We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

We Wish you a Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year!

 The last two weeks have been a whirlwind!  Among the celebration and chaos,  we have loved all the family time we've had and are saddened to see our time end when we return to work on Thursday! 

In preparation for so many family gatherings and staying different places, the kids decided to "help" me with laundry one day.  Doesn't it look successful?  (It certainly took longer than normal!)

We were blessed to have family time with my side over the weekend of Dec. 14 - 16.  It was short and sweet, but we all loved staying at my mom and dad's and having non-stop, quality time together!  John and Emma loved the time with their aunts and uncles and were saddened to see it end! 

Uncle Mike makes a great jungle gym and airplane!! 

 A conversation had started a couple of months ago about making chocolate chip cookies when my brother asked my mom for her recipe.  She replied that the one she used was just on the back of the package of chocolate chips.  So, Steve and Katie followed the recipe, but the cookies turned out nothing like my mom's.  After another conversation, she said that she used that recipe, but changed her baking temperature, added in extra flour and changed some of the shortening.  Thus, the chocolate chip cookie bake-off was born to try and find the best recipe! 
For having one kind of cookie, the bowls certainly looked different prior to baking!  While we found that all tasted delicious, some were sweeter than others and some ingredients made the edges crispy while having the inner portion gooey.  It all came down to personal preference, but we all agreed that any of them could be brought to a family gathering and no one would turn them away!  Overall though, Steve and Katie won the contest with their adapted New York Times bake-off winning recipe!  They were as shocked as the rest of us, as they aren't normally bakers! 

 

Aunt Jeanna knew what a favorite Mickey was, so in trying to keep them calm and patient prior to opening presents, she found Fantasia for the kids to watch for a few minutes!  They loved it!

Present time!  The kids were so blessed with all they received and so excited about their new puzzles, stories, games, and imaginative play toys.  There was so much fun to be had!  

 John had his preschool party on Dec. 20 and parents were invited to attend to see their little Christmas program and enjoy a treat with the kids.   They were so cute!!  Earlier in the week, John had started to come down with a cold and actually had a fever too, but was luckily feeling some better to be at school that day.  However, his performance was not his normal, energetic self, as he still wasn't feeling great, but it was still fun to see what he had been working so hard on!

"Jingle Bells"

"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands"

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas"

On Dec. 21, Matt and Beth were married!  It was a great celebration of the two of them!  Sadly, both of the kids were sick and unable to make it, but that made them that much more excited for Christmas so they could wear their wedding clothes!

On Monday, Dec. 24 we headed up north for Christmas!  We were supposed to go on Sunday, but the kids were still sick and we didn't want to put them (or us) through the 4+ hour drive!  On Monday afternoon, we were greeted with snow-covered trees as we arrived.  With the sun shining on them, it was breathtaking!  We were all ready for some relaxation after some busy days and short nights!

Trying to get a family picture on Christmas Eve....

This is as good as it gets for the kiddos too!  They were too excited to sit for a picture, so I just tried to take some action shots!

Uh-oh, Emma! Don't take Nana's pine cones!

Emma had to greet Daisy too!

A sneak-peek at Santa! 

On Christmas morning, the kids did a fantastic job of sleeping in until 6:30 and then gently waking those around them!  They were also super patient while others got up, so by the time they were able to come downstairs, John could hardly contain his excitement!  

Christmas morning...

Santa had left some great presents that have brought hours of fun since!

Emma was so serious while reading her Minnie book!

They loved playing with their gifts right away!

SO tired after trying out what Santa brought!

John loved the snowmobile helmet!

Our time up north consisted of a lot of relaxation, play time with the kids and....making cut-out sugar cookies!  Growing up, we always knew it was Christmas time when we'd spend time together making cookies.  Through the years, we've limited the amount and kinds we make to now only making the favorites, as none of us choose to eat that many, but I knew we had to still make the cut-outs!  We hadn't had time prior to going up north, so we brought them along!  The kids loved making and decorating them and did a great job marking the cookies with their individual thumb prints and LOTS of sugar at times! 

Serious decorating...

Notice the stream of sugar going onto that cookie!

The first batch is out!  Yum!

Emma said, "All done!"  (and meant it!)

Then it was time for Uncle Tim to get in on the fun!

All I wanted was a kiss!!

Crazy hair after nap!

John wasn't sure he wanted to go on the snowmobile, but said he would go for a slow ride if we all did, so we took a little tour around the driveway!  Emma loved it so much she didn't want to get off, and actually threw a tantrum when we made her!  She is certainly going to be our little daredevil!  After the slow ride, John loved it too and said he'd definitely go for another ride, as long as it was slow.  I can't wait to see when that thought changes and he can't go fast enough!

We arrived home from up north last Friday and because of the chaos and busy schedules prior to Christmas, we chose to have our gift opening with the kids after we came home.  On Saturday morning, they had a relaxed time opening their few gifts and playing with them.  They seemed to enjoy the quiet time with us and loved staying in their jammies until afternoon!

John loved getting Madagascar 3 and instantly started doing a dance and singing "I like to move it, move it!"

On Sunday afternoon, we finally decorated our gingerbread house!  It had been patiently waiting to be decorated, but between the kids being sick and then having the holidays hit, we just didn't have time to enjoy doing it, so I put it off!  I didn't want it to be rushed or have the kids feel like it wasn't a fun and relaxing time!  It was so cute when they finished and John was so proud of his red windows!

Our return to work on Thursday is sadly right around the corner.  We have enjoyed our time at home with the kids and have loved every moment celebrating with our loved ones!  We hope each of you had a blessed Christmas and New Year's as well!  We are excited to see what 2013 has in store for us!