We had a wonderful Christmas! Dan, Emma, and Hallie got two weeks off for Christmas break, and I was able to take the week off between Christmas and New Year. Beginning in early December, we have several family traditions. Each night the girls read from a series of Advent Bible verses that tell the Christmas story, they open a small gift, and get a piece of chocolate. One of the girls' favorite newer traditions is finding Holly, our mischievous Elf on the Shelf, each December morning. Her location changes each night, and when Emma and Hallie awake in the morning, they read a message from Holly and discover what she was up to while they were sleeping. Below are a few of her antics this year.
She hid in different spots all over the house, including in the advent calendar.
She stole the Lego Duplo train and rode it around the Christmas tree
She even locked the poor Duplo people in jail while she hijacked their train!
She's sweet sometimes, too. She gave the girls cookie houses one morning. Although she did nibble on Dan's cookie for breakfast while she waited for them to wake up.
Emma showing off her lovely cookie house
Hallie incorporated every single piece of candy into her decor. Her house stood for about 10 minutes before she ate all the candy off it.
The morning after we attended The Nutcracker, Holly dressed in her ballerina outfit and reenacted a scene from the performance, complete with her own nutcracker doll and the mice from the story.
She got Santa in shape with a ropes course before his big day.
One night, she decided it was time to hang our stockings but couldn't find them ... so she hung our underwear on the mantle instead! Ha!
During December, we were also on a countdown until the day that my brother, Steve, his wife, Sheila, and their kids, Meera and Rowan, came to Virginia to visit us for 5 days!
Adults, left to right: Steve, Sheila, Dan, Debby, Kay, and Jim
Kids, left to right: Rowan, Emma, Hallie, and Meera
Since they arrived before Christmas, Holly the Elf was curious about our new visitors and decided to check them out one night while we were all sleeping!
That was creepy, Holly.
Before long, it was time for her to catch a ride back to the North Pole with Rudolph.
We spent our days with Steve's family eating, catching up, and playing games. Hallie took this picture of us playing "Five Crowns".
We decided to open most of our gifts the day before Christmas, since Christmas day was on a Sunday when we attended church. It was nice for the kids to have all day on Christmas Eve to open and play with several of their new toys.
Ripping open the gifts in record time!
Hallie was so excited about this Little Live Pets Mama Guinea pig that had babies!
Emma got the walkie talkie robot that she was hoping for. She used it to sneak up on us and scare us all week long.
One of Steve and Sheila's big surprises for their kids was that they plan to take them to Disney World for the first time in June. They invited our family to join them there, too! Steve created a scavenger hunt with messages for the kids to find, and the girls are jumping up and down and shrieking in excitement after discovering that they'll go to Disney World together, while Rowan is confused about why everyone is screaming. Ha ha!
Our Christmas day church service at Colonial Baptist was extra special because Emma and Hallie got to sing in the kids' choir while Dan played bass with the worship team. After church, we ate lunch and opened a few more gifts.
The kids on Christmas morning, after opening their stockings and gifts from Papa and Nana
Aunt Sheila made these adorable chocolate peanut butter "gingerbread" boys and girls. They were delicious!
The kids loved bundling up and going outside to jump on the trampoline, despite the freezing temperatures. It was below 30 degrees most of the week and we were really hoping for a white Christmas, but we didn't get snow in our area.
The kids came up with creative ways to entertain themselves indoors, though. They're pretending to go on a train ride with their stuffed animals.
Emma got a disguise kit for Christmas, and she and Meera had us all in stitches one afternoon.
I have to admit - I wouldn't recognize them if I passed them on the street.
Dan and the girls played "Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza," a new card game that Emma received.
On the day that Steve, Sheila, Meera, and Rowan left, we knew that Emma and Hallie would be sad to see them go. We saved a special gift from their cousins, Naomi and Miriam, for them to open that day - an LOL doll "glamper" toy that they loved playing with!
We also got together with Dan's side of the family to celebrate Christmas. Dan's mom made a beautiful and delicious lunch.
The kids' table. Everyone had Christmas crackers that contained a paper crown and a small toy.
The adult table
The younger kids loved sorting out everyone's gifts into piles. They usually get a huge stack of gifts, while the adults (who ask for more expensive things) only get one or two presents.
Dan took the girls shopping to choose special gifts for Grandpa and Grandma. Grandpa got Peeps candy and Grandma got a new deer ornament from them.
At the end of December, we used our Kings Dominion annual passes one last time to visit Winter Fest with Dan's parents.
The lights and decorations were so beautiful!
They had converted the amusement park stores into craft and activity stations for families to enjoy. They even provided free crafts and coloring pages.
Hallie's Snoopy & Woodstock snow globe
Emma made a snow globe and a reindeer ornament
Grandma colored a wreath
There were quite a few shows and musical groups to enjoy, and we watched one show featuring the Peanuts characters.
We also got seats near the stage to watch a musical about Santa's elves, and at the end, it "snowed" foam bubbles on us!
There was a toy shop we could walk through.
And they had fun photo ops throughout the park.
At the end of the night, there was a parade with singing and dancing as well as lighted floats.
We're incredibly thankful for the gift of Jesus' birth, which we celebrate at Christmastime. We're grateful for the special time the Lord has allowed us to have with our extended family during the holidays, and that God has made a way for us all to be part of His family because of His Son!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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