Merry Christmas!
The days leading up to Christmas were exciting for us. The Sunday before, the kids got to put on their new dress clothes and looked super adorable for church.
After church that Sunday, we headed off to Grandpa and Grandma's new house for Christmas there with them, Uncle Mike, Aunt Kerri, Aubrey and Wesley. It was a wonderful afternoon off too much food, laughter and relaxation with family.
The kids got some fun gifts they were excited about and we all went home happy.
Elam was a tired boy on the way home, snuggled up with his new baby doll and his old baby doll so sweet in his seat!
With Christmas so near, We spent last Monday finishing up the Christmas goodies and then handing them out to our neighbors.
Monday night, we joined our friends the Sebrights for a trip to the Critter Barn for the Live Nativity. It was chilly, but not unpleasantly cold as we checked out the animals, listened to the story of Jesus' birth and observed the presentation, and then checked out some more animals.
On Christmas Eve, we took the kids to the Grand Rapids Public Museum, where we were joined by Kathy and the boys for a morning of exploration and fun!
We had some extra fun hunting for hidden elves and finding Santa statues from all around the world.
The Design Zone was the favorite spot for this visit. The kids had a blast making music, creating laser light shows and more!
We also had fun in the Toys exhibit.
We wrapped up the visit with a ride on the carousel!
That afternoon, the kids opened their Christmas Eve gift.
New pajamas and the long awaited new Thomas movie
That night, we went to the Christmas Eve service at church
and then returned home to spend the night hanging out with friends. The kids donned their new matching pajamas.
Then we had some fun with friends, exchanging gifts!
After all of the friend fun was done and everyone was fast asleep,
Santa came and filled the space under our tree with all sorts of packages!
Christmas morning, as was planned out by the girls days prior, we were awakened by the excited giggles and shouts of the kids as they jumped on our bed, declaring that it was time to open gifts!
So, the chaos began! Ezri was most excited to get what she had asked Santa for - an American Girl Doll.
Tierney received her own Lego Friends set from Santa, a restaurant!
Alora was thrilled to get a puppet from Santa, a dragon, to join the puppet she had received from Grandpa and Grandma.
Elam got a fun Thomas play set from Santa and a book of Thomas stories.
The kids all receive new bathrobes, which they thought was pretty great.
Daddy got new headlights, fog lights, tail lights and hubcap covers for his truck, and Mommy is getting a new remote starter for the van! After all of the gifts were unwrapped, it was time for the envelopes stuck in the tree which contained clues for each kid to follow, leading them to a final gift. A new backpack for Elam and mp3 players with headphones for the girls.
We added one more exciting gift to the room in the shape of a hidden envelope containing the announcement that our family will be attending the Newsboys concert this spring in Hudsonville! The girls were super excited to learn they would be able to go and see them live.
The day was very pleasant, with temperatures in the mid 50's, so we spent some time outside in the afternoon, and took a walk!
The girls also spent some time cleaning up the new-to-us power wheels a friend brought by.
Elam played happily in the driveway,
and Daddy washed his truck so that it would match the clean new lights he had installed earlier.
Thursday was another beautiful weather day, and we played outside most of the afternoon!
Saturday, we were on our way to Grandville for Christmas with Opa, Oma, Aunt Becky, Francesca and Uncle Michael. The girls were excited to love on the baby!
Ezri brought her doll, who she has named Bonnie, along to play too!
Early in the day, Elam discovered a picture of Alex and Uncle Michael when they were very young, and he told Daddy that it was Elam and Baby Francesca in the picture.
We scattered gift opening between snacking, meals and fun, and the kids had a chance to play with each gift they opened.
We ended the night with some dessert...
Then we gathered up all of the kids for a picture. We had given Francesca a pair of pajamas that matched our kids' so they were all super cute together!
We also snuck a picture of Elam and Francesca with the picture he insisted was of him and her.
Then it was time for goodbyes the trip back home with a van full of tired people.
Sunday, after church, we returned to Grandville for lunch with the family and then some swimming at the hotel Aunt Becky was staying at, which was a fun surprise for the kids!
