Who needs Santa when Caroline has Grandmas?

Christmas Eve night we had the next morning all mapped out in our heads. We planned on waking up and enjoying our first Christmas with Caroline and sipping on hot chocolate, while opening presents from Santa. Little did we know that at four in the morning we would wake up without electricity. It was freezing in our home, because we only have electrical heat so we headed up to Mamaw and Papaw Moren's house. Caroline finished her sleep for the morning then we headed to MiMi and Papaw's house to open up gifts, since they have a wood burning stove. MiMi and Papaw got us so much stuff. Below is a picture of Caroline's stack of gifts. Do you think she was a good girl this year? Spoiled.

Had to take a picture of this gift, because this is the most special gift Caroline received. This gift was from her Uncle Jared. Jared has collected balls his entire childhood. He would catch them at football games and kept them in his room for the longest time. Jared handed down his ball collection to Caroline. She should feel special!

This is a special gift that Mom gave Matt for Christmas. She was so proud of this gift. The picture frame says, "Daddy's Hands," and has a picture of Caroline grasping Matt's hand. The picture was one of her first pictures taken in the hospital. Take a look at how tiny she was compaired to Matt's hand. She sure has grown!

Papaw got this shirt from Mimi that says, "Troy's Handyman Service." What would we do without Dad's handyman skills??

Then we headed down to Fordyce for the Ritchie Christmas gathering. That was a good dinner! Yum! Addison helped Caroline open her gift. She received the most beatiful sweater, which will be perfect for next winter.

Aunt Peggy had a ball holding Caroline, and helping her open the gifts and gift cards. She got money to go towards a savings bond from her Aunt Peggy. Caroline is admiring her gift card from her NaNaw and P. She cannot wait to go shopping!

NaNaw and P, posing with the girls. Caroline was a little too occupied to smile.

It snowed a few flurries on Christmas Eve, so we got a picture of our home on Christmas morning. We could not have asked for a better Christmas Day. It was a blessing to celebrate Christ's birth with our family.

Our stockings from Santa...boy we must have been good this year!

We left cookies for Santa, and he only left two on the plate! Yum! Yum!

We put up our tree this year and then decided that something was just not clicking, so we went out and purchased this new gold tree. I am so proud of this tree. It has a gold and bronze tree with deep bronze and brown ornaments. Next year I am sure that we will have little miss to help us decorate.

Santa left Caroline a few presents beside the fireplace. Daddy got to put together her pink riding pony and we plan to try it out tomorrow. Caroline can not wait to play with all her new toys.

Christmas Eve

We woke up on Christmas Eve, bright and early, ready to head off to Ravenden, Arkansas. We were ready to celebrate with Grandma Etta and Grandpa Don, but boy we did not know how long the trip would become until later that morning. Before we left, we noticed cars slowing down in front of our home. We saw a car reverse on the main road, and then back into our drive. Then we saw all the water! The creek that runs through the field was flooded. We could not believe the water was rising so quickly. The county closed our road for a bit that day, until the creek settled. Thank goodness we were riding with Caroline's MiMi and Papaw, because our cars would not have made the trip. We all loaded up into Mimi's suburban and off we went. ROAD TRIP! We kept hearing the reports on the radio about the Jacksonville and Cabot area, and boy we did not know what we were in for until we arrived. We made it through on the interstate, but would say it is probably not the smartest thing we have ever done. We have never seen that much water over the interstate. We wish we had pictures, but the camera was packed away. Caroline was such a trooper. She slept the entire way! Below is a picture of the braclet with her initials that she received from her Grandma Etta and Grandpa Don. The braclet will be perfect with her outfit this Sunday.

Daddy was so shocked and excited when he opened his gift...Guitar Hero...just what he needs.

Caroline loves, loves, loves Hannah and Aunt Karen!

Caroline has not mastered looking at the camera when taking pictures. She is still occupied by looking at Grandma Etta and Grandpa Don.

I am proud of this picture...Great picture!

