Christmas 2011 (Part 1)

The holidays are over......

We ingested large amounts of sugar, saturated fats and caffeine.  My jeans are on the snug side.  

So, like the majority of Americans, I am on a strict diet!!!!!

I will share more about my New Years Resolution in tomorrow's post.  Before that happens, I need to catch you up on our Christmas festivities.  At least the ones that I captured, I kindof failed at photo taking during the holidays.  

Buddy and Bridgette (our elves) brought each of the kids a gingerbread house.  We have assembled these for four or five years straight.  I made up my mind that this year.......we would forego the tradition.  Mainly because it's a humongous mess, but also because after they are done, they sit around till I throw them away.  Just not a fan of things sitting around on the counter.  It stresses me out.   But since the elves brought them, I felt like we had to do it, ya know?

This year, Ryan wasn't too thrilled about playing with frosting and peppermint candies.  He knows that it was important to his mother however.  So he put on a pretend smile and began opening his gingerbread box.  Call it luck of the draw or........ he threw the box against the wall when I wasn't looking, when he pulled the gingerbread out, it was crumpled to pieces.  Guess that took care of that problem.  

Ian and Gracie's were perfectly intact though, so I made them continue.  

Rick sorta feels the same as Ryan about the whole edible house thing, so he watched his favorite holiday movie instead.  

Then another of our traditions of reading "What God Wants for Christmas".  This year we let the kids read instead of Rick.  We also made them read the corresponding Bible verses.  

 

Gracie drew a manger scene on the chalkboard.  I'm going to be awfully sad to erase it because it might be my favorite drawing she has ever done.  

We headed over to Grandma Charlotte's and Grandpa Bob's to have our Christmas with Macy, Titus, Colten, Trey, Nate, Pam, and Heather.  

We had our first dusting of snow that day.  It might have stayed on the ground for 30 minutes.  No snow this holiday!  It's a very strange 50 degrees AND I DO NOT LIKE IT!  In a perfect world, it would snow the week before Christmas and melt on the 2nd of January.  Then not return until the next third week of December.  But Missouri doesn't work like that.  

It wasn't, however, warm enough for shorts.  But my children are freakish and they wear them year round.  

We opened gifts and I practiced my depth of field.

Then we loaded everyone up to eat barbecue.

Titus was having a bad hair day.

 

The holidays sure fly by.  It seems like I just decked the halls.  I'm not a Grinch guys, but I'm usually glad that they are over.  It's just so much mingling, and eating, and short nights, and kids fighting, and cleaning, and cooking.  I love it................yet I dread it.  Does that make sense?

Part two of Christmas 2011 coming soon.......