We had a really nice time celebrating Christmas with our families. The one unfortunate thing about Christmas weekend is that I had a cold, which rarely happens with me. I lost my voice (Rob called it a Christmas miracle), and lost my appetite. I've just discovered that when I don't have an appetite (mostly due to being hopped up on cold meds) I can't cook worth a darn. Like seriously. Everything I tried to cook turned into a colossal failure. So, nothing to report on that front. Sorry.
We did start a really fun family tradition, though. This idea is something I borrowed from another blogger. Every year we buy each of our kids several small presents and then one "big" present. In the past, Rob made up something silly about "just finding one more present", "Santa must have forgotten to put these under the tree", etc. So, this year, each of our kids received clues, leading to the next clue, until they finally found their "big present".
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| Emma was our first participant |
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| then Kate |
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| this picture totally describes their excitement for each other |
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| Josh looking for his last clue, wrapped in a dollar bill |
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| and, success - skis and boots! |
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| Kate with her bitty twins, Wesley and Macy |
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| Emma with her Barbie dollhouse |
We celebrated Christmas Eve with Rob's side of the family and Christmas Day with my family. I'll share some pictures - it was a really special time, and splitting the time up made our holidays even more relaxed and meaningful!
First up - Christmas Eve Day at the in-laws. Presents, family time, and brunch!
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| our little fashionista |
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| reading the Christmas story, from the book of Luke |
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| Papa Peter with Wesley and Malachi |
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| Natalie, our fashionista in training |
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| still no voice, but wearing an Emma-approved outfit |
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| cousins! |
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| Nana Putz, Jeremy, and baby Malachi (and Jess hiding in the background) |
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| Travis and Wesley |
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| Jacob! |
Sorry for the less than stellar lighting - unfortunately our camera does not do well in artificial lighting. Even though all of the previous pictures suggest we all have jaundice... we, in fact, do not! :)
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| Christmas Day at my parents house |
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| my sis and the vintage brooch we found for her! |
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| Josh and his new dirtbiking boots |
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| my mom, the hostess with the mostest |
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| our dinner, beef tenderloin |
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| Emma and "buddy", her baby that loves stuffing balls |
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| our little Kate! |
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| the hit of the day - "just dance 3" |
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| Josh on his "new" hand-me-down laptop |
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| me - smiling at my hubby :) |
I hope you were able to celebrate with your family during this holiday season! I can't wait to share another year with all of you - hopefully there will be lots more good food, family fun, traveling, and getting to know all of you a bit better! Happy New Year.
I had to laugh at Rob’s definition of a Christmas miracle. Mr. P laughed too (I think he was secretly thinking that he wished that particular miracle had occurred at our house !)
ReplyDeleteI can’t cook when I have a cold either . I think it has a lot to do with your sense of smell and taste being off.
I love the new tradition. Great idea. My folks used to do that with us when we were kids.
Fabulous family pics. I never realised how alike Kate and Emma are !
That beef tenderloin looks AMAZING....
So colds are your kryptonite! They make your strength weak! A no-cooking Kirstin? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm with Mr & Mrs P, the Christmas Miracle made me laugh out loud.
The photos are AWESOME. So do you look at pictures of your whole family and say things like, "yeah, wow, we're a TOTALLY gorgeous family." I thought so :)
Happy new year!!!