CHRISTMAS

Wow! Finally getting to Christmas Day in the middle of January?? Today I finally have my first (mostly) free day in a while so its time to catch up and get on track!

Christmas day was a relaxing day of special moments with the fam. It began with my favorite part--the stockings! I don't think I can't even explain how nice it is to get those little necessities like a toothbrush and knee-socks. They make me happy.

Henry had never had a stocking before! It was pretty cool to share these little traditions with him.

For the kiddos this year, all the aunts/uncles decided we'd collaborate to give them each a stocking instead of individual gifts. It worked really well and they were happy with their little slinkies, hair clips, and falling spidermen from Brazil.

This was my 24th Christmas in this living room and probably the last as we will most likely be moving this year. Lots of great memories here!

Clara got a really special gift from Grandma this year! Her cross-stitch is finished! Grandma makes one of these for each of the grandchildren--she's a little behind right now because the grandkids are coming at a rapid pace, but maybe its better because Clara can really appreciate her gift more now than she would've 2 years ago.

After opening gifts, the kiddos and I donned our aprons and decorated our gingerbread cookies and constructed a great gingerbread train that Aunty Debbie brought.

The frosting was a hit with Tobin especially. I don't know if he got more on his cookie or on his face!

yum!

What a spread of goodies we had to enjoy through the day too! To name a few: Little Smokies, guac/salsa, every kind of cookie imaginable, apple cider, fruit and marshmallow dip, some yummy different cheeses to try, mmmm...since we ate our big meal the night before we were content to just hang around the table and snack all day long.

I've probably mentioned it before, but one of the blessings of the year was the addition of three new grandkids. Here are a couple of doting grandparents:

And Sweet Adam getting some snuggles in with Grandma:

Oh! We also spent much of the evening working on this puzzle that mom gave me. It's been so long since we have pulled out a puzzle so we enjoyed the challenge--mostly--the only problem was that this puzzle had an impossible border so we had to go the non-traditional route of going from the inside out.