almost the end

the last few days of december have been spent preparing for the new year or maybe i should say the new baby. fortunately we were able to fit some fun in here and there.

forts at aunt bonnie's house

always my funny little pistol

family pictures

a couple of days after christmas all the montgomerys got together for a photo shoot. we haven't seen the professional shots, but my sisters in law(lisa and heidi) took some great pictures. here are a few...

this is one of my favorites. please note alan's face. he is seriously a happy guy and that's why this is so funny.

the boys loved their little cousin, emma. i hope they understand that we are bringing home a baby brother, not a sister. they may never see a baby sister.

bradley's christmas gift

bradley got this amazing ride for christmas! the 26th the mattinglys came over and brought it with them. our boys LOVED it to say the least!

christmas day part 2

christmas with the montgomery clan is a bit louder than christmas with my family. stew comes from a family of 7 kids and most of them are married. there was a total of 20 of us opening gifts, talking, chasing children and eating dinner together. never a boring moment! our kids will have great stories and memories.

thanks to heidi for these photos of my boys!

isaac and cousin kacie

aunt beth with cousin kacie

like i said, never a dull moment.

matt, james, megan and eric

grandma chris and emma

matt, lisa and emma

kyle and heidi

christmas day part 1

christmas was plain fabulous this year. we spent the morning with my family opening our stockings, eating our traditional egg dish and then on to presents. it was low key and still really enjoyable.

stockings are a favorite in our house. they are usually loaded with necessities... deodorant, makeup, face wash, razors and such. the kids were just glad that on top of the necessities they found candy canes.

every year my mom and aunt put together a puzzle. this year they had a couple of little "helpers".

the long awaited buzz rocket

ryder scored his own soccer ball and cones.

isaac picked out a lollipop for many people on his christmas list. once all his gifts were wrapped and ready to go he decided he wanted hi own lollipop. he bought one and wrapped it up for isaac, from isaac.

a good old game of "crash boom"

our family pictures usually looks a little something like this. we're not those people who have the kids smiling, looking at the camera and excited about the photo.

merry christmas from our motley crew!

christmas eve

christmas eve we headed to north coast calvary for their bethlehem petting zoo. the boys enjoyed it so much last year we decided to work our day around it this year.

ryder dropped this little turtle on his back in about 7 seconds flat.

he was in heaven with all the animals

isaac wasn't so sure about holding the turtles. i don't blame him.

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:11-12

that evening we headed to my parents' place for jumping, dinner and the wii family feud game.

let the wii competition begin!

great aunt marguerite and ryder

isaac was pretty proud of the gifts he picked out.

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:14