I have so much to say about Christmas! First off, family is so wonderful to have and I am so grateful for mine! This was the first time in a long time that we celebrated Christmas away from home with some of my family. Shawn who has lived overseas for the last decade, drove up from Texas with his family so of course we HAD to head to my parents!
He made this amazing fondue on Christmas Eve. 3 course fondue! We were totally spoiled. The Cheese and veggies/bread were a big hit but took quite the reach to consume as you can see... stretchy cheese!
Oh it was so good!
And so good to be with family!
Chad planned some fun games for the evening but before we could get started the kids all wanted to open their Christmas jammies. The games included my new personalized cornhole (thank you High Valley Dermatology!).
A spaghetti noodle tower building competition. Don't let Shawn's innocent smile fool you... he was cutthroat!
Also Popcorn races. It was hilarious to see all the different forms of crawling people employed.
Atlas got loose and ate the popcorn during one race! It was so funny. He just wanted to play too!
Here he goes again. But Shawn and McKinley were so intent on their race, they didn't even notice him.
And then you have some who didn't even crawl but rather dragged themselves army style (Andie- above) or pulled and slid (Lilia-below)
We also did the candy bar game and it was cool to see all the kids sharing their spoils afterward as if they hadn't just stolen the candy from each other for the previous 10 minutes.
We lit the German nativities and shared what had special meaning for us within the nativity that year. I loved hearing the kids' sweet testimonies and creative explanations.
Then we all sat back in the dark and sang Silent Night as we watched the shadows on the ceiling. It was such a fun night and ended on such a sweet note. We then had to race home because Lilia was singing a duet in church the next morning with Landon, and the rest of us were part of choir numbers.
We opened a couple of presents before heading to church but then saved the rest for after. We ended with a couple of surprises. An air hockey table, that the neighbors hid from Chad in their garage for the last month, and a guitar for me! Wha?! I about cried. It is so beautiful! Last month our friend and neighbor Brian Crouch, did a guitar performance at his house. We went and I was so awed! I've been looking for someone to teach me and I asked him that night if he teaches. He said he would teach me and Chad took his inspiration from there. Brian helped him shop and then hid it. I was so touched. Now we'll see if Brian was serious when he said he would teach me!
After presents, since the weather was good we hopped back in the car and drove out to my parent's house to catch Shawn and Kellie before they left. We were able to spend a few more hours with their family before they drove back to Texas. I'm so grateful for them. They're such good examples of a parenting team, of loving spouses, of making good choices and putting family first, of relying on the Lord and trusting in Him, of living their lives the way He would have them live. They've been such a support to me for such a long time, I just can't thank them enough!
The rest of Christmas break was filled with good food and family fun as we enjoyed Christmas presents.
Lilia made her famous egg rolls
And became proficient at the BB gun
McKinley got a hoverboard and shared it with a friend. Jaedyn got a comfy that she lived in the rest of the break (pictured above in the air hockey picture). Ebony got a go cart attachment for her hoverboard and a lego boat that she has already assembled and if she's anything like her oldest sister, it will stay assembled til she's 14! LOL
My in laws gifted us a trip to the trampoline park so we spent an afternoon there. The kids absolutely love jumping and it's great exercise so I'm all for it! It was incredible to see Lilia's hand springs- she is becoming quite the little tumbler!
My parents gifted us a trip to LaBelle Ice Castle. We bundled up and spent all of Saturday afternoon there. We took a sleigh ride down to the sledding area and this time we got to use inner tubes! They flew! We had hot chocolate and wandered around the ice castle until we had seen all there was to see.
The tunnels were fun.
The structures were incredible.
And of course there was a doggy pile... cuz why not?
Jaedyn pointed the incredible sky out to me and I snapped a quick pic.
And we ended the night watching the fire show. Then, before our fingers froze off, we bundled back into the car and headed back home. What a fun experience. I love the idea of gifting experiences. Our parents, both, have got it figure out! Thank you for the wonderful gifts!
