Christmas 2014

Today is the last day of winter break. Tomorrow we'll be back to school, and back to our routines. I think we're all ready for that. But, it really has been a wonderful break. We didn't travel, we didn't have anything pressing, we were able to just relax and enjoy the family time. These days filled with books and games and playtime and family outings were just what I was craving!

Christmas was fun, of course. Hope and Grant looked so beautiful for Christmas Eve service at church! And we enjoyed sharing readings and crafts and stories at Grandma and Grandpa's house. That has become a favorite family tradition for me, and one I hope the kids will grow up looking forward to every year.

Christmas day was slow and relaxed. I took a chance this year, and didn't buy Hope or Grant any real "toys" this year. They really don't play with toys, but every year I've felt like I needed to buy them just because, you know, it's Christmas and you buy your kids toys at Christmas! This year I bought less things, but I bought things I knew they would really love. Hope got a feather pen set, which thrilled her to pieces, and several other things (she was also super happy about her dancing ribbon and her recorder). Grant got this cool pretend torch that he can hang on the wall or carry around on "expeditions." He was also happy about his bird house and wallet with cash and a Dunkin' Donuts gift card inside. The rest of their gifts were also well received, but those were the favorites.

Grandpa and Grandma took Hope and Grant on a special, secret shopping trip just before Christmas so they could buy gifts for Daddy and me. After all the shopping they'd already done, and all the gifts they'd already bought for us, I knew it was a labor of love to go out again and finance the things the kids picked out for us. My parents are the most generous people! Hope bought me a box that looks like a book, and a cute little change purse and Grant bought me a beautiful bracelet. For Daddy, Hope picked trail mix and beef jerky and Grant picked a toiletry kit.

Grandmom and Grandad sent gifts from Texas too, and we enjoyed spending a little time with them on the computer so they could watch the kids open their packages. The main gift was a Wii, which has been very, very, very loved already!














We celebrated New Year's with the Andersen's, and had a wonderful time. The kids play together so well, and now that they're just a little older, we even got to play some grown-up games while they played their own games. We definitely didn't stay up until midnight, but we rang in the New Year around 8:30ish ;)

So far, 2015 is stacking up to be a great year. I'm pretty overwhelmed with the blessings in my life. These people I love, who love me back ... it's more than enough!