Christmas

I love Christmas!! It's such a fun time of year!! I especially love the traditions. My family always goes to a movie on Christmas Eve and this year we went to see Bolt. Jacks loved it and as soon as it was over asked if we could go to see it again the next day. Cooper was a handful! He did pretty good until about halfway through and then he lost interest in the popcorn and the movie. I eventually had to go stand up with him and let him play on the ramp down to the exit while I watched the ending.
After the movie we headed over to the Keele's for dinner and the program. All the kids dressed up and performed the Nativity for us while Bert's brother, Dave, read Luke 2.

Then the kids gathered around while John read The Grinch. Traditionally Bert's dad Don would read it to all the grandkids but John has stepped in for the last couple of years. All together there were 47 people gathered at Peggy's for Christmas Eve (and that's just Bert's immediate family!!) It can get pretty chaotic!
We headed over to my mom's after the program so the kids could open the traditional Christmas pajamas. Then we headed out to look at lights. Both boys fell asleep pretty quickly because they hadn't had a nap that day, but Bert and I enjoyed all the lights. After we got home and got the kids all tucked in we went to work wrapping a couple of things and getting ready for Christmas morning. It was fun to see their faces when they walked out in the living room and knew Santa had been there. After opening a few things at our house, we headed over to my mom and dads.

Taking a break from opening to read some of the new books they got!

My sister had a baby on Dec. 3. His name is Tate and he's so cute and such a good baby!

In the afternoon we headed over to the Keele's to open some more presents and play games. Peggy was able to get Don out of the Nursing home for a few hours on Christmas and it was really good to see him back in the house. For those of you who don't know, Bert's dad has Alzheimer's and has gotten really bad in the last year. He's been in a nursing home for about 6 months now. It was so good to see him and be with him again. One of Bert's sisters-in-law came up with the idea of making Don a quilt, to hang in his room, with all of our pictures and things that might help stir a memory for him. We each made a couple of blocks and then Julie pieced it all together. It came out so nice! I've always wanted to get a generation picture with Don, Bert, and the boys but I never have my camera with me. Thankfully I had it on Christmas and was able to get a good one. Don has been losing his memory slowly ever since Bert and I got married. In the last couple of years it has gotten so bad that it's hard to have conversations with him. It's hard to remember the real Don because I only knew him for a short while, but he is one of the best men I've ever known.


Now onto a funnier note...the boys came out of their room on the day after Christmas dressed like this. They had both decided to take their pants off and put on the Crocs and then they ran around the house for a while laughing and having fun. It made me laugh to see them dressed like this! They are so funny!We hope everyone had a fun Christmas and a good New Year. We're grateful for all of our friends and family and want you to know how much we love and appreciate you!!