Happy Holidays 2016

Oh the holidays. There is just something soooo fun about watching the excitement and glittering eyes of little people over the holiday magic unfolds. C in particular, was all about Christmas this year, and had so much fun helping to hand out gifts, unwrap presents, and play with new toys. G was a little young still to fully grasp everything that was going on, but did especially enjoy singing Christmas songs at the Christmas Eve service, lending his tiny newfound voice to Angels We Have Heard on High. Such a little sweetheart.

Our immediate family Christmas celebrations started on Christmas Eve when we opened gifts at home before heading out to the Christmas Eve service at our church. I really tried to stick to the 'something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read' mantra, so the boys didn't have an overwhelming number of gifts to open at home. C got some new cars, and the miniature diecast Jeep with doors that open and close that he had been telling me he wanted Santa to bring since early December (this gift ended up coming from Mom & Dad, but if you ask him, 'Ho ho brought dat'). G mostly just got clothes since he's really too young to know the difference, and we already have oodles of toys from when C was his age for him to play with. I snagged this overnight bag for T on a Black Friday special, and it has already gotten tons of use, so I think it was a success.

After church, we made our way to Gma & Gpa W's, where C was spoiled with homemade mac & cheese (I think we can all agree that this was a hit even for the adults!) and even more gift opening. The highlight for C was definitely a mini toy vacuum that he immediately started vacuuming the entire room with. He loves to help vacuum at home, so I knew this would be a sure hit! He also loved helping everyone to unwrap gifts. G enjoyed watching the action perched on Gma S's lap while trying to determine the best way to eat a bow.

Before bed on Christmas Eve, we made time to set out cookies for Santa. When Christmas morning rolled around, C was so excited to find that 'Ho Ho' had come for a visit, and eaten a few bites of cookies. Santa brought C a big box of corn with some new farm equipment, and he loved it so much that I think it took about an hour to get one picture of him where he was looking at me! Meanwhile, G took it all in stride, and enjoyed taking in the view from the couch.

Christmas morning, after Santa came to visit at our house, we packed up the car and made the trip to my hometown for the remainder of the Christmas holiday. The boys had so much fun playing with their cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandparents, and the adults all had fun opening gifts when the stars aligned and the boys all napped at the exact same time. Whew! A Christmas miracle for sure! One of my favorite gifts was this letter board, which is now hanging on a small gallery wall in my kitchen that I'm in the process of putting together. So fun, and I can't wait to display some of my favorite quotes and bible verses on it. After gifting was complete, we did a FaceTime with my grandparents and relatives who were in Florida, and little G even got in on the action talking to Great Grandpa K all about how his very first Christmas was going!

All in all, Christmas was so much fun this year, and we all had a wonderful holiday!

One short week later, we celebrated New Year's Eve, and rang in the new year with friends and family at the lake. 2016 brought soooo many blessings to our family, and we are so thankful to have been able to spend lots of time with friends and family both near and far. Cheers to a blessed 2017!