Christmas Day

Christmas Day was crazy.  I foolishly thought Judson and Macy were too little to get really excited about it.  Boy, was I wrong.  They were shrieking as soon as they were together.  :)

I didn't get great pictures, but I'm just thankful I got some at all...

We went to the "quilting barn" for gifts, because there just wasn't enough room in the living room for everyone (Jake and Shayla were still there, too).  If I haven't mentioned it, the quilting barn is where the previous owner and all of her friends would get together to quilt.  There's nothing barn-like about it.  It's a crafter's dream.  :)  And it makes a pretty great play room, too!

Cooper was napping during stocking opening, so Judson was done with his and ready to "help" her by the time she woke up.

Just one of the piles of gifts

I had planned to get good belly shot of Anna , but forgot.  This is the best one I have for showing her profile.

Jesus' birthday cake - brownies with chocolate chips and crushed candy canes on top.

Ending the day with a movie because the parents were exhausted.  Macy has two of the same cozy blankie bears, both named "Bebe."  Judson has a white one, "White," and a brown one, "Brown."  At this point, Judson really only wants his to sleep with.  Macy carries hers everywhere and when they're together, she's constantly bringing Judson his.  They frequently split White and Brown up and each take a Bebe.  But only when they're awake.  Macy can't sleep without two Bebes.  :)

Christmas Eve

This is OLD news by now, but I still want to include it.  I know there are at least a few people who will appreciate it.  (Myself included, especially if I ever get around to having this made into a book.)

Anyway, we headed to Vancouver on Christmas Eve.  Judson was SO excited to see Papa's Christmas train.  (They have an enclosed area at their front door.   There are so many doors that no one uses the front door, so it was the perfect place to have the train take up a lot of room.  Plus we could close it off when we needed to.)  Judson loved it!  He would have eaten and slept out there if we'd have let him.

My dad had put up a lot of Christmas lights outside, so once it got dark, he and I took the kids out to look at them.  I was sad not to be in Bandon this year, and I missed our traditional trip to Shore Acres (see here and here).  However, being outside with Judson and Macy ooh-ing and aah-ing over the lights felt a tiny bit like being at Shore Acres.  At least I told myself it did.  :)

Right as we got outside, Macy stepped out of one of her shoes and was hysterical.  She was screaming like she'd lost a limb and nothing we said or did was calming her.  My dad offered to hold her hand; she kept screaming.  Then Judson said, "I'll hold your hand, Macy.  That will keep you calm," and she instantly stopped crying, grabbed his hand, and off they went.  So sweet.

We had our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve (a change for us, but I loved it.  No crazy dinner prep on Christmas Day!) and Anna's brother and his girlfriend joined us (third year in a row).  Then, I went to the eleven o'clock service with my parents and Christmas Eve was over...

Each grandchild has a car with his/her name on it.

 

When looking at them, it's hard to believe she's only nine months younger!

They found one that had burned out.

Just a little game of "Ring Around the Rosie" afterward.

It was FINALLY a clear day and Cooper was so excited to see the moon!

December festivities

Christmas came and went so quickly, but I'm pretty happy about what we were able to squeeze in.  Judson loved it all, and he definitely knew why Christmas is such a big deal to us. (A giant birthday party for Jesus?!  So exciting!)

Nate bought some Henry Weinhard's root beer and Judson instantly started calling it "kid beer."  It was awfully funny.

Advent Calendar, day 14.  A gingerbread train!

He was doing this (eating candy) every time I looked at him.

The finished product.

 

If only that darn binky wasn't in her mouth!

Loving the olives

I probably wouldn't have gotten around to these if Judson hadn't been so excited to help me decorate them.  He quickly became more interested in scarfing down the red hots and marshmallows.  :)

I guess she liked it. 

This is what I got when I tried to get them to sit together in front of the tree.  Now you can understand why I was so excited about the other Christmas tree pictures I posted. 

 

All dressed up for our church's Christmas service (which was at Corban University's chapel this year).

Goodbye, Christmas Tree...

We've had our tree up since Thanksgiving weekend and I'm not ready to take it down, but it's getting pretty dry, so it needs to go soon.  I took these pictures last night.  Though they aren't great, I was quite pleased with the amount of cooperation I got.  :)

The Carousel

Hi!  Sorry it's been awhile.  I have a lot of catching up to do, but am going to quickly post these pictures from tonight.  Cooper's had a cold for a few days so we decided to skip Bible study tonight.  During nap time, Phil and Bridgett asked us if we wanted to meet at Waterfront Park to ride the carousel and play at the park once the kids got up.  (Kristin has a cold, too.)  We had lots of fun and it was the first time I've been able to take pictures when we've ridden the carousel (because we had one more adult than kids).  It was such a mild evening that we were able to enjoy quite a bit of time at the playground.  Praise God for the last week of nice weather!  ("Nice" means non-rainy.  It was FREEZING for a few days, but that's so much easier to deal with than rain!)

Um, this was super exciting and adorable to me, as it is such a rare occurrence...

And then he took off and almost started dragging her and the moment was over.

Judson always insists on riding in one of the wagons.  I was glad he wanted Phil to ride with him, because it makes me SO dizzy to sit with him.

P.S. On the way home, I realized that Phil and Bridgett met Kristin a month ago today.  What a month it's been for them!