Christmas Smiles and New Year Wishes

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas surrounded by tons of Tharp Family, which was so much fun. We hope you all were filled with joy and wonder also. I am just so amazed at how much fun it is to have an older child like Natalie who finally understand what the season is all about. It was great to watch her and Madison play and get excited about everything. Natalie even stayed awake the whole way home from church Christmas Eve so she could feed Santa's reindeer. They must have been hungry after their trip around the world because they ate it all! It was just such a true joy, I can't wait for it again next year! Beckett was a trooper and just went with the flow of everything. He is such a special, content baby.

We headed to Hyattville for visiting and church Christmas Eve, then to Great Grandma Phyllis's for dinner...here is a catalogue of the last two days!

Grandma Jill, Grandpa Guy, Madison and Natalie at Church.

The girls showing off their new church clothes...

Great Grandma Phyllis and Great Grandpa Elmer with their great-grands.

Madison couldn't wait to hold Baby Beckett. She's very gentle with him.

We did Christmas morning at our house, which isn't hard to do before we go back to Hyattville because a certain little miss still likes to get up around 5:30 or so! We got up early and looked at Santa's gifts and made a little breakfast. It was a beautiful, relaxing morning. This is the first year I was completely content and absolutely happy for the Christmas holiday. Our family just feels so complete and is the best blessing I could have wished for. Maybe that feeling comes with age (he he he) but I really can't describe it other than completely content. What an amazing feeling! That sounded way too cliche, but that's all I could say.

Grandma Jill and Grandpa Guy got the girls (Beckett got a puppy) these very real looking kitties that actually have batteries inside and "breathe." Their sides go in and out and they look very real! Natalie named hers Sammy, but I think it has since changed.

Here she is LOVING the horse music/jewelry box that Nana and Papa Brooks sent her. I've had to take it away and put it up in a safe place because she just wants to carry it around everywhere!

Daddy with the babes...

Opening gifts at our house...

And the added bonus to a perfect morning was Kyle's gift. I had no idea what it was, but he designed a mother's ring for me at a jewler in Bllings! He remembered I said a while back I would like one some day, and I was thinking for a 10-year anniversary gift or something! Anyway, it is absolutely beautiful, alternating my birthstone (diamonds) with one for Natalie, Beckett and himself. He said it would need to be sized, but it fit perfectly. It took my breath away. I'm so lucky to be married to such a loving, thoughtful guy!

After the gift exchange at Jill's later that morning, we all headed across the road to give our horses a little Christmas treat...a bag of juicy apples. Here is my favorite four-legged boy of all time. Joey is the one horse I could never sell. He's18 years old this year and is still so sweet.

There's something so simply beautiful about seeing horses in a field of snow...it just captures winter in the wide open spaces.

Grandma Jill and Madison feeding my mare Roxanne.

Nataile feeding Grandpa Guy's beautiful colt Beuford.

And here is what we woke up to this morning...a whiteout and blizzard conditions! We had dinner at Aunt Pam's house in Hyattville with about 25 other family members, which was a lot of fun, then we headed home with every intention of going back out today to visit some more. But unless this blows over soon, the weather report says no unnecessary travel for our area.

We missed seeing my side of the family, but we talked with everyone on the phone and hope to maybe get some of them out this way next year! We hope you all were as blessed as we were yesterday and may you all have a safe and happy New Year! Many, many, many hugs to all.