Guinn Christmas/Moren Christmas

I did not get to take any pictures of the Guinn Christmas, because we went out to eat this year and it completely slipped my mind. I did take this picture of Caroline and MiMi before we left for the evening. Caroline's shirt says, "Who needs Santa when I have Grandma." Isn't that the truth. Between the two sets of grandparents and three sets of great-grandparents, Caroline did not even need Santa to come visit! This night was especially exciting, because our Daddy was coming home. We met in North Little Rock and went shopping before meeting the rest of the family. I got a new phone, and boy did I need one. I am the kind of person that does not like to learn how to operate new electronics, so it was hard to let go of my old phone. The Guinn Christmas was a new experience this year, because we went out to eat at Chili's. We had a great time, but we decided next year that we would go at a different time because they were so busy. This year was the first Christmas that I did not have all of my grandparents at Christmas time. My grandfather Guinn passed away a few months back. It was a little hard for me at first, because he wanted to see Caroline so badly. He passed away just a few weeks before she was born. I tell Caroline all the time that her Great-grandpa gets to see her all the time now, and he doesn't miss out on a single thing!

The Moren Christmas was a crazy and fun time as always. Every year we gather in the morning and eat the biggest Christmas breakfast, until our tummies are stuffed! Jared, Uncle Du, and Lana were troopers and got up early to make the homemade donuts. Mamaw and Papaw got this sweatshirts from MiMi and Papa for Christmas. You sure can tell they are proud grandparents! I do not know what Caroline and I would do without their company.

These are the ankle rattles that Lakyn, Uncle Du, and Aunt Beth got Caroline. She rattles every time she kicks now. She cannot wait to be able to reach her feet and get her hands on them! Caroline enjoyed getting to see her Cousin Lakyn and Uncle Du again, and got to meet Aunt Beth for the first time.

Uncle Du is showing us how Caroline's new bath toy works.

Our favorite gift...diapers...you can NEVER have too many!

Will, Lana, Aunt Julie, and Uncle Roger gave Caroline books for Christmas. We have already started reading them at night. They are classic books, that every child needs in their collection. You can tell by these pictures that Lana is going to be quite the Mommy one day.

I had to take a picture of Papaw's stocking stuffer, because it was lottery tickets. They actually won six dollars! Now they can retire!

Caroline was tired from breakfast, so I had to open her stocking for her. She got so many toys, wipes, ornaments, dolls, etc. So much for a little girl! Mamaw made a special stocking for Caroline. Each person has a different stocking made especially for them. Caroline's stocking has a gold angel on the front. My mamaw is so talented.

Christmas is the Best Time of the Year...

Each year Santa comes to our church to visit the children, and this year Caroline got to sit in Santa's lap and tell him everything she would like for Christmas. She was so excited, that she was speechless. So Mommy helped her out and told Santa that she would like her two front teeth for Christmas. She had a blast and got to visit with Kylee and Lauren that night.

Amanda and Claire also came that night to visit with Santa. They have moved to Benton, and we hope that Claire and Caroline can grow to become great friends. Claire loved Santa!

Great-Grandpa Moren adoring little miss Caroline. She was to busy playing with her hands to take her bottle. She loves to play with her hands instead of taking her bottle. Her hands are constantly in her mouth now, but she still has not found her thumb.

We were asked by Tammie Green for Caroline to play baby Jesus in second service. She did so good, she slept the entire service. The choir was beatiful as they sang Christmas songs. I love Christmas music so much, I think I could listen to it all year long. I looked at Caroline during the singing and narration of Jesus's life and thought about Mary. I cannot imagine what Mary was going through. The thoughts she had about her son and his life. Now as a mother, I cannot imagine how she felt as Jesus followed God and triumphed over the things that he faced in life.

John Green was Joseph during second service. He was wonderful with Caroline, and he is about to have a little girl also. Her name is going to be Mary Jane, and I am sure she will be a spoiled little girl just like Caroline. This will be Tammie's first grandchild, and she cannot wait!

One of our first Christmas parites was at the Fairview Baptisit Church with my Grandma's side of the family. We always have a blast at the Crone Christmas. I enjoy getting together with those in the family that I do not get to see often. We play Dirty Santa, and it is always a blast to steal gifts and see what all people bring. Caroline got to spend most of the night with her Aunt Julie, Aunt Kathy, and Camille.