not get a picture but there was barely enough room for the people to be in the house! We thought we needed a bigger house before. The kids were all very excited and Beedle tried to keep everyone in line.

James and Madeline tried to not get lost in the shuffle. They crawled out of the rubble every now and then to show that they were keeping up with what was going on around them. Madeline even showed Nanny some of her new Christmas tricks. She was talking up a storm. Another great Christmas gift!

Dado made Christmas Bingo cards and we all took part in a new Christmas family tradition. The winner got a carmel apple. Nanny Wanna was a great sport and shared her apple with everyone. Truly everyone was a winner at Christmas Bingo.

What a great Christmas day! Thanks to Gigi and Nanny Wanna for bringing Mimi to celebrate with us. That will be a wonderful new memory for us all. Thank you Khaki and Uncle Eric for coming with the kids so that we could have lots of little ones about. Thank you to Grandma Dee, Papa, and Aunt Annie for driving in the bad weather to add to our family fun.

Oh What Fun....

This year we were blessed to be home on Christmas Eve. We spent the day "wrapping up" last minute gifts, baking LOTS of cookies, listening to Christmas music, and playing games. We decided for the first time ever in our little family to pull names and have the kids exchange gifts. This was also the first year Mom and Dado gave gifts to the kids. (I know!!) We decided to exchange our gifts on Christmas Eve and everyone was pleased. Mom and Dado were very proud of the kids. They were so excited that they kept their secret and they giggled as the gift was opened. What fun.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

On behalf of Beedle Claus, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

GiGi's Family Christmas

Today was GiGi's Family Christmas, which means GiGi's side of the family's Christmas get-together. It was held at our house as GiGi's house is still under construction. We started the day out with a blessing from the Cormiers--they brought their very own fun jump.The kids had a blast jumping for joy and did some spirited sliding. While that was going on, Gus and some of the adults played a little yard baseball. Gus kept cranking them over the house into the neighbor's yard. He's quite a good hitter!

After the rest arrived, we said blessing and took part in the feast--seafood gumbo, pork loin, rice dressing, green been casserole, potato salad and more sweets than we knew what to do with. No belly was left un-stuffed.

As has been tradition at GiGi's Family Christmas, we all participate in the White Elephant gift exchange. We had some very unique gifts this year including a pooping reindeer, a book on duct-tape,and a repeat gift, the Elvis lamp. Here are some pics of our wonderful family day...

K Family Christmas

This evening we were treated to a wonderful Christmas party for Kiwanians and their little ones. It is a fantastic event put on by UL Lafayette's Circle K Club, held at the breath-taking UL Alumni House, and a great opportunity for them to have a service project. We were treated to a table of assorted deserts. Next came a delicious gumbo with potato salad and finger sandwiches. After we consumed our food, the kids were invited to play some outdoor games including a bean bag toss, pin-the-nose-on-the-snowman, and musical Christmas chairs. They won several prizes and beamed from ear to ear. They came back inside to make some craft ornaments and color some Christmas pages. And then they heard a big "Ho! Ho! Ho!". Guess who walked in? Santa Claus!They were extremely excited and each child had their picture taken with him. We ended with a few Christmas songs and a raffle. Gus and Beedle won teddy bears,Gracie won a book bag, and Dad won some toffee. We couldn't help but feel very blessed for such a fun-filled evening for us. We got to visit with friends and our kids had a splendid time. A special thanks goes out to the UL Lafayette Circle K for their hard work and gracious hospitality. What a wonderful service project! Here are some other pics...

GCB @ Noel Acadien au Village

Saturday night was Gulf Coast Bank Night at the Noel Acadien au Village. The bank sponsors this wonderful event every year. This year the entire Chopin troop volunteered to help the bank on its sponsor tonight. That means the kiddos had to work. And they did! Gracie was extremely aggressive--very salesy! Gus was somewhat aggressive, picking and choosing the right people to pass candy. Beedle decided he would best market the bank by being cute in his GCB T-shirt. They all did a great job and worked really hard. For their reward, we treated them to a tour of all the lights and their favorite--rides! They rode the carousel, the train, and the roller coaster. In fact it was James' first spin around on the carousel. And he loved it! He kept wanting to go over and over again. Here are some pics of our wonderful evening...

Let it Sneaux! Let it Sneaux! Let it Sneaux!

Wow! What a surprise this morning! Dad went outside early this morning, like he always does, to get the paper and he saw white everywhere. He sprinted inside and woke the kids up one by one so they could share in his excitement. Apparently they were not nearly excited as he was, but happy nonetheless. Here are a few picks of our blessing...

Even Dad had fun at work...

Hub Sammy Diner!

Tonight we had a guest join us for Kids' Night at Hub City Diner....Sam! We've been waiting for the opportunity to take Sam for supper, but something always has come up. Tonight, even with the impending storms, we made it happen. It was Sam's first trip to Hub City Diner and he seemed to enjoy himself. He and the others were entertained by Mr. Darcy, the Balloon Man. They had their various balloon art pieces created for them. They each got a balloon apple--for their teachers. Gracie got a pink teddy bear. Beedle got a sword with holster. And Gus and Sam got space guns with holsters. They had fun playing with their treasures. After a good supper Mom decided to reward everyone with milk shakes. Content and full, we all said by to Sam and thanked him for joining us. We look forward to the next time we see Sam!

Happy Birthday Maddie!!

Madeline is one year old today! Nanny and Uncle Carey can not believe how fast that year flew by. We were blessed to spend a beautiful afternoon with Maddie on Sunday to celebrate her birthday. The weather was gorgeous and the Acadiana Zoo made a perfect setting for the party. All the kids played and then cake and ice cream was had by all. Maddie did her best to open a couple of gifts and Emma Claire was happy to help her little sister finish the job. The train ride was a nice treat and even Nanny Wanda made it aboard. We were having such fun spending time with everyone that we stayed to close down the zoo. Maddie, your party was a raging success and everyone enjoyed themselves, both young and old alike. I know that this next year will pass too quickly as well and I will be watching you start school before I know it. Have a blessed day but more importantly may God bless you each and every day of your precious life.

Oh, Christmas Tree! Oh, Christmas Tree!

Every year our favorite St. Nicholas feast day activity is the selection of our family Christmas tree. We've recently enjoyed going to our favorite tree farm (we don't remember the name of it, but it's across the street from the old K-Mart on Ridge Road). They have a great selection of trees and their service is always in the Christmas spirit. The kids and Mom looked at hundreds of trees.Some were too tall. Some were too short. Some were too scant. Some were too crooked. And then we found our perfect tree!Everyone approved. The staff of the tree farm was nice enough to prep our tree and strap it to our car.

Unfortunately, we had to wait until Sunday night to decorate our tree. This is always a joyous time for our family. We put on Nat King Cole's Christmas CD. We have hot chocolate. The kids get to help with the decorations.Gus helped Dad with the lights. Beedle helped put the Angel on top. And Gracie and the boys helped with the ornaments. And in between, we just enjoy each other's company in the celebration of the Christmas season. How faithful are your branches!!!