Christmas Day 2015

Christmas morning came too early for the adults, but to their credit, the kids were very patient after waking up.

George had worked the night shift in Culpeper, so I told the kids we had to wait for him to come home before we could go downstairs to open gifts.

Waiting...

And waiting...

George made it back in record time, before even the rest of the adults were ready to come down. 

More waiting...

The whole group!

Lance's reaction seeing the tree:

Stockings first!

Poor Daddy. So tired.

Blue candy canes?? Cole was in heaven!

This book may have been Cole's favorite gift. He's obsessed with trains and while this book is obviously head and tails above his reading and comprehension level, the pictures are great and he spent most of the day flipping through the whole book.

Skylanders! Jude's #1 wish of the year.

Horses!

This shirt is so, so true. George was made for Emergency Medicine. There are very few things that rile this guy.

Jason got a ukulele!

World's Largest Gummy Worm!! Jude has been begging for this for over a year and I guess Santa finally decided seeing this face was worth the $30 price-tag.

Possible mom-fail here. We had seen a few episodes of this TV show called Blackish during the summer and thought they were great, Lance being the biggest fan, so I got him the first season. After watching it through, I'm not sure it's totally appropriate for a kid his age. Oops. To my credit, the theme of the show is all about family and the importance of family relationships and the episodes we saw were clean. Probably won't be adding the second season to our family viewing list, but Lance sure was excited. (It is a hilarious show for adults, so feel free to check it out, but you may need to edit if watching with kids...we learned this the hard way.)

I got George several shirts for the gym and thought this one was hysterical.

Lance was in love with this bean bag chair he got. He dragged it all over the house and between houses the whole week of Christmas.

Amy MADE this for Corin out of perler beads! Yes, that huge wolf head is made completely out of tiny beads in a pattern Amy designed from a photo. Crazy!

And the biggest gift? The kids got a trampoline!! Santa had it delivered to Grandma's garage, ready for us to take home and set up.

I think they were a little excited.

Trying out the gummy worm:

All the kids thought it was great and Jude was kind enough to share with everyone.

After a fun-filled morning of gifts and family, we drove over to George's parent's house to join the rest of our family for Christmas dinner.

I still can't believe they fit more than 20 people around the table each year!

Lily feeling old at the big table.

Cole was still looking at his book.

This guy was a trooper. Pulling an all-nighter and not getting to nap is rough.

Love, love, love our family! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent with our family. That night the Scholz invited us over for dinner and fun. 

Lily was in love with all their Christmas decorations, most especially the table full of toys and plushes that sang and danced to Christmas songs.

We also got to meet Callie and Bryce's new puppy Comet! He's very, very sweet and such a nice boy. Half lab and half Weimaraner, he's gorgeous and seemed to love all the attention. 

Eric's sister Susie was there with Ashley, Trevor and their three cute kiddos. 

Having fun with DaddyG and Grandmom.

Lily insisted on being naked.

Cole didn't move from the chair the whole time "The Polar Express" was playing. This kid...

Love our family!

After dinner, we drove to my mom's house to join Grandma Brewer and the rest of my family for our annual Christmas Eve program.

Grandma holding her newest grandbaby Austin.

Jude and Mason are such good friends. There is never a dull (or quiet) moment when these two are together!

Grant and Lily have a love-hate relationship. They do enjoy each other, but take every opportunity to torment each other. I see these two becoming very good friends.

The whole group! George had to drive to work after dinner, so he missed it.

The program consists of reading the Nativity story in the Bible and singing the Christmas hymns.

Moms and kids performance:

Our pianist for the night:

Men's solo:

After the program, Stephen read "The Night Before Christmas" to all the kids. 

We've had this nativity as long as I can remember. Grandma Brewer sewed it for us one year when we were kids. I have the same set, but haven't quite finished the stable part yet. My kids love it as much as I did and will take it out and play with the pieces.

And it wouldn't be a proper Christmas Eve without opening one gift a piece!

Laura and Tyler had a special gift for everyone:

There is significance behind this beautiful knife.

My dad had designed a pocket knife he wanted to craft and build for his father, but wasn't able to finish it after he was diagnosed with leukemia. Tyler had the plans/designs that my dad drew up and somehow managed to find a craftsman to make us each a knife similar to the one my dad had designed.

It's the Tree of Life with other aspects from Lehi's dream, like the cloud of darkness and the iron rod. The blade is damascus steel to signify the sword of Laban. My dad assumed that since Nephi was able to look at the sword and determine the quality of steel, it had to be made of damascus because of the tell-tale design that sets damascus apart. 

It is a beautiful and meaningful gift and I love it. Thank you so much, Laura and Tyler, for giving us something we can cherish and that will remind us not only of Dad, but of the promise that we will see him again. I can't imagine a better representation of Christmas and why we celebrate.