Monday while Terrell worked the boys and I packed up and planned for our "holiday away". We made it to Terrell's parents' house Monday evening just in time for his mom's traditional Christmas dinner of lasagna. Such a treat! Afterwards the kids had some play time, got in their pj's, and got ready for bed.
Matching cousins!
Bedtime Monday night was sort of crazy. Or a lot crazy. The boys had a VERY hard time settling down and just when we thought they might finally be asleep we discovered they'd just been quietly destroying their room. Gracious. It was very obvious that Austin was the culprit and had been doing all or most of the "destroying", although we aren't sure whether Garrison was totally innocent or not. Guess we'll never know. Anyway, we started the bedtime process all over again at the late hour of 9:30 and this time with daddy in the room. They were asleep by 10:00 I think. Thankfully we suffered no major meltdowns due to their super late bedtime. Thank you Jesus.
Christmas Eve morning Terrell's parents hosted their annual family and friend breakfast and everything was delish. The cousins posed for another picture and had a really fun morning at Nana and Pops' house.
All 5 of us. =)
Kara's fam
And the whole fam!
After our morning with the Selph's we headed over to my parents' house. Both of my boys took afternoon naps and mama and daddy got to rest too. Yay!
Christmas Eve afternoon we woke up from naps, gave the boys a bath, and got ready to go to my sister's house for dinner. It was so exciting to experience something new with her and her husband at their new home. They hosted for our family and Frankie's family and served a delicious dinner of chili, hot dogs, baked potatoes, and appetizers. (A Christmas Eve menu my parents made a tradition years ago.) They also had at least 5 different desserts. Everything was SO good and we loved sharing such a special evening with them.
And my boys got Christmas pj's from AnAn again this year. They loved them and will be rocking them all winter long.
After leaving AnAn and Frankie's house we went back to Granna and Papa's to sprinkle reindeer food and go to bed. Bedtime went surprisingly well and they made it almost all night without waking up.
Santa made his delivery late on the 24th... and A Christmas Story was playing. Such a good movie and such a fun tradition. (Although mama was exhausted. I'm thinking being pregnant just wore me out fast and hard this year. Maybe I'll have more energy next year.)
Garrison's big gift was a wheelbarrow and outside tools (a rake, shovel, hoe, etc). Austin's big gift was a new riding toy/car for outside. Their big gifts together was an easel and a lego table.
I woke the boys up at 7:00 and Christmas morning fun began! This year they were excited but mellow. They took everything in and took their time checking out each and every toy. (I have to say that days later they are enjoying all of their gifts. Success!!)
This is a pic of Santa's Village... the toy Garrison told Santa about and cut out a picture of at school that I had no idea even existed. We worked hard to make sure he'd get it but knew he might not be super impressed... and he wasn't. Bummer. He is however super excited to pull it out every year at Christmas time and thought that in itself made it a pretty special gift. We also avoided any potential Christmas morning disappointment by making sure it was there. I'd say the $15 was worth it. =)
Christmas morning was super fun and laid back and as always my parents made everything special and wonderful. Even Layton got lots of new things! I am seriously taking notes for when my boys are grown. =)
Christmas morning joy!
After a big, delicious breakfast we all rushed to clean up the mess and get ready for lunch at my Nanny's house. My Nanny (my dad's mom) has been hosting Christmas lunch at her house for as long as I can remember. The kiddos loved having another gathering/party to go to and were thrilled with a few more presents to open.
We left Nanny's in time to get back to my parents' house for a late afternoon nap. Both boys fell asleep for the 2nd day in a row... and so did mama. I'm telling you I was sleep walking come Christmas afternoon. Beyond exhausted. And we still had one more party to go!
God provided me with my second wind though and I was able to enjoy celebrating with my mom's side of the family Christmas night. This year was a first for my mom to host Christmas night but everything went great and we enjoyed another yummy spread. I only felt stressed near the end of the night but kept it in check and never had a mama meltdown.
My babies enjoyed riding outside at Granna and Papa's before it got dark. They had such a fun day and loved celebrating Jesus's birthday.
Christmas night after everyone had gone home and the boys were in bed me, Terrell, Anna, and Frankie all opened our stockings. The couples do them for each other and then my mom throws in some surprises. So fun! We also watched Christmas Vacation and laughed all night.
We had a GREAT Christmas with both of our families and are so thankful for God's tremendous blessings on us. Celebrating the greatest Gift ever given with those closest to us is the best present ever.
(Next year I must get family pictures on Christmas Day... and with Granna and Papa who do so much to make our Christmas so special!)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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