Christmas 2014

We have a huge extended family.  As long as I can remember, we've always gotten together with all of them for pretty much every occasion.  A simple birthday party, can mean that there might be close to 30 family members there.  We decided last year that it was time for our little family to have Christmas Eve on our own.  So this was our second year to spend it at home.  As much as I miss spending it with everyone else... it was time.  Christmas can become so busy and overwhelming.  This year, we spent the day finishing up the last of the wrapping.  The kids watched a Christmas movie and we played a board game.  We had a simple ham dinner, sat around and just spent time being a family. 

A few years ago, my sister Lindy, gave me one of our Great Grandma's china sets.  So for the last 2 Christmas's, we pull out our fancy plates, drink out of our wine glasses and pretend we're fancy.  Ha!  The kids love it, and I love that I can put the beautiful plates to use. 

After we ate, we got cleaned up and went into Church for our evening service.  I think my family took up a good 5 rows.  The kids are slowly starting to out number the adults and I'm pretty sure, we look like a hot mess!  Ha! 

Saturday morning, the kids woke us up by 6:30 and we went out to see what Santa had left for us.  I think Santa gets an A+ and is going to take it easy the rest of the week.  It's so strange having the kids grow up and outgrow toys.  :(  I kind of miss the days of match box cars, barbies, and such.  This year Gracie wanted a bigger bed, Emma wanted a desk with a computer chair, and Jesse wanted a Seahawks bean bag, and a couple of nerf gun accessories.  It was simple, but perfect. 

After we were done opening presents, we headed over to Lindy's house where we have our annual breakfast.  Now this breakfast, is one that we wait all year long for.  Seriously, it's a BIG deal.  As a kid, my Dad always made this breakfast for the first day of school and for Christmas morning.  Now that I don't go to school... I only get it on Christmas morning.  Once a year is NOT enough. 

This is it! Dad's waffles, with this hot, homemade brown sugar syrup, with huckleberry's.  We wait all year for this!  We eat, until we can't eat another bite.  And today, I'm wishing I would have found room for just a couple more bites.  Because the count down is on, until I get to have it again!  :(

Mom and her coffee.  It can be 100 degrees outside and she's still drinking her hot coffee.  

Since we had all of my immediate family at breakfast, we all ran out and snapped a quick picture.

The original 6.

I am a middle child, along with Lindy.  She's the one next to my Mom.  Jared is the oldest, and then Leslie is the baby.  It's crazy to think that we went from this, to...

This...

 I love them all so much, and feel so blessed to be apart of this big, crazy, happy family!

After breakfast we came home, relaxed a bit, and got the house picked up and ready for everyone to come back over and hang out.  After cooking for Christmas eve and having a big Christmas morning breakfast, we keep it simple for dinner.  Everybody brings different finger foods, and we put out ham from the night before.  It's perfect!

My sister Leslie had a new game for us to play.  It was like charades.  It's on her phone, and we each took turns holding it up to our forehead and we'd have to guess at all the clues that people gave us.  You tip the phone one way to pass and another way if you got it correct.  Definitely a lot of laughs, during this game. Ha!

And while we were playing our game, the kids were all over the house doing their thing.  Looks like we had some karaoke in one room.  Haha!  

Christmas 2014 was a success!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and are taking it easy today.