Christmas 2007

Our mantle was full this Christmas season with the addition of our baby boy! It is so much fun to look up there and see all of the love represented. Luke's grandmother, Nanny, handmade each one of our stockings...and that of course makes them that much more special!

Our two-month old boy at his first Christmas. See that little grin?

I took Logan, Faith Anna and Caroline to see the Nutcracker this Christmas. I took Faith Anna last year, so I guess it has officially become a tradition! My good friend Julie drove in from Austin with her girls and her mom and met us. We had a wonderful time!

Julie, her mom, Emma and Hallie Pritchett

The cute thing about this picture is that Logan is trying to look so cool. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to come with us or not...was worried that it was "just for girls". But he'd heard alot about the performance and particularly wanted to see the sword fight between the Rat King and the Nutcracker. So! While Faith Anna was just mesmerized by the dancing, music, and costumes, Logan noticed things like the detail in the backdrops and the fact that the dancers often looked like they were making "addition problems" as they danced. (3+3 or 4+2). Anyway, in the end he finally leaned over and said, "This is cool mom, but I really think it's more for girls."

I don't think they noticed that the ballerinas danced in multiples or made any kind of equation...

The Pritchett kids and the Burton kids. Beth and Julie's little boy Early are in the front. Another FYI: Emma (in the brown shirt) was Logan's first kiss. He kissed her on the cheek when he was 3 and she was 2. We were leaving their house after a playdate one afternoon and he gave a her a little smooch. That will be fun to tell them when they're older!

Logan and Faith Anna sang together in their Christmas choir performance at our church. They did a great job and had a lot of fun!

Tag in his "Peace on Earth" shirt- Chrismas eve at my parents house. He looks pretty comfy...

Matthew and Claire on her first Christmas. Her cute outfit says "Daddy's Little Present".

The Green family of three!

Austin's first Christmas too!

The kids and my mom always make a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas eve. Gotta have lots of sprinkles.

Beth got to blow out the candles...

My favorite present...

Look what Santa brought into our living room! How did he get that thing in there?

We went to Luke's dad's house on Christmas day. Leonard and Liz cooked up a gourmet meal for all of us to share... it was divine!

Beth playing a little diddy for us at Papa B's house for Christmas.

Tag and his Daddy on Christmas day.

Liz, Jo and Sydney

Luke and Gwimmie

Gwimmie meets Tag...and he had lots of smiles for her!

A few days later we headed to Boo and Chris' to spend Christmas with them. Boo cooked her famous Turkey dinner meal (Luke's favorite meal of the whole year) and we all had a wonderful evening together.

Smiling at Boo

Papa Dude, Logan, and the clay Elf that Logan made for him...

Ballerina Beth and Baby Emma in matching clothes! (Beth did just tell us when we were talking about New Year Goals and Resolutions...that in 2008 she wants to be a "real ballerina on her real tippy toes." Looks like she's on her way...)

One more smile for the road...

Claire Autumn Green has arrived!

Jes went to the hospital to be induced on Monday, December 17th. Here are Matthew and Jes as they await baby Claire's arrival!

We all had a good time out in the waiting room...Brandon decided it was never too early to teach Peter and Austin all about the iPhone.

Luke and I were attempting to get a pic of the two of us for his mom's Christmas card. Ha! We realized we didn't have a pic of just the two of us since this summer in Bay View! Well, good reason to get a photo with my honey...

Natalie had the touch and put Tag right to sleep!

He slept through all of the festivities...bu that's ok cause he's so cute.

See what I mean? Total snuggly cuddly little man.

And here she is! Miss Claire Autumn Green weighing in at a whoppin 6 lbs 11 oz. She is a total cutie.

Mom and Claire

Jenn and her new niece

I wore a pink sweater in honor of the occasion...

We think she looks a lot like her Daddy...

Notice how the mom and all the sisters had to take their turn getting a photo with Claire? Here is Natalie getting some lovin' too. Guess it's a girl thing! :) Actually, I think all the guys were letting the ladies go first as they stayed out in the waiting room with the kids....

Tag's first time to meet his new cousin. Looks like he's giving her the "talk to the hand" sign early! Either that or he's saying, "No really Claire... I am older!" Ha...

We're so proud of you Jes and Matthew! And we love little Claire Autumn so much already...

Cookies, Gingerbread Houses, and Smiles..Oh My!

December brought lots of fun and activity to the Burton household! Here are two of my favorite Santas with our cute 2-month old boy...sacked out of course.

Logan and Beth wanted to get in on the Santa action... Tag still sacked out. :)

I love this pic of all the kids. They are so much fun! And Tag has brought such joy to our house. They all love to hold him...

Caroline's famous Annual Cookie Decorating Party! Above are all the entries...pretty creative, huh? And let me tell you...the competition gets pretty heated!

But our lovely judge never lets the pressure get to her. She is calm, cool, and collected... (I'm not trying to butter her up...I only got Honorable Mention this year!)

The kids had their own categories. Faith Anna won Most Creative, Logan won Most Colorful, Peter won Most Complex.... and not pictured because of pouting/embarrassment, Beth won Most Festive.

