The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Santa stopped by in the wee hours of Christmas Day.


Will & Jack digging in their stockings.




One of Will's favorite gifts...what is it with boys and trash trucks?/?




Perfect gift from Santa to Jack...look at them smiling:):)


Will's gift from Daddy


Will still dosent get it....lol.


True fans!! (thank you Nana & Papa)




Much needed Railroad tracks. (Thanks Nana & Papa)


Baby Jack just cracks up with the sounds this book makes!



Train tracks were a hit!




Our Guitar Hero drummer.


This is a brief summary of all the gifts our boys received this year. Saddly I had to leave out many pictures to resume this post. I did want to say... that Christmas was so much fun this year. We are in many, many ways thankful to our father above who has blessed us with a great year and wonderful memories. I also want to thank our family and friends for the amazing gifts and Christmas cards! I dont have any pictures of the gifts I received but, I want to thank you for them. I love you all.
-Maartje

Nativity Play

Aw, what a great Christmas Eve it has been for all of us. That includes all the Hopper gang that live in Georgia too. Nana, Papa, Aunt Angie & Aunt Amy were with us. The boys did a wonderful play that we only rehearsed a couple of times. It was the funniest and most memorable Nativity Play I've ever seen! I have posted pictures of the play and you may not see it but, the room was filled with joy & laughter. Is there a better way to celebrate Christmas than with family remembering how our Savior was born?/? (I will be posting more Christmas Eve & Christmas Day pictures tomorrow, until then Merry Christmas!!)




The boys hearing daddy (the Narrator) read the Christmas Story.


A baby Sheppard named Jack visits baby Jesus!



The Wise man and the Sheppard watching baby Jesus:)


Wise man Will brings gold, frankincense and myrrh(yes, symbolically).


Singing: Silent Night, Little Baby Jesus, Away In A Manger


The End. Just being playful and silly!

Its begining to look alot like...Christmas!

With Christmas just around the corner I wanted to post pictures of our decorating, baking and picture posing all through out these past couple of weeks. We are done decorating and now it is time to relax. Wow, I can't believe I just said that!
-Maartje



Our finished product...Do you like?


Will getting ready to prepare Christmas Sugar Cookies


Frosting Cookies as you can see


All finished! He did a great job making them and eating them. yummy:-)


William the Giggling Reindeer


Jack the Calm Reindeer


The boys with their Santa Claus Pj's


Jack Meets St.Nick

Here's a picture of Jack meeting Santa for the first time. He's actually trying to crack a smile if you look closely. Brother Will on another note, had no intentions on giving Santa a Christmas list this year:) ha ha. He made me promise to give Santa the list from him.

Christmas Party

Hello everyone, I would've added pictures of yesterday's Christmas program but,unfortunately, we took a camera without batteries. I sound unprepared, but Will was not in the mood for pictures anyway. I have one single picture of his eyes rolling backwards because he does not like attention in public. We were still able to record video of Will not singing any of the songs he practiced for weeks. Oh well, he still did great considering some kids barely made it to stage without crying. By the way, I want to share these pictures with you taken today in Will's class room. Hooray!!....school is out for Christmas break. Exactly two weeks from today will be Christmas!!!

smiling extra big when no one is looking:)

Will playing a game of "musical presents" with the boys in his class

Will and his bestfriend Tate from school.
He is very artistic. haha He loves to visit brother at school. Loves the snacks too.

Happy Birthday Will!

Can you believe this picture was taken just three years ago? I can't!

The day has come and gone. Will is now officially four years old, and we are still in disbelief of how fast these years have gone by. We had such a great time today with just our family. Will's Nana and Papa were there, as well as Aunt Amy and Aunt Angie. Will was so happy with his birthday party, cake, and of course gifts that during bedtime he said he did not want his birthday to be over. I guess this is about the time when he begins to remember and looking forward to upcoming birthdays. I added several pictures and would have included a few of Will's baby pictures and first birthday pictures, but they are in our external hard drive, and Adam left it at work.

-Maartje

Will's party theme.

Jack and Will playing right before the party:)

Will loved all the birthday cards he received.

Loving the Nerf gun!

Testing it out.....

Aunt Angie and Aunt Amy's gift to Will. He loves dinosaurs

We love to hug

Will counting the four dollars he received from daddy;)

Papa, Will and Nana cuddling.

Absolutely loved his Transformers cake

His favorite is blowing out the candles

Early Christmas Gift

WoW... It is hard to believe just how quickly Will has grown up this year. Looking back through these past 4 years I start to get nostalgic about everything he has accomplished, survived, and learned. Adam and I will sometimes sit in front of our computer screen and play back all of the videos taken since he was born. We can't help but laugh, aww, and cry at all the things he has done. By far, we are so thankful and grateful to God who has given us this amazing opportunity to be part of their lives. I have to say that with a family like mine I'm truly the blessed one! Will is getting to be such a big boy that he has graduated to a new twin bed. This early gift is from my mom who cannot spend Christmas with us, so she decided she would give Will his first big boy bed. Thanks mom:) it was well needed. As for this week it could not be going by any faster. Will's 4th birthday is coming up on Saturday, and time is going by fast. On a final note, although our year has been busy with Adam's school and work, Will going to pre-k, and Jack becoming a toddler, we have truly found what is most important in our lives.

-Maartje

Adam and Will moving the new bed in.

William getting aquainted with his new bed, and Jack testing the springs.

William the Pilgrim, at his Thanksgiving party in school.

Will, Jack. Jack, Will. Nice to meet you.

Family picture at Nana's.

Two of my favorite boys.

The other favorite boy.

Happy Thanksgiving! By the way, Jack just loves that scarecrow in the background.