Davin's grandfather let me borrow an old photo album with pictures of Davin when he was a child. I couldn't get over how much Naomi looks just like him. If you don't believe me check out these photos. The top one is Davin and the bottom one is Naomi on her first birthday.

Christmas Time!

Okay, so we have A LOT of really great Christmas photos. I hope you are ready for all these!

Here are the kids getting ready for Family Christmas time! We were able to go home to Georgia for Christmas, so we celebrated as a family a few days before we left. Can you see the anticipation in their eyes?!?!
Naomi and Hudson had a blast. It was so much fun to watch Naomi enjoy opening her presents and playing with her new toys.

And yes, she had to climb on top of her presents before she opened them. Boy do I have my hands full!

Aren't they sweet playing with their new toys?!?!

I had to get a shot of them playing together. Here we are at Davin's parents house. This is Naomi with Papa(Davin's grandfather) in front of the tree.

This is Hudson with his 2nd cousin Lexi. They had a blast!
And so did Naomi...
Christmas morning we were at Pop-pop and Mimi's (Davin's parents) We wanted to keep the focus on the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Hudson helped me build a 1st century manger, and he has been earning straw all month to put in the manger. He got a piece every time he was kind or helped out with a good attitude. Naomi even earned a few pieces as well. On Christmas morning the kids came down stairs to find "baby Jesus" wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. We did a short devotion and sang some of our favorite hymns. Then we let the kids look in their stockings and open some presents. Finally we ended our celebration with birthday cake for breakfast! Fun
Next we went to the Chandler's (Alisia's parents). Here is a great photo of Davin and Naomi.

This is Naomi with her cousin Lila. Aren't they beautiful in their Christmas dresses.
Here is a shot of my two sisters and their husbands. The little guy is my nephew Chandler.
Isn't Hudson cute in his Veggie Tales Christmas shirt?!

After Christmas, Davin and I headed back to North Carolina WITHOUT CHILDREN!!!!! It was so hard to leave our precious little ones there, but they needed some one on one grandparent time and Davin and I need some alone time too. It has been a week since we left them and they got to spend time with both sets of grandparents. We have really missed them, but we have enjoyed ourselves as well. We went out to dinner one night to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary. (wow! a lot can happen in 4 years, huh?) Here we are at dinner. We also went to the movies afterward thanks to Josh and Charlotte (our wonderful neighbors) and saw National Treasure. It was great!
I have been busy as well doing some painting and getting the apartment organized and clean. Here are the photos from the mural I just finished...

If you want to see more or know of someone else who would like some work done, you can visit my art blog at http://www.ajbenavides.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas!

Our Sunday School class got together on Saturday night for our Christmas Party. Here is a photo of everyone there including the kids (and Elvis)! What an awesome group! We praise the Lord that there were so many of us attending we had to move our party to the church fellowship hall! Here is a photo without the kids. It has been a real joy and privilage for us to worship the Lord with this group of believers. We love each and every one of them!

Here are some pictures after Hudson's Christmas play last night.

Update

The lighting of downtown Wake Forest...
Here are some fun photos of us as we went downtown for the lighting of Wake Forest.
Hudson loves trains and they have one set up in the hardware store. We took a break from the cold to watch the train, and visit with our friend Justin Martin who works at the Hardware store. Don't they make cute presents!
Here is Naomi all bundled up!

Sleepless Nights!
The last few nights have been a challenge! I had forgotten what it's like to be up in the middle of the night. We've had a teething baby and a potty training preschooler on our hands.

Our little walker...
We'll I can officially say that Naomi is walking. She is still a little unsteady on her feet, but she can get around. Hudson is so thrilled when she walks to him. She absolutely adores her big brother.

Home for Christmas...
We are planning on making the journey home for Christmas either through the night on the 22nd or during the day on the 23rd. We plan on staying thru the 26th. The kids will be staying a bit longer! We hope that we will be able to visit with some of our friends while we are there. If we miss you, then we hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Hudson's big debut ...
Hudson will be in this year's Christmas play at church. We will take lots of pictures and post them next week.

Alisia's new job...
We'll almost. I've decided to try and sell my talents as an artist. I've set up a blog, and I'm still working on it you can view it at http://www.ajbenavides.blogspot.com/ and I've gotten business cards. We put the rest in God's hands. I'm hoping to help our family make ends meet during this last semester at seminary. I will be painting at our Chiropractor's office (in return for services) over the break. I'm hoping that will generate some business.

Dessert Poll!

Thanks for voting!

It seems that the majority of you believe pecan pie is the most fattening, however carrot cake tops them all! Then pecan pie, apple pie, and the least fattening dessert is pumpkin. I hope everyone is enjoying their week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful time giving thanks this year, and spending time with family!

There is always something that just makes Thanksgiving. For me it's my Granny B's dressing. Here I am making my first pan of dressing EVER. And of course, it's my grandmother's recipe.

Because of Davin's work schedule we weren't able to make the drive home to Georgia, but we were able to have family join us. Davin's cousin Kenny and his wife Erin came over and we spent the day together. We were so grateful for their company, and we were blessed to share this day with them. And it only took us four days to finish all the left-overs:)

Don't forget to answer the dessert poll. (to the right)

Here are some fun pictures of the kids...
Hudson and his friend Madelyn. They are quite a pair!
Here is Naomi riding her push toy. She loves it! (Thanks Auntie April!) She has taken a few steps but still crawls wherever she wants to go.

War Eagle!

November 3rd 2007...
Auburn's Homecoming game was my FIRST Auburn game. For those of you who don't know my Dad attended Auburn, and so I was raised an Auburn fan. It was such a blessing for us. My parents flew all four of us down to Georgia. All my brothers and sisters were there for the game as well. We had a blast! This is a photo of the apartment where my parents lived while they were at Auburn. They only had one child at the time. My oldest sister April. My dad told us that he would walk to class.
Here is a photo of my mom and dad.

Here is a photo of their four children. We had a blast tale-gating before the game. From left to right, April, Amy, Alisia, and Ray. And of course, we are in order of birth! (How did I end up being the shortest?!?)
We are all married now and our spouses were at the game too. As soon as I get the photo, I'll post that one too.(hint, hint, April)
Auburn has an amazing marching band! We really enjoyed the pre-game and half-time shows.

Davin helped me get down closer to the field. Here is a shot of me at the end of the game. And yes, Auburn won! This is my niece Kaitlyn. She was the only grand baby big enough to go and actually enjoy watching a football game. Looks like she's already made her mind up about where to go to College.
And of course, we helped roll Toomer's Corner. It's an Auburn tradition!

Back at Woodstock...

While we were home we attended First Baptist Woodstock (our home church in Georgia). Marty Benton's Sunday School class has adopted us and is committing to love on and pray for our family as Davin complete's his seminary education! What a huge answer to prayer. We were able to go and visit the class and spend some time with old friends.

Just for fun...

Hudson really loves his sister. We caught him on camera helping Naomi put on her shoes. She was very pleased to have his help.