Christmas EVE Eve. (Sunday)
…with my parents & sissy (with her family).
We had a cookie decorating party.
A nacho bar.
Grandpa Paul’s “specialty”, yes, courtesy of Reese’s Pieces Candy!!
My mom took up quilting as a hobby when we moved away,
I think she is doing a fabulous job!
This is our typical Sunday Game time;
Joe sleeps, Amber visits with us. *smile*
Blankets were a hit from Grandma & Grandpa.
Christmas Eve with Grandma Michele.
Very grateful that all our children (including Amber) chose to come with us to visit Grandma M!
We all squeezed into Grandma’s room while she opened gifts…
Fred instigated some ball playing time in the entertainment room…
Then we went to the dining area (which was empty)
and enjoyed some time by the fireplace
having hot cocoa & popcorn with Grandma M.
She was extra “huggy” to Andrew,
and bless his heart he accommodated her needs.
He is such a sweet boy.
We had a lovely visit,
Grandma enjoyed her gifts
and our crazy company.
We stopped for dinner on our way back home.
When we got home to our dark house,
we found a beautiful plate full of Molasses cookies!
~with this message attached…
… and my heart melted. Can I just say how very blessed we are to let young people into our lives. I continue to pray for God’s mercy & grace & love & peace to those we feel called to reach out to (and beyond, of course).
We then ended the evening with movie night courtesy of Amber.
Christmas Day!
So…just in case you think our lives go so smoothly and perfect (ba ha)….
Here are a few things you should know.
1) because we had dinner so late on Christmas Eve and our youngest had a milkshake and 2 cups of rootbeer, I got the benefit of staying up ridiculously late while the sugar high took its course. No worries though, I made good use of my time. Sweeping and mopping wood floors at 2 a.m.
2) after everyone slept in, I decided to be the good mom and make my ‘school day biscuits’ (a donut of sorts) for breakfast. It is doused in all kinds of sugary goodness… cept I, however, sprinkled them with CHILI powder instead of cinnamon. Our extra big kid Preston just shook his head at me, lol. Good thing there were mini boxes of cereal in their stockings!
3) we did not get ANY pictures of Christmas day. not one.
4) Nick has ended up with a fever for the day, and I took a 3 hr nap this evening.
Yet sitting here at the end of the day, I reflect back at the many gifts we received.
1) The greatest gift is Christ himself. What an amazing reality. That God loved us so much that He sent His son…not to condemn the world, but to save it! (John 3:16 is so amazing, but John 3:17 gets so overlooked).
2) This year we were acutely aware of the blessing of our children!
They ask for so little but give us so much.
We are not big on the gifts swap game at our house. A couple of gifts and a stocking full of fun. The joy comes in our love for each other. Our Christmas mornings go slow and graceful. We sit and watch one another as we open our simple gifts… one by one. We visit, play, laugh… enjoy each others company.
3) My neighbor (the other Sherry) gave me a stocking packed full of gifts. It was a bit awkward getting so much, but her heart is so beautiful!
4) Preston gave us smoked salmon… Yumm!
ok… so I also have to add in that over the week end, our other extra big kid (Justin) served our whole family with a Rib dinner. I think I like this whole mentoring young men thing. *cheesy grin*
5) Jenna (Fred’s youngest sister) came for a visit. We do not get to see her as much as we’d like. We really haven’t got the opportunity to reconnect with her since we’ve moved back, not like we would love to anyway. She is working full time and going to school, so we understand that she is busy, but we love to visit with her. We played Scrabble and Dix it (a new gift), swapped gifts, and enjoyed some snacks.
6) I truly loved that we had a laid-back, family-time kind of day. With a season that can tear us every which direction, I am grateful to have a calm day full of love and peace.
Merry Christmas to you all.
May God Glory shine in your lives.
May His love dwell in your hearts.
May His peace settle in your thoughts.
May His grace and goodness bless you throughout the New Year!!!
Traveling the Narrow Road 
We refer to “Christmas Eve Eve” as “Christmas Adam” in our house, because Adam came before Eve.