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.

Family Christmas Newsletter 2015

Merry Christmas from the Glass Family!

2015 has been a big year for our family. Most importantly, after 11 long years of schooling and training, George finished his Emergency Medicine Residency at UVa in June! We are so proud of him! In July, he began working as an Attending in the Emergency Department at both the Culpeper and UVa hospitals. Looks like we’ll be calling Charlottesville our home for years to come. While George plugged away at his Residency and work, the rest of us found ways to stay busy and have fun. Over the summer, our family enjoyed the sunny beaches of New Smyrna Beach, Florida; explored Lego Land, SeaWorld, and Disneyland in California; and spent three wonderful days with our extended Allred family in a cabin in Utah.

George is enjoying working as an Attending and is currently completing a Research fellowship here at UVa. In his spare time, he weight lifts, cooks, reads, and plays with the kids. He’d like to thank Student Loans for all they’ve done for him. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to repay them.

Heather is a stay-at-home mom that keeps busy cleaning, cooking, cleaning, organizing, shopping, cleaning, coordinating schedules, playing chauffer, cleaning, weightlifting, and playing with children. Oh, and cleaning. She’s the family CFO, errand runner, teacher, referee, janitor, taskmaster, homework and piano practice enforcer, snuggler, and bedtime story reader. In her spare time, she likes to work on projects like Halloween costumes or crafts found on Pinterest.

Lance, 10 years old, is in 4^th grade and enjoying it. His favorite things to do right now include reading, playing baseball, surfing YouTube, and handling his two snakes. He started piano lessons this year and while he doesn’t like to practice, he’s taken to it rather well. He finished the entire Harry Potter series on his own this past spring and is now obsessed with the “Warriors” series. He has informed us that he would like to be a scientist and herpetologist when he grows up and breed snakes.  

Jude, almost 6, started Kindergarten this past year and LOVES it. He continues to be as social as ever and is constantly surrounded by buddies. His reading is improving every day and he enjoys pointing out words he knows wherever we go. Jude also started piano this year and enjoys it. He recently acquired a snake of his own, bringing our family total up to 3! His crazy antics keep us on our toes and bring excitement to our house. Life is never dull with Jude around.

Cole, almost 4, continues to be obsessed with trains. He spends hours each day constructing tracks and creating scenarios for his trains and their conductors. He also enjoys coloring and building with Legos. Cole is still our quiet one: very observant but not too chatty. He’s content to play by himself, although is becoming more and more excited about friends. He is our snuggler and little lover—constantly giving us hugs and kisses and quick to volunteer an “I love you”.

Lily, 23 months, is our firecracker. She’s a tiny little thing full of grit and personality. She can keep up with her brothers in just about everything and does not take “no” for an answer. She is a climber and explorer, bigger than her britches, and our little chatterbox. She talks in sentences and can carry on full conversations with anyone willing to listen. She loves to sing and dance. Her favorite things right now include the show “Phineas and Ferb”, coloring, watching Mary Poppins, playing with her dollhouse, mothering Cole, and playing outside.

And, just to add some excitement to our lives, we will be welcoming baby #5 into our family in June of 2016!

For family updates throughout the year and entirely too many pictures of the kids,

 visit our family blog at:

http://theglassfamily3.blogspot.com

December: trains, snakes, and stuffed animals

Last year we received a special gift on the first day of December: Ze the Elf made his official debut as our Elf on a Shelf.

This year, Ze not only appeared on December 1st in our tree, but brought with him a very special gift: the Polar Express!!

Cole couldn't have been more excited and spent the majority of that day making the train go round and round the tracks at the base of the tree.

I have a suspicion we're going to have a hard time convincing Cole to put the train away once the Christmas season is over. 

In other news, our family continues to grow. Jude has been asking for a snake for some time, so when a family we knew was looking for a new home for their pet ball python before they moved, we jumped right on it.

Introducing Kaos!

(He looks a little dull here since he was in the middle of a shed.) 

George isn't a huge fan of snakes, but momentarily put aside his aversion to make sure Kaos felt comfortable and at home.

Jude was not amused.

If anyone visited Costco during the holiday season, you were sure to pass by this monstrosity:

No one could resist pulling it out and playing with it. Lily thought it was great and insisted on laying on it every time we went. 

It wouldn't be the Christmas season without some sugar cookies!

(please ignore the messy kitchen)

Most of the cookies were to go on plates of goodies to pass out to neighbors and friends, but each of the kids got a plate to themselves to decorate as they wished.

Lily thought it was great!

Cole mostly squirted blue icing out and licked it off, only to start again on the same cookie.

Jude had to make sure every little bit of cookie was covered before it was deemed worthy to eat.

Lance did a great job! His were quite the works of art.

For our Christmas gift from the Scholz, we were treated to a wonderful dinner at one of our favorite restaurants: Texas de Brazil. It's an all-you-can-eat Brazilian buffet where servers walk around with huge pieces of meat on stakes, cutting pieces off onto your plate. It is incredible!

Mom, Dad, and Allen came too!

After dinner, Aunt Jen took all the kids to Build-a-Bear where they each picked out a stuffed animal and accessories. They had a blast deciding on sounds, clothes, and names!

Cole watching his animal get filled:

Bryce was such a good cousin and helped Jude with every step.

Callie and Lance worked together to build Lance's stuffed animal.

Lily picked out "Apple Jack" from My Little Ponies.

Waiting...

All filled!

And what would Pikachu be without clothes? (Jude ended up naming him "John", I believe)

Lily, I think Apple Jack is almost as big as you are!

Naming his dog:

Allen helped keep the kids entertained with games.

Ready to go!

Thanks, Aunt Jen and Uncle Eric! The kids were thrilled with their gifts!

Jason made it home from BYU for the holidays! It's always fun to be with him and it's extra nice that he was willing to run some last-minute Christmas errands with me. It makes it so much more fun with Uncle Jason is there!

Christmas, here we come!