Christmas 2017~ Part 2

Christmas Part 2 began for us on Christmas Eve evening when we got ready to go to AnAn and Frankie's house for our annual Christmas Eve dinner. On Sunday afternoon we rested, I did a little baking, the boys all watched football, and I was able to sneak in the movie Christmas Vacation. It was pretty awesome. ☺

We arrived at AnAn's house around 5:00 and I managed a quick picture of the cousins before we ate. They were all super excited!

We always have chili and hotdogs and lots of yummy desserts each year before the grands get to open their Christmas pjs from Granna and Papa. It's always a fun night as the anticipation and excitement grows by the minute!

And once the pjs are open everyone runs to change so we're all ready for bed (and pictures!) as soon as possible! ☺

These pictures are some of my favorites from Christmas every single year. They're just always precious and funny!

#somuchjoy

Terrell had to leave a little early because of feeling bad but thankfully once we made it home, (after a hilarious adventure trying to get the boys who were barefoot carried to the car.... somehow I manged to have Garrison who is almost as big as I am and almost dropped him.... it was crazy and we laughed hard),  Terrell was waiting on us and feeling a little better. I changed into my new pjs and we all piled onto the couch just like last Christmas Eve and watched a 30 minute Christmas movie together. My favorite!! We decided on Ice Age Christmas (we had it recorded) and loved watching it together. My heart overflowed with joy and gratefulness!

Then we laid out our cookies, milk, and silver bell for Santa before heading upstairs to brush teeth and read The First Christmas Night. This book is my favorite for Christmas Eve! It's like Twas the Night Before Christmas except it's the story of the birth of Jesus. And the illustrations are beautiful! My mom gave it to us last year and we all love it. I'm excited to have it to read each year on Christmas Eve. 

After the boys finally went to sleep, Santa came and left lots of goodies! They all got a couple of things individually from Santa, a big gift together, and of course their stockings. And Terrell and I always give them a few gifts from us that are wrapped each year. 

Their big gift is a pool table, ping-pong table, hockey table, and foosball table in one. ☺

Everyone slept really good and woke up early Christmas morning! We heard the big boys well before 7:00. Haha! We told them they had to stay upstairs and play in their rooms while they waited for us to get ready. (We get ready Christmas morning before everyone gets up so we're ready to go to my parents' house once we finish our Christmas morning together.) They had to finish their beyblade battle before we could go downstairs. ☺

Traditional picture on the stairs!

And the moment they'd all been waiting for.... 

#lovetheirfaces

We had such a fun morning!!

And once all the presents, stockings, and goodies were opened and unwrapped, the boys couldn't wait to try out foosball! They are smitten!!

We cleaned and organized just a little at our house before heading over to Granna's and Papa's. And we prioritized a family picture first thing. ☺ I know I'm annoying with my picture requests but they'll thank me one day!

We had a delicious "finger food" breakfast and drank our Sunny D and hot chocolate straight from Christmas mugs. ☺

Then we got to enjoy the fun of gift giving and receiving! It's possibly the most special morning of the year!

We had so much fun and were spoiled big time!! The grands even got a surprise gift at the end of the morning that each of them LOVED. 

Layton's surprise was a motorcycle! This is one of his current obsessions so his Christmas was MADE! He was jumping up and down and sooo excited!!

Once the big boys got their new zero turn power wheels we all went outside to let them test everything out. It was such a fun morning! And actually cold! On Christmas!! It was the best. ☺

We had such a wonderful morning together. Definitely one of my favorites. Then we brought our gifts home and rested for just a little while before going to my Nanny's for lunch, then home again to rest, and then back to my parents for Christmas night dinner. Our day was FULL but so were our hearts. We were exhausted but so thankful for the gift of family and Jesus's birthday. 

I made these pictures of the grands Christmas night (who were all exhausted by the way... and Terrell started running a fever.... ☹) but they still found a way to soak up the last bit of fun they could manage.

Christmas 2017 was special, fun, and busy. We were both full of joy and full of exhaustion. It wasn't perfect, but it was close. ☺ So many gifts, each of them given from Heaven, from His abundance and goodness. God gave us Himself, God is with us, God stays with us. Rejoice, rejoice Emmanuel!

Merry Christmas once again! May your New Year be filled with blessings and the continuous Gift of Emmanuel.

Christmas 2017~ Part 1

Christmas 2017 is in the books and we are all so thankful for the fun and family time we enjoyed as we celebrated the birth of Jesus! It wasn't exactly as we planned as Terrell continued to fight flu symptoms all weekend, but he is on the mend and thankfully didn't have to miss out on too much. Despite the unexpected sickness our Christmas was special and treasured. We loved all of our celebrations. 

Part 1 kicked off for us on Christmas Eve Eve as it does every year. ☺This year my in-laws decided to host their Christmas Eve breakfast on the 23rd since Christmas Eve would be on a Sunday. It worked out perfect because everyone could attend and we had a huge and delicious waffle bar again this year. It was SO good!! And we loved all the company. It was the best kick off to our Christmas festivities. 

After breakfast and everyone left we let the kids play while Terrell napped and the rest of us talked and watched football. Then all 11 of us went out to the movies to see The Star. It was the perfect way to spend our afternoon and such a good movie!! It's definitely one I want to own and add to our Christmas collection. It's funny, sweet, and portrays the story of the birth of Jesus in the most kid-friendly, yet accurate way. We all loved it. 

Once we were home from the movies the grands changed into their new Christmas pjs from Nana while we got ready for our dinner. Everything was wonderful as always and we made sure to get plenty of pictures. ☺

A silly picture was requested and turned out hilarious. Haha!

Sweet stair step cousins who were all VERY excited. 

Before opening presents each year, Terrell's mom likes to read the Christmas story to the kids or do some kind of activity to remind them of the real reason for Christmas and this year she talked with them about the movie and what they learned from it and how we can live in a way that honors Jesus. It was sweet, special, and funny again this year. From the mouths of babes. ☺ 

Then the time came for presents. The kiddos had been asking when it was time all day. We let all the grands open their gifts first and they were so excited. It was definitely a big highlight for them! Their smiles and excitement were priceless!

Then the kids looked at/played with their new toys while the adults opened presents one at a time. ☺ It was a really fun night. We came home and got ready for bed and all crashed. Our day was extra special and extra full. 

We woke up on Sunday to Christmas Eve! We got ready for church and made pictures of the boys in front of the tree before leaving the house. My handsome babies just melted my heart. 

We attended the early service with Terrell's family and were able to hear our niece Allison sing while Pops played the piano. It was a really sweet service. Terrell had to leave right after we made pictures because of feeling bad but I'm glad we could all be at church together before Kara and her family traveled back home.

Merry Christmas Eve!!

The boys and I stayed for Sunday School and picked up lunch on our way home before settling in for the afternoon and our "Christmas breather". Part 1 was memory-filled and fun. His grace and His Gift were the center. So, so thankful.