The boys on the couch. Maybe Tag will get in on the decorating action next year. For this year, looks like he's just dreaming about it.

And our 6th Annual Gingerbread Decorating Party at the Burton Casa. This year because we were making 3 houses, we decided to leave the homemade recipe and rolling pin on the shelf. We streamlined a bit with the premade box kits...and let me tell you, MUCH EASIER! :) Luke is our construction engineer and he is helping the girls with their assembly.

Caroline creating her masterpiece

The boys did their own house this year...

The finished "Girl House"... Beautiful, isn't it?

Caroline's completed work of art. Note the snowman, wreath, mistletoe, and of course the red carpet. This must be where the celebrities gather before Christmas...

The finished "Boy House" complete with igloo, campfire, mistletoe hanging, and an originally designed chimney. These guys went for it! (They thought they were competing against the girls, but I put a quick stop to that. :) Even without the incentive of a competition, they were still very creative!)

Let the candy-picking begin!





Tag started smiling around 6 weeks. He gave me a huge grin on December 1st.... and has just turned into the smiley man ever since. Here he is smiling with Beth.

Huge grin with Faith Anna. Do you see that dimple on his right cheek? Just like Beth's!

Logan has the record for getting the most smiles out of him. Must be a brother thing. :)

Isn't he cute? We sure think so. All the smiles have made this such a fun December! I love this picture of our boy at 2 months.

November Happenings...

Lots to be thankful for this November. Namely one healthy, precious baby boy! Here is Tag snoozing away. Thank you Lord Jesus for this sweet one you have brought into our family...

Tag is one month old! Snoozing in the bouncy chair. Pretty much snoozes non-stop...

Natalie and Caroline came to meet Tag

Brandon meeting his new nephew



The Sheets came for a visit....

Zach and Tag surrounded by two princesses...one actually in full costume. ha. :)

Kara meeting Tag. (Still snoozing...)

Logan, Luke, and Levi Sheets (Levi cutting a tooth...therefore knawing on hand.)

He's a little love, huh Zach?

Zach giving Logan some good big brother advice...

Logan ready for Tag to be this age....just a few more months buddy!

The boys hanging out on the couch.... and Beth posing. We had such a great time with these dear friends.

Uncle Jordan also came to visit at Thanksgiving. Tag's middle name is after Jordan...so Jordan refers to himself as Wyatt, Sr. and to to Tag as Wyatt, Jr. Pretty funny. Tag must be asleep here (surprise!) while he's reading to the big kids. We sure do love you Jordan.

And just for your viewing pleasure...our little Bride. This is how Beth likes to dress-up oh, say 4 or 5 times a week. She's pretty cute, huh?

Love you all!

New Day

It is truly a new day in the Burton household! Our sweet baby boy is 8 weeks old today...and he officially slept through the night last night! Can you tell that this mama is happy?! I fed him and put him to bed about 11pm....and that child woke up at 7:30am! When Luke's alarm went off this morning, he kindly asked me how my night was and said that he didn't hear me getting up with the baby. (Luke has been awesome about getting up and helping me in the middle of the night when I need "back-up"!) I just had a huge grin on my face and said that Tag hadn't woken up yet. Praise God....He has brought me joy this morning!

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14 I am definitely singing for joy...

I have some great pics to post soon, but our main computer is down today. Luke is doing some updates and has it unplugged. In fact, he and I were both climbing around in the attic for several hours last night after the big kids went to bed....trying to run cables, drilling holes in walls by mistake, and trying not to step through the ceiling. It was hilarious! And today, all that we have to show for it is white insulation strewn all through the house. Ha! My husband cracks me up. He is the handiest person I have ever known. How in the world did he ever learn all these skills...or come up with the confidence to pull these things off? :) Anyway, we should have a much faster computer up and running later tonight and I will post the pictures. Here are some of the fun things we've had going on lately...

My niece Caroline's famous Annual Cookie Decorating Party (I think this is the first year I have placed....she humbly awarded me with Honorable Mention...I think she felt sorry for me!), Faith Anna singing in her Happy Birthday Jesus concert, Tag's first smile (don't know if I have actually captured that on the camera...but he's been smiling for over a week now!!), Logan playing in his first two basketball games, and all kinds of fun Christmas decorating and making our house resemble the Griswold's. My sweet 9-month old nephew Austin has also just come through a week-long stay at Children's Medical Center with pneumonia. It has been an incredibly hard week for my sister and brother-in-law as they had to trust God in a whole new way with their precious baby boy. But yet another huge praise that God has brought Austin, Jen and CJ through that. Thank you Jesus. And my other sister Jessica is just about a week away (we think!) from bringing our new niece into the world! YAH! Fun stuff...

So keep looking....I'll get some pics up soon.

Hope you are all enjoying the magic of this Christmas season. I just love this time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. And it is such a privilege to experience it through the eyes of a child. Logan, Faith Anna and Beth remind me daily of the wonder of it all, the grace and forgiveness of God, and the joy Christ brings. If I can figure out how to post a video, I'll have to show you the girls singing their Christmas songs from school...complete with all the cute motions and priceless facial expressions. It is absolutely the most precious thing ever...