Photoshop Wonders!

Grandpa Byrd gave me a copy of his Photoshop Elements program to put on our new laptop. It is so awesome! I wanted to show you the before and after of one of the Christmas pictures I edited with it:

Before:


After:

Christmas Day

We all had such a great Christmas day! Ben woke up around 7:30 and was so excited to see what Santa had brought him. He ran into the living room and saw the Home Depot workshop and started playing right away. It was a chore to get him to open more presents after that. We're glad he loves it so much. Ben has been such a good boy all year so he got a lot of cool gifts. We tried to get things he could play pretend with and learn with. He got some more food and utencils to use with his play grill, an alphie learning robot, marbles, cash register with play money, a sequence game, trace books for the alphabet and numbers, number flash cards, Melissa & Doug wooden blocks, a pizza party game, and lots of fun stocking stuffers. His favorite stocking stuffer was a little plastic echo microphone. He is so funny with it. I got some new clothes and jewelry from Jeremy and Ben. Ben and I got Daddy some new clothes and a watch. We all got more than we needed and are really blessed! Grandma & Grandpa Byrd came over to watch Ben open presents and they spoiled us, too. Jeremy and I got the Garmin GPS watches we've been wanting for running. We took them out yesterday and ran with them for a bit. They are so cool! We also got a new laptop that we've been desperately needing. They are so good to us. Jeremy made breakfast burritos that were so good. We had a fun morning opening our new toys and playing with everything. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Byrd's house next so Ben could open his presents from them. He got a Thomas the Train table and chairs, Candy Land, the Finding Nemo dvd, a camera, walkie talkies, and a green bike! He was super excited about his new green bike. We ate a late lunch and got to visit with Grandpa Stone and Uncle Chuck. We stopped at Nana's house that evening before going home. We had a very busy and fun-filled day.

I've posted just a few pictures of Christmas day. We had hundreds so I didn't want to spend a week trying to upload them all, ha ha! Enjoy!

Ben loves his Home Depot workshop!Jeremy got some new Brooks running shoes from Grandma and Grandpa!Me with my GPS watchDaddy and Ben playing with AlphieI think I love this cash register as much as Ben does.....:) It is so cool! It even has a credit card that makes noise when you make a purchase! We've been having fun playing grocery store and counting money.My glow in the dark armband from Grandma and Grandpa. Now we can be safe running in the evening :)

Ben's new green bike!

Playing Candy Land!

Christmas Eve

We spend every Christmas Eve in Avon Park at my Aunt Darla and Uncle Kurt's house. We have a very big family on my mother's side as you will see in the pictures. We always bring finger foods and Uncle Kurt makes venison burgers. Jeremy and I made sausage balls and a white chocolate peppermint cheesecake. Everything was so good! We got home around 9:00 and made cookies for Santa. Ben had a hard time falling asleep. I think he was just too excited about Santa coming. Enjoy the pictures!

The very first picture is most of my family on my mother's side (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) The second picture is cousins and our babies. The bottom picture is just cousins.

being silly...

My cousin Kacie and me. We are only a year apart.

Cousin Lauren and Ben

Ben wanted to take a picture of Aunt Cindy, cousin Katie and me

I tried to get a picture of Ben in front of Aunt Darla's tree, but the lighting was weird.

Cousins: Katie, Amanda, Me, Brandi, Kevin Jr., Robbie, Kacie, and Whitney

Me, Ben and Kacie

Ben loved the chocolate covered strawberries

Kacie with Aunt Darla's dog Chloe and her dog Kodie

My family!

Katie and Ben

Aunt Darla and Ben

Nana's grandbabies: Caleb, Lauren, Nathan and Ben

My sister, Stephanie and her daughter, Lauren

Ben putting out some carrots for Santa's reindeer

Cookies and milk for Santa!

Christmas Party at Joyce's

Today was Ben's Christmas party at Aunt Joyce's. He had such a great time playing with his friends. They had lots of yummy goodies and opened gifts from Aunt Joyce. We are so lucky to have a member of our family take care of Ben while we work. And, she is a total pro. She has been keeping kids since I was little! Enjoy the cute pictures!

Sweet friends:

Bennett loved all the yummy treats!Sweet little Bennett:Callie and Hanna posing with their presents:Hanna and Ben really got into opening their gifts:He loved this giant pencil from Aunt JoyceBen and Callie riding scooters