Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Wild, Wild Westrates!

It was a week of Christmas fun for our family.  We kicked off the fun on Monday, Christmas Eve, with a day of relaxing and final preparations.  That night, we went to a Christmas Eve service at our church, during which the kids got to listen to a fun story.

 Afterward, we went to see the light show up the street from our house, again.  This is a big draw for our kids all of December, so it's a frequent stop for us.

 After the light show, our friends joined us back at our house, where the kids were eager to exchange gifts.  The girls gave the boys some fun putty and wrote a book about them, which they giggled in anticipation over as Travis read it.

 Then the girls opened up their gift, a star projector and a book written by the boys about them!  It was all unplanned and neither party knew the other was writing a book, so it made it all the more fun.

 Finally our kids got to open their Christmas Eve gift - a box with new pajamas a a movie.

 After the kids were finally tucked in bed, fast asleep, and we had said farewell to our friends, it was time for Santa to come!

 Cookies and milk were left out and in the morning there was excitement as the empty plate and glass were discovered.

 Not long after 6, the girls were all awake and sneaking around the tree to check out all of the gifts.

 When little brother and Daddy got up, they were so excited to get into the treasures under the tree, they could hardly stand it.

 Stockings came first...

 Then it was time to unwrap gifts!

 After all of the gifts under the tree were opened, there was one more task... each of the kids got to follow clues to find a final gift.

There were a lot of smiles when the dust settled.  Though the living room floor was covered in wrapping paper, boxes, books, toys and more, it was a happy, contented feeling that covered the room.  The final count had Ezri receiving favorites including Encyclopedia Brown and Boxcar Children books, a bug vacuum and weather station, a monogrammed hot cocoa mug and a new hat/scarf/glove set.  Alora's favorites included Magic Tree House books, a new hat/scarf/glove set, a monogrammed hot cocoa mug and a "Jesus Blanket" which was the request for Santa each of the three time she saw him.  Tierney's favorites included a new hat/scarf/glove set, a monogrammed hot cocoa mug, an ice cream playdoh set, Lumpy book and homemade coloring book, a giant craft box and a Curious George story book.  Elam's favorites were a drum set, a monogrammed hot cocoa mug, a big box of lego blocks, puzzles and a bath toy. 

While the kids happily explored all of their new gifts, Daddy and I set to the task of decoding the controls for my new Instant Pot to cook our ham for lunch.  It was a success! 

Later in the afternoon, we loaded up into the truck and headed to Uncle Mike and Aunt Kerri's house for Christmas with them, Grandpa and Grandma.  We visited with Uncle Kevin and his family for a short bit as the kids took turns opening their gifts from cousins.  Then we ate and dug into the pile under the tree.

The girls opened boxes with new boots, books, slippers, craft supplies, a play cleaning for Tierney and more.  Elam got a fire truck, tractor flash light and some clothes and other goodies.  All of the grandkids also got a Talking Tom Cat plush, so there was a lot of chatter happening, to the sarcastic delight of parents in the room. A little quiet down time was in order as the night grew later, so the kids got into their pajamas and settled down for some story time with Grandma before it was time to head home for the night.

 Wednesday, after a morning of working, we packed up again and headed to Opa and Oma's to see them, Aunt Becky and Uncle Michael.  We enjoyed visiting, some food and more gift opening.

There were some hits in the gift department there too!  Suspenders for Ezri, a play coffee set for Tierney, a coloring book for Alora, a Thomas book for Elam, and new clothes for them all topped the list of many wonderful gifts they received there as well.

Thursday and Friday were spent digging out of the piles of gifts that had accumulated, and playing with all of the new things.  We also talked about how exciting it would be to use two of our gifts all year long - memberships to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum and Grand Rapids Public Museum.  We are all very excited for those!

The kids enjoyed hours of crafting, creating, reading, and more thanks to their Christmas hauls.  Saturday, after a bit more of the same, we got a visit from Uncle Michael for a few hours, and we enjoyed hanging out with him as we rarely get to see him.  The kids all shared in some fun with him, but Alora seemed to be the most attached.

Sunday, it was off to church.  Elam drew loads of attention with his dapper looks as he consented to wearing his hat he usually rejects.   

After church, we went back home for a pre-New Years Eve day of hanging out with friends.  A portion of it was spent trekking to Grand Rapids in search of a new air compressor for Daddy's shop, which he proudly procured and drug back home.  Gearing up for round two of the holiday celebrations with New Years Eve on the horizon!