the end of christmas

Last weekend, Meme came to town for several days - to play and to do some babysitting. It was fun, though Meme had laryngitis and could not talk the entire time. It was fun watching her trying to get the kids' attention by clapping real loud. We thank you Meme. Our wallet thanks you, Meme...

Gran Gran and Poppy came to see us last Sunday. Gran Gran made her Italian feast and it was delicious. We had a fun time. Thank you GG and Poppy for visiting! We are glad you came. Hannah is especially glad about her new Fancy Nancy books.

 Last night was Twelfth Night and the babies put out their shoes.

Hannah helped Daddy put the straw inside for the camels to have a snack. The Wise Men might just stop by on their way to find Baby Jesus.

This morning, this is what they found when they went outside to retrieve their shoes:

They were completely surprised. {We said nothing about them getting anything in return. As far as Hannah knew, she was just leaving food for the camels. And she was happy about that!}

Hannah was most excited to find "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" gummies. {I'm not sure what Jake and those pirates are all about as we don't watch the show, but Hannah begged for the snacks in Wal-Mart recently. The Wise Men must've remembered... Anyway, I turned on "Diz-a-ney" Jr. this morning and there Jake was, right there on our TV. Very exciting!}

Joseph was way more concerned that his shoe was safely in his possession. Last night he didn't know what was going on...his squeaky shoe just got left outside in the cold.

{The note says: Dear Hannah and Joseph, Thank you for the straw. Our camels sure were hungry when we came through Sandersville! You are kind to think of us. We are excited to find Baby Jesus! - The Wise Men}

We celebrated Epiphany in church this morning, and when we got home...

 ...I finally got that family picture I'd forgotten to do over Christmas.

On the time out bench. And check out this photo-bomb from Mollie:

And now Christmas is over. The decorations are put away as of an hour ago, and the house is coming back to order. Preschool started back last week, and for that I am thankful. Joseph is now going 5 mornings/week. That's 3 hours every day for me...yippee!