Christmas Festivities

Our family has been celebrating Christmas for a few days since we have a lot of family to visit and we want to spend time with everyone.

We started out our Christmas festivities at my mom's house. Michael loved spending time with his cousin Kennedy and playing with their new toys! Michael also enjoyed a new train table that my mom got to keep at her house. He was in Heaven!

We watched the classic Rudolph movie the night we were there. They loved it!

We started out Christmas morning at our house. Michael slept until around 9:00 - I know...so blessed - and then he opened gifts from Mommy and Daddy. We got him a Lego table, some matchbox cars, and a Mickey plate set! I love watching the joyful expressions on his face as he opens each gift!

I have to say that this Christmas was extra special with Michael. He is at a perfect age to enjoy spending time with people and of course opening presents! He also learned the story of Jesus' birth this year. His Grandma and Grandpa (my in-laws) gave him a Little People Nativity set and it's been so sweet to watch him call the people by name and play with Baby Jesus.

Since Michael learned the meaning of Christmas this year, we started a new tradition! We made a birthday cake for Jesus and sang to Him! Michael loves birthday parties, so he was all about singing to Jesus. He wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" all day!

Yesterday - Christmas Day - was the first white Christmas in Georgia in over 100 years (I'm relying on weatherman stats, so don't hold me accountable for that). It was so fun to have snow on the ground on Christmas day! Michael and Sam watched the snow build up in our yard all morning. By the time the afternoon rolled around, we officially were covered in WHITE!

Christmas afternoon we celebrated with my Dad. We met at my brother's house, so we got to see my niece Kennedy again. It's so funny when the two of them are together because she always wants Michael to join her in playing Princess or Fashion Show! They enjoyed Kennedy's new Christmas presents until Michael got to open some gifts of his own. He got his very own tent! He was so excited that he wanted to go ahead and sleep in it... the sign of many campouts to come...

Christmas night was spent at my in-laws house! We enjoyed our traditional Christmas dinner - complete with Swedish Meatballs - but right as we were finished eating and getting ready to play a couple of games, the power went out! We lit some candles, but I didn't take a single picture! The power came back on in the middle of gift-time, but I still didn't take any pictures that night... I made up for it today (those pictures coming soon...)

We are enjoying time at Sam's family's house over the next couple of days with his brother and sister-in-law visiting from California and his Grandpa visiting from Des Moines. His sister and brother-in-law live 5 hours away, so it's obviously a rare occasion that we are all together!

Time with family is good. Thank you Lord!

And thank you, Lord, for sending Jesus to us as a baby boy...the greatest Christmas present ever!

"For God so loved the world....."