Sunday, January 3, 2010

christmas with my family

we celebrated Christmas with my family last night.
this was the cozy scene we walked into!

all the grandkids

we all just enjoyed being together and then my parents set out our stockings!

we ate a YUMMY dinner and actually lingered a bit over the meal...
my dad even included our children in Rwanda in his prayer...they are never far from our minds!

did a fun "Christmas quiz"...



the kids shot downstairs after dinner to play...so the adults exchanged our gifts in the quiet!
we have simplified Christmas quite a bit the last couple years on my side of the family.
my parents still spend too much on us...but they just do our stockings {which is my FAVORITE part!!! socks...candle...a new worship CD...book...gift card to your favorite store...i just love all the "little" stuff! but it still totally adds up, i know!}

then the adults each draw one other adults' name so we each have 1 gift to open.

rebekah spent her quiet time yesterday wrapping gifts for each person.
she went all over the house finding an appropriate gift for them...a {used} baseball for papa...a book she's already read for andrea...a picture for Phill.
she wrapped each one in plain white computer paper.
and attached a "Merry Christmas" card made out of white computer paper.

the look on her face...she was SO very excited to give...i love watching her!

papa with both of the babies.

and then the kids.
they each had 1 gift to open - the one that they got to pick for each other when my parents took them shopping.
they were SO excited to see each other open the gifts because they were a part of it!





and the evening wound down with a piano lesson for rebekah...

it was such a GREAT evening!
it was noticeable to us that things were simpler and that allowed for more conversation and enjoyment and gratitude.
thanks, mom and dad!!!

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