Christmas Times Two

I can imagine how parents feel on Christmas morning, because Matt and I were SO excited to give Noah and Maddox their gifts! The great thing about kids though, is that it's always the most random/surprising gifts that make them the most excited. For example, Noah and Maddox called us Christmas morning (one of my favorite calls of the whole year), and Maddox, who is three, couldn't contain himself much past "hello".  It sounded like this, "Merry Christmas! ...I got Silly Puddy!" ...hahaha, had my sister known that the Silly Puddy was going to be the big hit, she probably wouldn't have bought some of the other, more expensive items!

And remember how Noah has been so interested in photography and setting up photo shoots? Well, Matt and I were SO pumped to give him his own underwater digital camera. Who knew they even made those?! We also had some books, his first kid's Bible, and last-minute, we threw in a money counting bank that we saw when we were at Target. Wouldn't you know he went nuts over the bank?! Ha! Every time he put a coin in, he would tell us what his total was up to. He did get pretty excited about the camera too ;) and started taking pictures once all of his money was in the bank. :) But of all of the gifts, the bank was the one we were most unsure of giving! Too funny. 

So here are some pics from the day! I hope your Christmases were just as Merry! :)

Maddox with his new dolphin- he loves his snugglies

Noah with his new BB gun!

Safety Tips!

Maddox and I played a little laser tag. . .

. . .while Matt and Noah took target practice with the bow and arrow

Noah taking pictures with his camera! (Look at Maddox posing)

Love this sweet boy!

Now to Matt's family!

How cute is K?!

Jay opening his spy gear- haha, love it!

My cute new purse! Thanks, M! ;) 

(for those of you who don't know, that's what I call Matt's mom, NOT what I call Matt :))

These pictures are from Christmas Eve. Matt's Nanna and Grandpa came in town from Orlando!

Three generations- love this picture!

I'll leave you with a picture of Matt and I from 10 years ago- just for kicks. :) We look like babies!

Taco Soup

This recipe is adapted from my friend Katherine at Life in Our Little Hawk's Nest. It is one of our favorite Fall/Winter soups!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Chicken Breasts (You can also substitute 1 lb lean ground beef)

1 Can Black Beans, drained

1 Can Kidney Beans, drained

1 Can Chili Beans, undrained

1 Can Yellow Corn, undrained

1 Can White corn, undrained

1 Can RoTEL and 1 cup chicken broth, pureed in blender

1 Can Stewed or Diced Tomatoes

1 Large Sweet Onion, cut Julienne style and sauteed with garlic and Olive Oil

1 Package Dry Taco Seasoning

1 Package Dry Ranch Dressing Mix 

DIRECTIONS:

Place raw chicken breasts in the crock pot. Dump all other ingredients on top.  Simmer on low for 6 hours. Tear chicken apart and continue cooking on low until ready to serve. Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. 

Matt's Birthday and Christmas at Mom's

These last two weeks have FLOWN by! Matt's birthday was Tuedsay, the 6th, but we spread out the celebration over the course of a few days. :) We went to the Night of Lights in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens on the Sunday before his birthday, then went to dinner with his family at Season's 52 on Monday, and then I took him out to dinner to Kyma on Tuesday! We spent the next week celebrating Christmas with our small group one night, work friends another night, tennis friends another night, family this past weekend, and then had a group of family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers over to our place for a Christmas Open House yesterday. It's been a busy, but fun, couple of weeks! I did manage to get some pictures from the Botanical Gardens, Matt's birthday, and then Christmas at my mom's. Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas Season!

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

 Season's 52

 Christmas at Mom's

Tonight, we're heading to the Fox with Matt's family to see a Christmas concert with Amy Grant and Vince Gill. We're looking forward to it!  . . .And at the rate I'm blogging this month, I better go ahead and say Merry Christmas now! ;) I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends!