Bradley Blessings

Last year, the Bradley family started a Christmas tradition. Their family came to deliver gifts to us. One of the reason, these gifts are so special is that Jake, who is 10 years old, has spent his own money to buy gifts for our boys. It is so sweet of him to give of himself!

The following 2 pictures are from Christmas morning 2006 and 2007, respectively! We are so blessed to have them as our neighbors! Please don't move!

Jake and the boys with their gifts!Kaitlin was so excited to open her gift from us...her own courting candle! We learned aobut these on our homeschool field trip to John Sevier. The father gets to wind the candle up to determine the amount of time a gentleman caller may spend with his daughter! Once the flame reaches the spiral, the caller must leave. I am sure the boys coming to call on Kaitlin will be instructed to say everything in 30 seconds or less!

Gifts Galore

All the boys gave Mathiang a new calendar for 2008! The Psalms!

Franklin got a submarine model. He's been intrigued since touring one in Charleston!

Mathiang received some nice new towels! Mom and Dad gave each other a computer for Christmas. I think they are trying to catch up with the 21st Century! Ha-ha! Seriously, I think they want to read this BLOG! Just kidding! Mom is eating one of the traditional gifts for Christmas - a chocolate covered cherry!
Mathiang gave the boys matching shirts for Christmas! Adorable!











Mason got a combined birthday and Christmas gift - a pedal for his guitar. It was one thing he really wanted. Christmas wishes come true!
Reid got the only gift he asked for - a turkey fryer complete with peanut oil! We enjoyed a delicious turkey later in the day!










Braden got a cool model airplane and flew it Christmas afternoon!










Weston got a cool paper airplane kit and Braden got a Webkinz!

Reid got me an electronic Sudoku - that game challenges me! Reid also got me the only gift I asked for - a new computer chair! Now I sit comfortably while blogging! Hooray!
Check the BLOG later for some of the best gifts of Christmas morning - the homemade, handmade gifts!

Weston, Wanna Trade?

One of the funniest things that happened Christmas morning was when the boys opened the gifts from Grandaddy. Reid handed the three oldest boys three gifts that we thought were all from Grandaddy. We wanted them to open them all together b/c he was giving them a gift they really wanted - an MP3 Player!

The three begin to open their gifts...they are all sooooo excited! We built it up to let them know it would be something they would LOVE! However, when the gifts were opened, Weston was the only one who got an MP3 Player! In the excitement of opening gifts, we made an error in reading the tags!

I wish you could have seen the disappointment on Mason and Franklin's face! However, Weston could hardly contain his excitement! Mason turned to Weston holding out his gift and said, "Weston, wanna trade??"

Upon opening the next gift, Franklin and Mason literally came off their seats when they realized they were receiving an MP3 as well! Way to go, Grandaddy!!

Wide Eyed Wonder Christmas Morning

(Amy, notice the hillbilly long-john ornaments??)
I love it when the kids run in on Christmas morning. They are so excited. Their stockings are filled, there are gifts under the tree, and we are all together as a family! What a blessing! They know that they are so loved! Smiles abound as we begin this special morning!

Before we open the first gift, we take time to pray. This year it was an open family prayer, and I think everyone, even Braden, participated! Mathiang blessed us with such depth in his prayer it made us all come close to tears! The children prayed for loved ones we know are hurting, and prayed in thanksgiving for Christ coming to earth! It was a wonderful way to start our morning remembering and celebrating the GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!

Christmas Eve - Family Time

Christmas Eve! It's always a special time for our family! Typically, we all gather together for some family fellowship, have the cousin gift exchange, get the family picture, and then travel to a Christmas Eve Worship Service together as a family! A VERY LARGE FAMILY!

This year Kelly and John hosted the gathering in their new home! It was a blessing to all be together! Nearly everyone was here this year. We were only missing Sam and Nicole because they were enjoying their honeymoon! Who could blame them?

We enjoyed a beautiful worship service at Kelly and John's church which prepared our hearts for the celebration of the coming of Christ! Happy Birthday Jesus!

All of the children enjoyed unwrapping their gifts, while all of the parents simply enjoyed watching the delight in the children! What a blessed Christmas Eve!

The Cousin Gift Exchange! When you are wearing the Santa Hat, then it's your turn to pass out your gift! The exchange takes a little while, because there are SIXTEEN children exchanging gifts! Each child gets to pick one gift for one of their special cousins! It's a lot of FUN! Our boys have a great time picking out the "perfect gift" for whoever's name they draw each year!

Traditionally, we get our annual family photo on this night. Thankfully Dave always makes sure this happens. He also has a great eye with the camera so you can see everyone's face! (That is an amazing gift!) Mamaw, the matriarch, is always in the middle of the picture! I always LOVE seeing all of us together!

This year, Mark, sent me a digital copy of this GREAT photo! He is trying to earn son-in-law points by also being a great photographer! Hee-hee! Seriously, thank you Mark for the FANTASTIC picture of the family! It is a blessing to have it!

Here's the entire gang! Sam and Nicole, we miss you - but you will BOTH be in the picture next year!

Thank you all for a glorious Christmas Eve together!

New Pizza Flavor!

One of the things I still enjoy when Mathiang is with us, is allowing him to

try new things and allowing him to learn new things! This trip, we learned to make homemade pizza! When we arrived home form church, we decided we would make homemade pizza for lunch. Mathiang and the boys did it all from making the crust to adding the cheese! Although we had plenty of topping to choose from, upon Mason's insistence we tried a new flavor! (You know I am always willing to try something new!) Mason, Mathiang, and Weston made - for the first time ever - are you ready to hear the flavor?? - BOLOGNA PIZZA! Mathiang insisted that we make it WITH PINEAPPLE! And, of course, I had to have my OLIVES!! BOLOGNA PINEAPPLE OLIVE PIZZA, you should try it sometime!! Mmmmmm....good!