A Totally Hansen Holiday

A blessed event -- Emmett Anderson Hansen took center stage December 11, 2008 -- and a blessed celebration -- Christmas. How fortunate we were to share both events with the Georgia Hansens. We loved every minute of our time with them. Lots of pictures follow. Sorry about that.

"I think we're going to see eye to eye."

Carolyn’s Christmas advent calendar hung near their home’s entrance, and all of the kids loved checking the pockets each day to see what fun adventure would appear. One day we went to the mall to visit Santa. Guess what? No one brought a camera! It’s easy to tell that Merrell wasn’t there or we would have been covered.

Baking and creating were two favorite calendar activities. The original plan was to make two gingerbread houses, but the adults soon decided that one was enough! The Christmas Eve cookies were a big hit and yummy too. Even Santa took a few bites during his visit.





Sometimes I wonder if I fully appreciated all of the happy Christmas moments shared when our children were young. Probably not. As Mom, I mostly wanted everything to be Christmas card perfect and believe me it never was. It may sound corny, but as Gramma, I truly can smile and treasure every single laugh, blunder, surprise, tear, request, unplanned incident, overly giddy kid, hug, note, homemade gift, song (whether off key or not, right words or not), and finger-licked decorated cookie offered by my grandchildren.

Cute kids all dressed up for Christmas.

Three figures. Which one is the tree? It's difficult to tell. They're all pretty stiff.

At this moment Ava is not hanging around the dog's neck, but I'm sure she's thinking about it. Max is just relaxing while he waits for the next attack. He is a patient dog and Ava loves him a bunch.

Grampa got what he wanted! (A piece of paper?)

It's always best to play with your brother's toy before you take out all the little pieces from your own Littlest Pet Shop boxes!

A trip to Monkey Joe's (jumping house) can make a soul tired.

But, it sure is a lot of fun!

"Whew! It's hot in here."

Grampa's jumping skills convert to juggling Emmett.

A trip to Monkey Joe’s achieves at least two objectives: (1) All of the jumping wears out the kids, and (2) the adults fancy a rest in the comfy lounge chairs!

"I love Max."

The calm before the Silly String.

Silly String can sure be a mess even though the spray can contents last less than a minute, but for the low cost of $1.00, Silly String can generate a lot of chasing fun!

"Watch out! I rule!"

"This walk is too chilly for me. I'm going home."

Are they walking the dog or is the dog walking them? Where is the dog anyway?

The Hansens gave Merrell tickets to see the King Tut exhibit in Atlanta. Merrell loved it! Kate and Jackson learned a bit too! Don't know about Jason.

King Kate