Merry Christmas 2010

It was another wonderful Christmas for the Perry family!  It was quiet, peaceful, and there was lots of love to go around!  As always, Santa Claus was really able to make the girls happy.

Gramma Terrie made us a Family Home Evening board which we really love.  As you can see, the girls are still a bit sleepy when this picture was taken.

Samantha has had a Pillow Pet at the top of her Christmas list since this summer.  She wrote many letters asking for her very own Pillow Pet and Santa came through and brought her one!  I love this picture because of Emma's reaction!  She just couldn't believe it!

Sam really hasn't put her pet down since Christmas morning.  It is a penguin and she has named him Topper.

The girls love Disney movies so Santa brought them the Scene It? DVD game.  They have played it several times a day since Christmas morning.

Emma absolutely loves a series of books entitled "Children Just Like Me."  The books take children from all over the world and talk about their customs, their languages, their dress, etc.  She is very intrigued by learning about other cultures so when she saw this new book from Santa she was thrilled!

Of course, there were a couple of American Girl movies for the American Girl lover....Miss Emma!

On Christmas Eve Emma lost a tooth!  She had wiggled it for weeks and it came out just in time to have a visit from Santa AND the Tooth Fairy!  How exciting!  The next morning she and I were wrestling a little bit and we heard something hit the floor.  I took a closer look and low and behold....another tooth had come out!  So the Tooth Fairy came two days in a row and she has very few teeth left in her top row. :)

Of course the girls are a little down about having to wait for an entire year until Christmas comes around again, but we feel especially blessed this year for our little family and for this special season.  We hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday as well!

The Nativity

One of the churches here in La Grande puts on a Living Nativity each year at Christmas time.  They recreate the city of Bethlehem and the town is invited to come in and see what life was like two thousand years ago when Christ was born.  They have the wise men, the shepherds, and Mary and Joseph as well.  Plus there are little shops to see, like the candle maker, the weaver, the fish market, etc.  We always look forward to going.  This year we went with our good friends, the McIlmoil family, and we had a great time together.

Here we are with one of the Three Wise Men and their camel.

Samantha was very interested in Mary and Joseph's donkey.  She enjoyed petting him.

 Here is Emma with her little friend Ryder petting the donkey.  They had so much fun.

The weather was very cold and snowy, but the girls were troopers and really had a nice time.  It was a wonderful way to feel the true spirit of Christmas.

School Christmas Concerts

It wouldn't be the Christmas season without a couple of school music concerts to attend!  This year was Samantha's first school concert.  Since the kindergarteners attend their own school in La Grande, they had their own program, too.  Sam was so excited to sing with her class and did a wonderful job.  She is a very natural performer and loves being in front of people.  Her video is of the tried and true S-A-N-T-A song.

Emma's school program just happened to coincide with a special visit from her cousins, Ashley and McKay, who were driving through La Grande on their way to Tacoma, Washington.  They spent the night with us and were eager to see Emma's concert.  She had a new dress to wear which her Gramma Maxine made for her and she was the prettiest in the room!  Her class sang some really lovely songs and althoug she was nervous, she ended up enjoying herself.

Emma also had a speaking role in one of her songs.  She introduced "Feliz Navidad" to the audience.

"Well Done" to both girls.  They make their parents very proud!

Special Day

Emma turned eight years old over the weekend!  I can't believe how quickly time has flown by and how grown up she is.  I am not ready to be the mother of an eight year old! :)  We had a grand celebration with lots of family - first a birthday party on Friday night with cake and ice cream and PRESENTS!  The one thing she has been asking for this past year was an American Girl doll - her aunts and uncles made her wish come true and she was absolutely thrilled!

On Saturday we held her baptism and it was a very special experience.  Her daddy baptized her and her family all participated in the service and showed so much support.  She was pretty nervous about having lots of attention on her, but she got through it with a few tears and lots of hugs and kisses.

After the baptism we spent the day at the church with all our family playing games and making crafts and eating lots of good food.  The girls had the best time with their cousins and they were also able to come to church with us the next day before heading back to their own homes.  It was a perfect weekend!  We are so proud of Emma and the young lady she has become!  We love her very much!