Caroling

We had a fun Christmas party before the Kesners went to Idaho. We ate yummy soups, acted out the nativity, frosted Christmas cookies, and caroled Tawny's neighbors.

We had an impromptu talent show on the front porch of a neighbor who wasn't at home. Some of the boys wanted to sing solos. :) Adorable.

At the Shooting Range

Tough and cute.

Brian and Tyler were pretty good shots. Check out these targets.

This guy showed us how to shoot and improve our accuracy. He started calling out numbers on the target for  me to aim at. That was pretty fun. He also moved the targets back and forth for the guys, making it a little more challenging.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

The annual gingerbread house

Maren always take charge of the icing.

Hot chocolate deluxe by Dad

Maren's new haircut, by Sister Swick

Liz came to our house and gave four of the kids haircuts. (I still haven't been able to bring myself to cut Annalisa's long blonde hair.) It was easy, inexpensive, and the children really liked her. We will be doing this again sometime. 

They are such great kids!

Anna is so excited for Christmas. She loves playing with the decorations and singing along with Christmas carols. She talks about Santa, and how he is bringing her a Rainbow Unicorn night light. She picked it out herself at Costco, and I bought it, so I'm not sure why Santa is getting the credit...

 Annalisa at Chesterfield Park

 Tawny got the girls matching dresses for their birthdays. Don't they look adorable? We spent a fun morning wandering around the park taking lots of picture of these cuties. I expect Tawny will soon be posting some sweet pictures of Aubree. She was very cooperative and beautiful, which does not always happen with Miss Aubree. After the park they went to Tawny's to celebrate Aubree's birthday. A princess party! They do look like little princesses. :)

Mitchell was doing his best to get in all the pictures. He's a funny little guy.

                      Comparing pink bows

Best friends!

Barney Family Pictures by April

April and Tawny convinced me to get the family together for a picture. We haven't done this for quite a while. Probably because Linda lives in California and we are here. Also, I really, really don't like taking family pictures. It has been an excruciating experience for many years. The husband and kids just don't like it, and the Barney stubbornness kicks in until I am wanting to pull my hair out. But Tawny wanted family pictures for the calendar, not just collages. I dreaded it, and considered backing out even the night before. I don't know why this was such a big deal for me. It's basically snapping a few shots before we go to church. I didn't buy any special clothes. I didn't get them haircuts, which all the boys needed. Anyway, April took the pictures at her house while her boys performed various poses to make us smile. Lincoln was dancing around like a maniac, and I remember that Preston pooping a pine cone got especially good smiles. You know, that hilarious kid stuff. ;) 

I thought these turned out cute. I keep my expectation very low, so when I saw the pictures I was very pleased. We may even try this again sometime. Thanks for the push, Tawny and April! 

We had some squinting since it was already getting sunny. For some reason I thought a December morning in St. Louis would be overcast. Then again, I never know what to expect here!

Balancing on the backyard stumps

We all thought this was so pretty.

Too sunny for Trevor. Who would have expected 65 degrees on a December morning?