Christmas Day!

I'm not sure how we got so lucky, but every Christmas morning, the kids actually sleep in. Seriously. They don't get up until 7:30 or 8 a.m. Maybe they're just tuckered from playing so hard and staying up late for several nights prior. Maybe they're trying to be considerate. Maybe it's a Christmas miracle. Whatever the reason, we were grateful for the extra sleep.

It's tradition in my family that we all have to line up on the stairs, youngest to oldest and wait until the whole family is ready before you can even peak at the tree. It was hard to keep these two little ones from running around the corner to look while the rest of the household freshened up.

I did take a quick peek, just to see if Santa had really come.

Yep! Santa definitely made a stop.

Still waiting...

Group shot!

The boys hustled down the stairs and immediately started grabbing gifts. Since neither of them can read, this was a dangerous game, so we put Grandma in charge of passing out the gifts and handed the boys their stockings to explore.

Lob Star! Yes!

Another train for Cole!

Jude had been asking for the "World's largest gummy bear" and the "World's largest gummy snake". Unfortunately for him, the bear weighed 7 lbs and was $30 and the snake weighed 30 lbs and was over $100 (for candy?), so Santa found the next best thing:

It's made by the same company, but it's a smaller version of the snake. (Two months later, he's still only eaten a few bites.)

Lily loves soft things, so we got her this cute little lion. The lion sound was the first one she learned and when she opened the gifts, she immediately recognized what it was and gave her soft little "raaawr".

This boy loves trains.

Yep, LOVES.

TMNT Lego figurines:

Laura and Tyler's family had their own little Christmas morning and the joined us about half-way through our's.

George got me an Emergency Medicine jacket! The department gave them to the residents for Christmas, so George bought one in my size. I love it!

Finally! This boy has been waiting for 6 months to get this game. Skylanders Trap Team!

And the best gift? We got to talk to Jason by skype! It was so good to hear his voice and see him. So glad he'll be home in early May. It's just not the same without this kid.

Still chatting. 

After we got off Skype, the kids and I joined George at his parent's house for the annual Christmas dinner.

The kids lasted about 10 minutes at the table before they wanted to try out all the fun games everyone got for Christmas. George set up the game system and everyone had a ball!

They're playing a game called "Scribblenauts".  Look it up, it's a great game!

Jude starting out his Skylanders game:

All the ladies:

A great way to end Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Our kids have never known a "quiet Christmas at home". Every year it's the same crazy, wonderful dance between extended family homes, sharing as much time with as many people as possible. It's tiring but totally worth it.

This year was no different. Christmas Eve found us bouncing around--pick up the kids from Grandma and Grandpa's house, spend some time at Grandmom and Pop Pop's house, fit in a very last-minute shopping trip, and then it was off to the Scholz's house for a Christmas Eve dinner with all of George's family plus Eric's. 

Good food, good company. Doesn't get better than that.

Lily found Callie and Bryce's huge collection of musical Christmas toys and had a ball trying to push all the buttons to make them sing and dance.

Everyone was excited to open their gift from Jen and Eric's family. They are always so generous and know exactly what the kids will love.

Thomas!

Skylanders blocks! Woot!

We missed you, Lance! He was spending Christmas in Charlottesville with his Dad and Abbey.

We cut out early from dinner so we could drive BACK to Grandma and Grandpa's house to do our Christmas program. My family has done this as long as I can remember--we read the Christmas story from the Bible, sing carols, and have a small devotional. It's a great tradition that helps us all take a break from Santa and remember why we celebrate Christmas.

Stephen's friend Corrine spent Christmas with us!

And, of course, after the Christmas program, Stephen read "The Night Before Christmas" to all the kiddos. 

We finally got the kids in bed and then it was time for the adults to get to work. George and I actually made it to bed around 2 a.m., a record, I think!

Allred Christmas Dinner and a late-night date

December 22nd we made our way up to Northern Virginia to spend the holidays with our family. Since Laura and I both have other family in the same town, this year my mom decided to have our family Christmas dinner on the 23rd so everyone could make it.

Putting the final touches on the tree:

We had our traditional Christmas dinner of cornish game hens, rolls, green bean casserole, and apple cider.

These boys sure had a good time playing!

I have a basket of Christmas books I pull out every year that the kids enjoy reading and looking through. With Cole's train obsession, I figured he would love reading The Polar Express. Love is an understatement. This boy ADORES it. We read it multiple times every day and even now (after Christmas) I decided to leave it out when I packed up our Christmas decorations since it is a book he still wants to read at night.

I'll start reading and as I go along, I'll hear this quiet little voice echoing the words to the story. He has the book almost memorized.

Love my sweet Cole.

George and I left the kids with my mom and drove back down to Charlottesville that night to be Santa's helpers.

We stayed up until 5:30 a.m.! Thank goodness for Netflix and 30 Rock. Seriously, that show is hysterical. It was a fun date! The only thing that would have made it better was if we were able to sleep longer than 8 a.m. before having to travel back to Ashburn to get the kiddos. Mom, Glenn, Stephen, Amy, Laura and Tyler all went to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolored Dreamcoat at the Kennedy Center. So cool.