Merry Merry

We are ambitious.  Our house was somewhat free of construction, so we said, "we will host Christmas as usual!  Oh- and we will host Christmas Eve and we will have several other gatherings during the Christmas weeks!"

Call me crazy.

We did love it, though...

First things first...because the kids went to school right up to the very last minute, the week of Christmas was also filled with school programs and parties.

 

Even though Aunt Samantha now lives close by in Fort Worth, she agreed that Christmas wouldn't be the same without all of our week-long preps and came for an extended stay.

We baked and made plans for our upcoming feasts, saw Christmas lights, watched movies and The Crown, did yoga, and sent restless kids to Rick's office with an iPad so that we could "get things done around here."

On Christmas Eve, we hosted Jeff's family traditions...and then over-achieved by throwing in Christmas cookie decorating.  I think everyone agreed that cookie decorating is fun, but on Christmas Eve, that's a lot going on.

When night fell on Christmas Eve, Rick and Palmer put on their new matching jammies made by Gram:

The reindeer were fed (and Grace was naked) and Palmer wrote a note to Santa (with a last-minute soul-searching session that led to an apology about fighting with his sister).

Our annual reading of The Night Before Christmas (we got a new version of the book that is way too long, by the way...gotta find our old copy for next year!)

And it's Christmas morning!!!

Christmas morning highlights included a lot of weaponry (Nerf guns/bow and arrow, Power Ranger guns, and a light saber), which I learned was not the most strategic idea when the temps are low and we are contained to the inside of the home.

Grace was all dress-up, all the time, and also got an American Girl doll and accessories for her babies.  And of course, she got her sparkly purse!

 

Memories this year include the kids yelling, "oooh!! A mystery box!!" every time that they saw an Amazon box and fighting over their favorite part of the present, the bubble wrap.

And Rick? Well, he wears a version of this outfit nearly every Christmas and as the day goes on, the outfit gets more additions.  I'm sorry to say that I never snapped the final product with an additional new USA flag belt he received and some new boots.  He changed around 3pm or so (with a house full of 17 people, mind you!)  Here's his morning starting look...

We moved on to dinner and cake preps.  Samantha's annual Southern Living cover cake was a hit as always.  She had a minor stress moment when the icing didn't pipe as planned, but she went to the laundry room, closed the door, and focused.  The end result was perfect.

I would end here with a nice family photo, but I have nothing of the sort.  Next year, we will try to remember to take a photo.

So, I will end as our Christmas Day ended- with crazy cousin #1 and crazy cousin #2 doing who knows what...

Merry Christmas from one circus to another.

-Bethany