Christmas Snapshots

We had a really nice Christmas. On Christmas Eve we had invited our music minister and his wife to supper, but her MS acted up and they couldn't come. :( So we had our chicken and dumplin's alone (but in a really clean house!) then went to a simple service at our church, then came home for our birthday party for Jesus. (Rabbit chase: we celebrate our own family version of Passover in the spring. We sit on pillows and hide yeast for Daddy to find, among other things. Christmas Eve, Rebecca asked, "Aren't we going to sit on pillows?" and "Oh, is it time to hide that stuff for Daddy?" tee hee) As I sat and listened to Mike read from Luke 2, my view was so beautiful I had to take some pictures.

After we ate our birthday red velvet cake, we sang carols played by Jessica. I video taped "O Holy Night," but she got frustrated and quit before the end, so I'll try to share that with you another time.

I couldn't sleep that night. As usual! I am still too excited on Christmas Eve to sleep. I woke up every hour, looking at the clock and listening to make sure the girls were all asleep. They all 3 slept in Jessica's room, so they could all get up and jump on our bed at the same time in the morning. Which they did promptly at 5:30! And they were so happy with all their presents. One of my favorite moments was when Jessica's stocking started to ring. First she looked around on the couch to see if she was sitting on someone's cell phone, then a lightbulb lit up over her head and she dumped her stocking out lickety-split to find that phone. She was so surprised. I loved Mikayla's face when she opened her AG dress for Elizabeth, and I loved how she and her sisters acted so loving and happy for each other. Rebecca made me laugh because one of her most favorite presents was the toothbrush she got in her stocking. It spins and has stickers to personalize it!! She was so excited!! She also loved her "Barbie dream house" (which isn't, actually. It's not Mattel...it's "elf-made") and her make-up kit.

Mikayla wrapped her present to Rebecca, then put it in a gift bag, then put it in this HUGE box and wrapped it again! It was a play-doh cake factory.

Look what I got from Jessica:

So that's what we did. As soon as we could eat breakfast and pack the car, we headed to my mom's house, where she and my aunt and oldest brother and his wife and 3 of their kids were waiting impatiently to open more presents.

I was learning to use my new camera :) so these pictures are terrible, but my mom gave all the girls these beautiful music boxes. Inside each was a letter from her telling that the tartan plaid fabric under the glass was a piece of wool my dad brought from Scotland before they were married, and how much he would have loved them. It was precious.

This one is a little better (not much!) But I love her face.

These are all good faces!

And then there are a few silly faces...

(Look at my mom saying, "ooooh!" to my Aunt Sue's present.)

And then there are the bow heads...

After presents we ate a bountiful scrumptious lunch, then took naps watched "Despicable Me."

My brother Mark brought it because he said the3 girls in it remind him of my 3 girls--and he was right! It was funny.
There were a bunch of 80's movies on that afternoon, too. Nothing says Christmas quite like "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure"...sitting next to your mom's pig tree...
We went to church and saw lots of good friends the next day, and Mike and I did a little shopping, and that night we all played pick-up sticks. When we came back home on Monday, the girls immediately started playing play-doh (even Jessica! and me!) and Barbie and pet shop and American Girl.

As Laura said in one of her Little House books, it was a rich Christmas.