Our Christmas started out earlier this year with Mike's family getting together last weekend. It was nice because the weather seemed like Christmas with a few flurries dancing in the air! It also opened up our Christmas weekend a bit more.
I cooked up some seafood and specialties for an early dinner on Saturday. Then we decided to attend our first Christmas Eve service as a family! We went to Keystone Church and enjoyed the singing and service! I love Christmas music and so singing and worshiping Jesus and celebrating His birth was refreshing! The best highlight of the service was when they passed out glow sticks and we sang holding the glowing sticks in our hands! We came home and jumped into our PJ's for a relaxing night at home!!!
The kids opened up their Christmas stocking gifts before we went to the church service and so when we got home, they opened their bigger gifts! Hadassah got to shop online for her first real pair of volleyball shoes! Matthew opened up a new hoover board and has been buzzing around the house with it ever since. Ashlyn received some books and play dough. Austin got a new bat and ball and a Nerf gun. Mike was so excited to give my present. I didn't have a clue what he got for me but he had strike orders to not go into the small garage! He wheeled in for an old antique bicycle. It works and is classy! :))) I'll have a hard time trying to keep up with him though on a bike! He opened his gift and I was excited to see him like it! He requested the whole series of Andy Griffith shows! We've been watching episode after episode ever since! :)
Because of families wanting to have their own Christmas Eve's with their children, Mike's parents started going to each of their children's homes on Christmas Eve. They just drop in, stay a little while and then go to the next child's home. It's getting a little harder with Ben's living out of the county and they can't hardly make all their rounds in one evening. They did drop in at our house though! We sat and chatted and ate some snacks and they watched Matthew buzz around on his hoover board. It was so relaxing to sit, watch the fireplace and listen to the children play!
I have to say that it feels so good to be moved and settled in this year instead of last year just moving right before Christmas! (Don't you just love it when you tell the kids to go dress up for our dinner and Ashlyn comes out with orange shorts! I chose to make no fuss. We had a great time in shorts and Christmas attire! :))) )
(Then I noticed I still had my cooking apron on. So much for nice attire.)
Our boys love to play ball!!!
A new adventure Bible and shirt!
I figured a new hat would be nice for Hadassah since she needs to wear hats at the donut shop!
Norman Rockwell coffee mugs ...
He is so pumped for this!
"This is the best Christmas gift ever!!!"
Always happy to have new Shopkins!!!
This little guy loves guns!!!
We stayed up late and had a great time as a family! The next morning, was Christmas day! We slept in and ate a late breakfast. We got the house cleaned up from the night before and packed for the cabin!!! My family spent the next four days at the cabin!!! Austin slept the whole ride there! Ashlyn, on the other hand, asked about a dozen times, "Are we there yet?" "Soon?" "How about now?" She hates the three hour drive but loves the cabin life!
We arrived at the cabin late afternoon. The rest of my siblings and their family arrived before supper! Mom and Dad cooked up a bunch of seafood and Jody made her famous pizza for the non seafood eaters. The food was amazing!
Mom and Dad went out to the woods and cut down a fresh Christmas tree and had it in the cabin living room when we all arrived. They had lights, ribbon and tons of ornaments ready for the children to put on the tree. The kids loved this!!! We sang songs while they decorated. Then soon dad was starting "God is great and God is good!" Now, we like that song but really? What ever happened to Christmas carols? :))) We ended up laughing instead of singing!
Our original plans were to open up gifts Monday afternoon but after supper we were all gathered and we decided to open gifts then! Why wait? The kids were super excited and even though it was a noisy clatter for awhile, we were blessed with more gifts!
Dad would get the ornaments ready and the kids would put them on the tree! :)))
And here they are! Grand kids with the BIG kids! :))) Seriously Dad!!!!
Dad's needed a new grill for the cabin!
Mom was pleased with a plaque of Daudy D's favorite saying painted on it!
Austin got some farm animals with a run in shed!
She wanted a small shelf or hooks for her jewelry! Perfect!!!
There was a bit of snow here and there. These girls got all bundled up and played in the tee pee and woods!
Mom even put a small train around the tree!!!
Austin and Colson ... so cute!!! Love their stage!!!
Tons of ornaments.
Boys and their toys!!! John Micheal used the chain saw to carve a long seat out of a huge tree trunk! It turned out really nice!!!
Marble Chase. It's the new game for our family!!! We played game after game after game of this!!! You can play with eight people and we laughed to tears at some moves and mistakes! It was way past midnight till we got to bed most nights because of this game!
We stayed at the cabin until Wednesday! Thank you Mom and Dad for hosting us again and for the lovely gifts and yummy foods!!! This was a fun Christmas for our entire family!!!
