Following our annual pedicures and lunch date with Mrs. Duncan, we hurried home, quickly got dressed for church and made it to the 3:00 Christmas Eve service. Only, it was actually the 3:30 Christmas Eve service, so for the first time in forever, we were EARLY to church!
These children of ours are pretty amazing and they clean up well!
Like most children, though, the pictures are really a chore for them and they would rather do without!
Our Christmas Eve service was delightful. Peaceful. All things warm and good. I grew up going to my grandparents house every Christmas Eve for a drop-in and I have fond memories of these times with my family. Now, as an adult, I am so glad that we can carry on this tradition in our own home. Each year, we invite those that are in town to come over for chili and sides and just enjoy the company and the excitement that all of the children!
And as tradition would have it, everyone goes home with a full belly and these 5 quickly grab their first gift of the season from Gran and Pop and unwrap away! PJs for all involved and BOOKS!
Twas the Night Before Christmas is our favorite Christmas Eve bedtime story....and we didn't forget to feed the reindeer!
For the first time ever, I do believe my 5 went to sleep in a timely manner....they all huddled up together to sleep in our loft, another tradition from my childhood passed down to these guys!
The Christmas stair pictures are always a favorite....even though they were all wide awake, the flash was quite bright!
Thankfully, Santa came and left his mark....
we were sure that Maryn was going to end up in the ER before the day ended. A balance bike AND real roller skates?!?! For a three year old?!?!? Thankfully, she stayed in one piece!
The excitement was real and so fun to watch!
The famous Elf Cannon - Matthew left and Santa came!
The drone made this guy smile most of his day!
And looking under the tree for a present with your name on it never gets old!
MK cannot eat candy just yet because of her bone graft surgery. So, Santa improvised and brought her Nutella packets. She was thrilled with this and treated herself to several each day until they were gone.
This baby girl. Love her. Loved the holidays with her. She was so much fun to watch. She got it this year and was so excited to see what was in her gifts as she unwrapped each one.
The mini Leg Lamp....hmmm.
Saran Wrap game. Fun times were had by all of our kiddos as they played the Saran Wrap game to unwrap their gift from us.
The biggest kid of all, Ryan. Ryan asked for a Clemson hat. He even found one and called me to tell me exactly where it was located so I could purchase it for him. Only, I like for my gifts to be surprises so I got creative when I wrapped it. I put a tamborine inside of the box that held his beloved hat....he seriously has been caught shaking gift boxes to see if he can figure out what the gift is....I had to confuse him somehow and it worked! He was quite surprised by the hat AND the tamborine!
Christmas Day
These two families are the cream of the crop!
We love them all and we were so blessed to have them spend extra time with us on Christmas Day.
They even understand the importance of silliness in our home! Perfect!
