We shared our Christmas Eve with our friends, the Balmforths, an old friend Darlyne, and new friends, Gene & the Winfreys. 
We enjoyed a lovely meal and then the kids went to town decorating cookies for Santa...1 for Santa, 3 for me...Christina was very artistic in her creations, Thomas was FAST, Grace threw on a TON of jimmies, and Caroline was a very careful decorator. Afterward the children had a fun little gift exchange using this story and we listened to Luke 2 and The Cajun Night Before Christmas. Bro. B. 
served his mission in Louisiana & reading this hilarious book is a Christmas Eve tradition in their family. We laughed until we cried.
We headed home to carry on our family Christmas Eve traditions. We opened one gift...Christmas pj's. We learned that Grace does NOT like purple even if they are darling purple butterflies on soft flannel pj's. Thank heavens Grandma Ann sent Little Mermaid pj's too...they were a bigger hit than the ones mommie bought! We sang "Stille Nacht." My dad and grandparents all served missions in Germany and my parents taught all us kids Silent Night in German. I love singing it each Christmas and our kids nearly have it memorized. We shared our feelings about Christ, had family prayer, and the kids were off to bed. JOY!
We enjoyed a lovely meal and then the kids went to town decorating cookies for Santa...1 for Santa, 3 for me...Christina was very artistic in her creations, Thomas was FAST, Grace threw on a TON of jimmies, and Caroline was a very careful decorator. Afterward the children had a fun little gift exchange using this story and we listened to Luke 2 and The Cajun Night Before Christmas. Bro. B. 
served his mission in Louisiana & reading this hilarious book is a Christmas Eve tradition in their family. We laughed until we cried.Wayne and I tied up loose ends and got to bed LATE. The kids woke up EARLY and we stumbled out of bed so as not to squelch their anticipation. 
We have a tradition of opening the stockings first. Santa leaves a sugar mini cereal box for each child, and the kids have a quick cold cereal breakfast after going through their stockings.
After breakfast we all gathered around the tree. Again, it was so fun to see how different the kids are, but a common denominator was that they were all so thankful with each gift.
Christina gave Wayne and I big hugs after she opened each of her gifts. Thomas could have taken all day to open his gifts and not because he got a lot, but because he would dive into whatever the gift was...he'd start reading the book, setting up the Legos, stuffing a stuffable Dino, etc. Grace would rip into each gift and she would stop and play and have a little party (she could have spent all day opening gifts too). She and Caroline got microphones.
Grace immediately went on pretend stage and rocked out. Caroline barely got a whisper out and was much more shy. As for the gifts, sweet Caroline took forever to carefully unwrap each gift! We had a ball....no tears and lots of grateful hearts.
We have a tradition of opening the stockings first. Santa leaves a sugar mini cereal box for each child, and the kids have a quick cold cereal breakfast after going through their stockings.After breakfast we all gathered around the tree. Again, it was so fun to see how different the kids are, but a common denominator was that they were all so thankful with each gift.
Christina gave Wayne and I big hugs after she opened each of her gifts. Thomas could have taken all day to open his gifts and not because he got a lot, but because he would dive into whatever the gift was...he'd start reading the book, setting up the Legos, stuffing a stuffable Dino, etc. Grace would rip into each gift and she would stop and play and have a little party (she could have spent all day opening gifts too). She and Caroline got microphones.
Grace immediately went on pretend stage and rocked out. Caroline barely got a whisper out and was much more shy. As for the gifts, sweet Caroline took forever to carefully unwrap each gift! We had a ball....no tears and lots of grateful hearts.The last present "opened" was found via a treasure hunt. I remember a few of these as a kid and they are so much fun. The kids started with a clue hidden in the Christmas tree and ran around the house following the clues until they reached the "new" kids computer that Wayne put together. Caroline immediately made herself comfortable in the big desk chair. Wayne and I sighed and thought, "These kids will have plenty to do this vacation!"
Christina is on her 4th American Girl book and Thomas has started reading from his Mark Twain collection. I'm going to add a book recommendation section to our family blog! Grace has been interviewing me using her microphone....look out Diane Sawyer! "So, tell me, what did you like best about your Christmas?...This is Grace Ann Menzie coming to you from Channel ABC." She's a hoot and a half!!! Caroline has been coloring a lot and playing on the computer.
Wesley has been chewing on his toys. He got 1 front tooth for Christmas and the other is SOOOO close.
I got my wish for a Christmas (cat)nap and we all chipped in to clean up things before the missionaries came over for dinner. Wayne put together a beautiful turkey dinner. He loves to toy with different recipes when it comes to cooking turkeys and this one was YUMMY! Mashed potatoes (cooked whole)- yummy! Gravy- yummy! Our missionaries are wonderful and it really is a blessing for us to have them in our home. They shared a spiritual message and a prayer, and when they left we felt like we have been uplifted.
We regrouped, sang Christmas carols, and the kids had no problem conking out by bedtime. I scurried off to our friends' house to borrow Bourne Supremacy for a in-house date night. Intense---2 thumbs up (on the movie, not the date...well both were the thumbs up...OK, I should stop now:))!
Wayne has a nice long vacation...we are THRILLED!!! It's so much fun being all together. I love this family of ours. I love our traditions. I love our quirks and strengths. I'm so glad to share the lead with my sweetheart, Wayne. I treasure our marriage and the 5 beautiful blessings we have in our children. I'm thankful for the faith we have that binds us come what may. TRUE blessings!
Christina is on her 4th American Girl book and Thomas has started reading from his Mark Twain collection. I'm going to add a book recommendation section to our family blog! Grace has been interviewing me using her microphone....look out Diane Sawyer! "So, tell me, what did you like best about your Christmas?...This is Grace Ann Menzie coming to you from Channel ABC." She's a hoot and a half!!! Caroline has been coloring a lot and playing on the computer.
Wesley has been chewing on his toys. He got 1 front tooth for Christmas and the other is SOOOO close.I got my wish for a Christmas (cat)nap and we all chipped in to clean up things before the missionaries came over for dinner. Wayne put together a beautiful turkey dinner. He loves to toy with different recipes when it comes to cooking turkeys and this one was YUMMY! Mashed potatoes (cooked whole)- yummy! Gravy- yummy! Our missionaries are wonderful and it really is a blessing for us to have them in our home. They shared a spiritual message and a prayer, and when they left we felt like we have been uplifted.
We regrouped, sang Christmas carols, and the kids had no problem conking out by bedtime. I scurried off to our friends' house to borrow Bourne Supremacy for a in-house date night. Intense---2 thumbs up (on the movie, not the date...well both were the thumbs up...OK, I should stop now:))!
Wayne has a nice long vacation...we are THRILLED!!! It's so much fun being all together. I love this family of ours. I love our traditions. I love our quirks and strengths. I'm so glad to share the lead with my sweetheart, Wayne. I treasure our marriage and the 5 beautiful blessings we have in our children. I'm thankful for the faith we have that binds us come what may. TRUE blessings!
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1 comment:
So fun to read! Grace is full of life.
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