We celebrated Christmas at our house on the morning of December 24, and for the first time (and surely not the last), our kids woke us up early. I guess they’ve caught on to the excitement.
We read the Christmas account from Luke 2 and talked with them about the shoeboxes we sent to Operation Christmas Child. Then we opened stockings and gifts, and then ate french toast casserole, smoky links, and OJ for breakfast. It was a good morning celebrating Jesus’ birthday!
We were also blessed to spend a couple of days up north at my parents’ house to celebrate Christmas with my whole family. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, and we enjoyed visiting with my parents and siblings.
It gets pretty crazy at times with all five kids running around, so one outlet for energy this year was sledding. It was fun, and it helped tire out the kids a little bit. Here are some pictures from that…




And I made Jesus a birthday cake:

We also spent a couple of hours at my aunt and uncle’s house on Christmas evening. In the picture below, from left to right: my cousin Jordan, my cousin Ryan (9 months older than me), my uncle Paul, my aunt Bonnie, my cousin-in-law Jenny (Brandon’s wife), and my cousin Brandon. It was especially nice to see Brandon and Jenny, since they’re stationed in Texas with the Air Force, and I rarely see them. In fact, they’ve been married for 1-1/2 years, and this was the first time I’ve met Jenny. She’s a very sweet girl.

Random other pictures from our visit:




Notice it takes multiple shots with these kids, and I didn’t even get a good one!
We’re looking forward to spending New Year’s with my sister and her family at our house, and then celebrating Christmas again with the Rumley side this coming weekend.
Happy Monday, everyone!