Bret Hedican & The Anaheim Ducks

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that we are hockey fanatics! You might also know that Kurt has a high school friend that plays in the NHL, Bret Hedican. Well, Bret played for the Carolina Hurricanes, but now plays for the Anaheim Ducks. Luckily for us the Ducks are in the same division as the Dallas Stars, so we have more opportunities to see him play. Matthew joined Kurt at the first game in Dallas, it was a game of a lifetime for him. Not to mention it was the first NHL game he attended. Hopefully he will understand you don't get to go under the arena after every game to meet the players. Well, Matthew (and Kurt for that matter) are still glowing after seeing Bret!

Matthew & Bret Hedican.

Getting close to the action during the pre-game skate.

Pre-game warm up.

Bret's Slap Shot.

Game On!!!!

Christmas Morning

On Christmas morning, the boys couldn't get upstairs fast enough....

Sam is super excited to attack the ultimate puzzle......Rubik's cube!
The most requested item this Christmas. Indiana Jones Sound Effect Whip. Kurt is so very afraid his tv it going to take the brunt of this item!

I don't even remember what gift made Matthew this happy, but he was out of control!

We all were very blessed this holiday and are thankful for everything we receive...materialistic and not. We have had a few bumps this year but we are a family and that is the most important thing. As crazy as Christmas gets, I am most thankful for that God sent Him to be with us on this day....and everyday!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Making a Gingerbread House

While Kurt went Christmas shopping (on Christmas Eve) the boys and I made a gingerbread house. Now I know I'm sometimes Martha Stewart-like. But I totally cheated on this...or I should say Grandma Wagner totally cheated on this....everything was store bought & we just put it together. The boys had a ton of fun licking and eating more than putting stuff on the house.

The finished product.

Time to eat!!!!

Matthew's Christmas Party

Matthew's Christmas Party at school. He got to make reindeer food, eat pancakes, & make a gingerbread ornament. We both had a lot of fun.

Sharing with your children

One of the things I love most about being a mother is that I get to share things that I loved as a child with them. One of those things with Matthew is the "old school" How the Grinch Stole Christmas. He would watch this movie all year long, in fact, we have watched in during the summer. When I saw this shirt, it didn't matter how much it cost, I had to buy it!

Peace Preschool Sing-A-Long

The child of the Creative Movement teacher has the be the one who participates the least! Sam will sing Jingle Bells at the top of his lungs while on the potty, but not in front of anyone! It was a great show (not to toot my own horn), I hope the parents enjoyed it!
The best pictures came after the performance!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Well, the decorating has been done for a while, but the pictures are a different story. Here they finally are....
Our new purchase this year...a pre-lit 9' tree. We have been using a hand-me-down for about 6 years. Last year we thought for sure by the end of the season it would be flat on the ground. It made it, but we splurged this year and got a new one. It is great, there is plenty of room for the ornaments. However, most of the ornaments are near the bottom to about 3 1/2 feet up - the highest the boys could reach!
This is our section above the TV. It is one of my favorite spots because it has the matruskya dolls we got in Russia when we adopted Matthew.
These are my sticky reindeer & the boys picture with Santa. There is also a new addition of snow this year. Amazingly the boys have played with it very little. (Maybe it was the threat of cancelling Christmas if I found it all over the house.) Either way, it has stayed put.

The entryway with a special handmade Christmas skirt by Grandma Wagner. (Really, did she ever expect me to really put it under a tree & cover it with presents?)

This is something I did when I had left over garland and some balls. I know, I'm starting to tip over the edge.

Dept. 56 Village. Oh yea, more snow. I have found the snow on the top of the houses here, sprinkled with the help of Matt & Sam.

This is by far my favorite Christmas item....a wood carved nativity from Russia when got when we adopted him.

Stockings hung with care. Sam is the only one with a store bought stocking. I am diligently working on it (and have been for the past 2 years) so hopefully it will be done by the end of the season.

Our Elf on the Shelf, Chris.

Sam & Matthew's impersonation of Chris the Elf.

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Chuy's Children Giving to Children Parade

We officially started the Christmas season the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We headed to downtown to go the the Chuy's Parade. It was our first time because we thought the boys were finally old enough to walk the many blocks to get to the parade, then have the patience to wait for the entire parade to pass. We were right, they were troopers! The only problem we had was that the boys didn't fully understand why were were buying "new" toys for the kids who might not otherwise receive a Christmas gift. Matthew kept saying, but I have a lot of toys I have at home that we could give to kids that don't have any. Awhhhhh, my sweet boy. Sam was super excited to go and pick out a toy that he loved to be able to give to someone else that will enjoy it as much as he does!