Santa Stops Here!!

Well - Another Year has come and gone and Santa has another set of memories to tuck into his bag. This year, like those in the past, was full of special moments not to be forgotten any time soon.

Santa stopped by Alexis and Morgans Gramma and Grampa's house. (David and Patty are Santa's cousins) Alexis and Morgan are great kids that are at that age where, you know.. is he real, or is he not.. apparently the question got asked of all adults, and thankfully, the adults all said they DO believe so I think we are safe for another year with these two girls!!



Santa's next stop was at Papa and Martha Ann's. This was the first time Santa got to stop at Papa's house so it was a special treat to have a picture where "Santa looked alot like Daddy" .. or was it "Daddy looked alot like Santa???





The next stop was to see the Rudolph children. Yes, these kids must be related to Santa's MAIN DEER-Rudolph-The-Red-Nose-Reindeer, cause they had the BEST Christmas spirit of all!!


Gotta love the sheer JOY!!

Santa and the elf stopped at his old neighborhood to spread some holiday cheer. We thought a quick stop to say hi to some old friends would be nice, but little did we know there would be a houseful of kids at the Keiths.. Lots of fun happening there.. and LOTS of kids!!



Santa then took his sleigh over to Kaiya and Kaden's grandparents house. Kaiya was very, and I do mean VERY happy to see Santa. Kaden on the other hand wasn't too keen on the jolly fat man. (Mom Natalie is going to send the elf some pictures to post on this blog. Look for updates!! )

On to the next stop! Leighton, Taylor and Paige. Now, here's were it gets fun. Leighton is just about 1 month old, Taylor is about 8 months old and Paige is almost 2. Santa sits down in the chair and; here's a mom that really trusts Santa, Momma Chan puts beautiful baby Leighton in his arms. Leighton of course is probably more interested in pulling Santa's hair off than anything, Taylor is not very interested in the whole deal and only wants her Mom and Paige, well, Paige would have nothing to do with Santa What-so-ever! Of course the dog wanted to have his time with Santa so popped right on up on Santa's lap without an invitation. He had a nice Santa chew toy to make sure Santa knew where he stood in the DOGGIE food chain!! :-)

Santa's last stop for the night - Up to the Barsness house. Santa had a great converstation with Reilly and got to hold a beautiful set of 8 month old twin girls. Reilly's younger sister didn't want to speak to Santa so Santa gaver her a candy cane and she sat on Grandmas lap. It's always nice when Grandma is willing to step in and help Santa.

Most of the best stories come to us after Santa has "left the building". This year is no different. After leaving Rielly's house, we got the word that she was pretty proud of herself because she had been a good girl all year, Santa made a special stop at her house. Of course Kaiya just couldn't stop talking about Santa's visit. All the kids we see on the street that we stop and talk to are always amazed to see the Big guy walking around and even more surprised when he pulls out a candy cane for them. While most think Santa is doing THEM a favor, the reality is this is the best gift we can get from anyone.. Seeing the joy and wonder, and yes even the overwhelming fear on the faces of those kids. It's AMAZING!!

Santa and Mrs. Elf hope you had a very Merry Christmas and that the the New Year is the best it can possibly be for all of you!

It's Santa Season!!

Santa has started making his rounds early this year. Alot of kids that he nomally gets to see are not going to be in their local beds on Christmas Eve but he wanted to make sure they knew that Santa has been watching!!

Santa's first stop was at Graysons house. He had been a very good boy this year so got an EARLY special visit from the jolly RED man. When Santa rang his bells outside the door, Santa and his elf could hear Grayson gleefully screaming inside the house and of course Chino was contributing his fair share to the excitement and noise.

After getting Santa settled on the couch it was obvious that little Grayson was really excited to see Santa. Grayson is a huge fan of Spiderman and Santa was very happy to chat with him about his hero. Santa had a few gifts for him and he was happy to receive them.

So Merry Christmas to Grayson and his family From Santa and his Elf!!

Santa's next stop was at Jake, Ty and Jossies place. They are staying at Grammy and Papa Botkins house until they make the trip to their new home in Colorado.
As you can see by the photo, someone is missing from the picture. Jos was not too keen on sitting on Santa's lap at this time.

Papa was a good shoulder tho.. At least until Santa pulled out the candy canes. And then it took Grammy holding her to get her even NEAR the big guy.


But once she got that CANDY in hand, all was well. She managed to sit next to her big brother Jake and give Santa a few shy smiles.



And then even managed to let Santa hold her for a quick picture.


And of course, the group photo ... where we finally got all three of them together on Santa's lap.

BUT - I must say the highlight for THIS elf was when Ty decided that his candy cane was too sticky and he had to get something wrapped around it. Here is a kid who knows how to solve a problem... He walked over to his backpack, got a piece of paper out, methodically placed the bottom of his candy cane on that paper (the remaining part was on the floor :-)) and then ever so neatly wrapped the paper around the candy so he didn't have to hold the sticky part. Smart Kid!!

So, first round complete and Santa is resting up for his next GIG.. A visit to Certified Benz and Beemers Christmas party and of course.. the biggest night of all... Christmas Eve...

Merry Christmas and remember to be good! Santa is watching!!

Thanksgiving 2008 - Roosevelt

Hi all - my first attempt at blogging!!

We spent Thanksgiving up at Ferol and Steve's this year. The rain put a real damper on quad riding, but it was nice to hang out with everyone just the same.

Jim and I took a drive up the the bridge/dam and took in the view. Very nice and very chilly.

Aunt Amy and Uncle Ernie stopped by for a few days on their way back from Branson. As usual, always great to see them. Kim and Alicia joined us for a small turkey dinner on Saturday.