Christmas at the Bandermanns continued

I think I've probaby said it too much, but this Christmas was so exciting!  Top reason was because of Ansley, of course.  She can be such a hoot sometimes and this Christmas was no different.  She got gifts galore and after opening every gift, she'd give a big "gasp"!  It was so fun to watch her.  Here are a few from our Christmas at the Bandermanns.

This is Ansley trying to either be silly (she does this head roll with her eyes closed) or maybe getting ready to pray? Not sure which.

She loved pulling off the wrapping paper with dad

 Oh!  That Bitty Baby was the best gift ever! 

Ryan and Whitney opening Kyle's great gift.  Pink Uggs for Ansley and Brynn! 

If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about the perfect brownie pan...so is Whit! 

Pam loves hers, so we both got one!

 

Can't wait until baby Brynn is here to celebrate Christmas with Ansley!

This year Jason's family got together at Aunt Kim's house.  Ansley had lots of fun stuff including some pink cowgirl boots!  She is way too cute in them!  And her favorite gift was definitely the singing bear from GG.  Anything that sings is a hit with Ansley! 

She wasn't quite sure about the boots...she was too preoccupied with the bear. 

We had such a good time this year with family.  We feel so blessed!

Merry Christmas!!

It's Christmas!  I love this time of year!  Decorating the house is always so much fun...well, maybe not getting all the stuff out, but the finished product is always exciting!  I didn't do as many decorations this year as years past, but it still feels warm and inviting (I think:)).  I took a few pictures to capture how I decorated this year so that I can always remember.  Here are a few glimpses of our house. 

Our Christmas tree...mostly reds and silver.

I love the glow....

Our hutch with some glittery branches and the MERRY banner I made (an idea I saw at one of our local stores). 

Our fireplace with all my trees, candles and the book wreath I made.  The wreath idea was courtesy of all the creativeness found in the blogworld!

The stockings were hung with care.... 



My tree branches and homemade ornaments.

Each ornament has a name for Jesus on it. 

 Ansley's Christmas tree

 I will be so sad to bring it all down come January...ugh!

The Christmas Meal at the Mill

My mom and dad always do lunch for their employees at Christmas time.  They give them a new pair of nice boots and a warm jacket to last them in the weather for a year.  It's something they started years ago to show their gratitude to their employees.  It's pretty heartwarming to see their excitement when they get their Christmas gifts and see the meal that's been prepared just for them.  For some of them, it may be the biggest homecooked spread they will have all year and maybe the only jacket they will own. 
Ansley and I traveled to the big city of Marble Hill to join in on the festivities.  All the men know to gather in the shop (that is now heated by a stove, woo hoo!) and start feasting on all the glorious food!  Here are a few pictures from the afternoon.   

BB tried to give Ansley coffee...I caught him!

Little Ansley was TIRED! 

Looking cute in her pigtails and pink/camo outfit.  She fit in well. 

A Cabin Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my immediate family at the cabin this past Saturday.  It was a quiet evening of food, relaxation, and family time.  Ansley and Jansen had run of the whole place, that's for sure!  This is where you could find Ansley and Jansen for most of the night...they wanted to check out ALL the presents around the tree.  They were so cute.  We tried to stop them for 2 minutes to get a picture, but didn't really succeed.  They were WAY too busy to look at a camera. 

They each had a package that kept them pretty busy. 

Little Miss thought standing on the presents was funny! 

And sitting...like a little model.

And sitting on each other!  It was pretty comical!  They both wanted in the bucket. 

Mimi and BB with the kiddos 

Ansley's favorite place was in the chair with BB

The annual family pic in front of the fireplace 

Our family is growing quickly!



2010 Christmas Card

In years past, I’ve had my friend and photographer, Sheri, create our Christmas cards. However, this year I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted to create my own look with a personal message to friends and family. There are so many options out there when it comes to greeting cards, but there was only one that really stood out to me. The choice was a simple one…Shutterfly. I’ve seen some beautiful Christmas cards created on Shutterfly, many of which can be found hanging in our house during the Christmas season from various friends and family! This year I wanted that same look and quality for our Christmas cards.
Shutterfly offers so many choices of greeting cards, it’s almost a little overwhelming at first! I started off loving over 10 different cards and then finally dwindled it down to one, but it wasn’t easy! I was in love with so many! Their creations are absolutely perfect and they provide that custom look that I’m looking for.  I loved how easy it was to create our card and the fonts they offer are so chic and stylish…love that!

While on their site, I noticed all the adorable gifts that you can create for friends and family. I always do a family calendar from Shutterfly and 2011 will be no exception! The quality and look is amazing! The grandparents will definitely be getting some Shutterfly gifts this Christmas of little Ansley and Jansen and I know they will love them!
Their birthday invites are adorable too.  I'm already in planning mode for Ansley's 2nd birthday (heartburn), and Shutterfly will most definitely be my choice for birthday invites!  They are all so cute!

Speaking of cute...how about the adorable little girl in this Christmas card...

In His Name Religious Christmas Card

Create beautiful photo Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.