We arrived home from Mexico late in the evening of the 23rd and then dove right into a Christmas celebration with my family the morning of the 24th. Both our Sweet Peas were sick (look at Emma's sickie eyes!) but still in fairly chipper spirits.
Josh, Silver and Ben, giddy with excitement as if it were Christmas morn.
Because our family has increased to 11 (twelve including Silver!), we set a strict monetary limit of $15 per gift. Someday I'm sure we'll move toward drawing names but we weren't quite ready to do that yet this year. It was a fun challenge trying to pick out a meaningful gift for only $15. Emma's first gift was this adorable "Sherpa" blanket and pillow set from Julia Roberts.
I did not take this picture but found it on my camera. It makes me laugh and I thought it sort of captures Christmas from the perspective of a 15 month old (Gideon).
Then there's this shot...it definitely won't win any photography awards but I thought the chaos of cramming 12 people into our small living area needed to be documented. I love how everyone is just doing their own thing (sorry Lani!)
I needed my coffee something fierce that morning!
Josh felt quite jubilant after opening his exercise bands from us.
And look what Isla got! Her very own leather chair from Josh, Ben and Silver. Love it!
Of course she also had to try out all of Gideon's new toys to make sure he was using them right.
Make sure you read what's written on Graham's new shirt. And I am his proud wife! Mom got a new photo calendar created by yours truly. I think I've created an annual tradition for myself.
Lani got a calendar too and I have no idea what my Dad is opening. There's a pretty good chance it's a HUGE wrench because he got two.
Snuggles (note my stocking is the only one with anything in it--lucky me!)
They'd make such a cute family, wouldn't they? I just had to post this series of pictures because I could not get a good one. Isla kept closing her eyes and then Gideon sneezed...glamorous!
Remember the picture of the chaos also known as the living room? Imagine adding 6 peanut-firing trebuchets to the mix. The gift exchange closed with these killer homemade gifts (see Silver's below), thanks to the woodworking skills of my Dad! It was nuts. Literally. Ha! I found peanuts hiding throughout the house for a week following and there were also quite a few in our tree. :) We decided our trebuchet is going to be a special toy we pull out at Christmas time and hopefully it will become a great tradition our kids look forward to. So cool, Dad!
Following the gift exchange, we had a hot breakfast of chocolate-filled croissants (thanks to a wonderful baker called Trader Joes), eggs and bacon. Graham had to rush off to make chord charts and get to church in time to do the music for 3 Christmas Eve services. The rest of the group dispersed and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon unpacking and repacking and vacuuming up peanut shards while the sick girls napped. I managed to attend one of the church services (if you count watching the service on TV from the nursing room where I was stranded with Emma who was naked because had pooped through her entire outfit and Isla who was prairie doggin' it but refusing to complete the task as "attending.") :) All in all, it was a busy yet fun Christmas Eve!
Oh, and it's definitely worth mentioning despite her illness, Emma had a GREAT hair day!
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