December is my favorite month of the year because I get to celebrate the birth of my two favorite people - Dan and Jesus!
Dan kicks off the month with a December 1st birthday
We had a celebration at our house with my parents and Dan's parents the Sunday before his birthday. We ate BBQ and enjoyed fun games.
And of course, chocolate cake!
Emma's school chorus Christmas concert was awesome, and she got to sing in a trio during "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen."
Hallie did a beautiful job in her elementary Christmas concert, also
We joined Rob, Robin, Naomi, Miriam, and Nate for a day at Busch Gardens Christmas Town. Nate had to leave early, but the rest of us rode rides and watched shows for several hours. We rented a scooter for Dan to ride so he wouldn't have to walk several miles around the park, and it was fantastic! He was a little sore from the rollercoasters the next day, but not from walking too far.
Our Christmas Town Soldiers, waiting for the ladies to finish in the bathroom.
We had a blast, and we're obviously ready for Christmas!
We stayed the night at Dan's parents' house, and the following morning, I ran the Busch Gardens Christmas Town 5-mile race.
The Jesters joined us at Dan's parents' house to celebrate Dan's birthday at lunchtime.
We ended the fun-filled weekend by joining Tim, Dawn, and their boys at the Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center's Christmas caroling event. We had hot cocoa and cookies, sang carols, sat around a bonfire, and the kids went on a wagon ride.
Our niece, Miriam, performed in A Christmas Carol with the Williamsburg Players. It was a wonderful show!
Miriam was our favorite actress, of course! She's very talented.
The women at my workplace have a traditional Ladies' Holiday Lunch each December, and we enjoy our time together. Our big office Christmas party was cancelled this year because of the government shut down that lasted over a month, so it was nice to still have a smaller get-together.
Hallie joined the 4th grade girls at a Christmas cookie exchange party. Those kids really know how to pile mountains of toppings on their cookies!
Regent University hosted a Christmas Village, and Hallie and I had a great time there one afternoon.
There were farm animals to pet
And games with prizes! Chick-Fil-A was a sponsor, and we scored several free sandwich coupons. We also did a scavenger hunt to enter to win a free year of Chick-Fil-A, but we didn't win the grand prize.
Steve, Sheila, Meera, and Rowan drove to Virginia for Christmas week! We loved having them stay with us and getting to catch up over cute puzzles.
The girls built a Lego Christmas tree
They also created a cute Christmas elf with the leftover pieces
Steve helped Dan fix the toilet
Emma grew taller than Nana
Everyone bounced on the trampoline
The kids enjoyed playing Crash Team Racing on our Play Station
Hallie and Meera worked hard to create Harry Potter themed cupcakes one afternoon. The frosting on top was a trick - you had to bite into the cupcakes to see the secret frosting color that revealed your Hogwarts House.
GRYFFINDOR!
SLYTHERIN!
RAVENCLAW!
HUFFLEPUFF!
We taught Steve, Meera, and Rowan how to play Piggy Piggy. I was winning and these are the looks I got!
We went to Sweet Spot one night for dessert, and there was an aggressive Grinch there!
Hallie stuck with Dan so he could protect her ice cream from the Grinch.
I don't know how he did it, but Dan started a 4-day fast during Christmas break. He was starving while the rest of us were feasting! Some of his friends recommended that he try a longer fast as a natural healing technique. He had hurt his back on the last day of school, and he was also hoping for relief from his ALS symptoms. It didn't cure anything immediately, but we're praying that it helps!
He ended his fast in time for the Christmas Eve Chinese food dinner at his parents' house. Then his parents came to our house for dinner on Christmas day.
We had an excellent Christmas morning. The kids tore into their piles of gifts. The adults decided not to exchange gifts this year, but we still ended up with a few.
Emma received a cool Lego tiger
Meera shared her press-on nails with Hallie
Hallie and Meera were fascinated by Hallie's Little Live Pets turtle and babies set. The baby turtles actually hatched out of eggs once you placed them in water!
It was warm enough for the kids to eat a picnic Christmas dinner.
Meera, Rowan, and Hallie spent hours rehearsing a special music and dance show on the trampoline, and everyone sat outside to watch their performance.
Hallie, Meera, and Rowan really wanted to camp out on the trampoline on Christmas night, but it was a little too intimidating without an adult with them. They lasted 30 minutes or so before they came back inside and slept in real beds. Then Steve, Sheila, and their kids headed back home the day after Christmas. We had such a nice week with them!
The following Saturday, Dan and the girls went to his parents' house to open gifts with the Jester family. I had been feeling sick with a very sore throat for two days and didn't want to get anyone else sick, so I opted to stay home.
We can't neglect to mention one of Emma and Hallie's favorite Christmas traditions - their Elf on a Shelf, Holly.
Holly appeared in December in a snow-covered package delivered from the North Pole.
She and her pets got into trouble all month. They played Candy Crush - with actual candy and a hammer!
They shined the girls' shoes for them.
They wrote inappropriate Christmas quotes on our toilet paper. "Wash your hands, you filthy animal!" "He sees you when you're pooping." "Last Christmas I gave you my fart." Very classy.
They made "brown-E's" that tasted terrible.
They cut snowflakes out of our toilet paper. (Why are they always hanging around the toilet?)
Created an "Elfie" photo prop
Made "ginger bread" and "banana bread." Their baking skills could use some improvement!
Decorated thumbprint cookies in their own special way
(*gag*)
It looks a little *too* believable ...
They built a huge Mount Elferest out of cups
Made a shaving cream snowman family on our mirror
Played Kit Kat Jenga
Found treasure buried in the couch cushions
Built an Oreo shrinking machine
Made it rain tacos in the kitchen
Invited the Grinch over, and he did not flush the toilet. Eeeewwwww!
They even stole Emma, Hallie, Meera, and Rowan's underwear, tied them to the ceiling, sat in them, and wrote "We see London, We see France, We're flying in your underpants." That's just weird and gross, guys.
On Christmas Eve, they delivered Christmas-themed donuts and promised to return next year!
We fully enjoyed our Christmas season, and loved celebrating Christ's birth with our family and friends. Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
