Christmas 2011

This Christmas season has been exceptionally busy for us. 

I usually like to bake up a storm and hand out goody plates, but that didn't happen this year for one reason or another. 

But with all the hubbub of "to-get-done-before's," all of the same traditions were still in tact.

Like spending Christmas Eve at my mom and Jim's, where we do all of our "us and them" gift exchanging.

We also did an impromptu nativity reenactment with a very limited cast: 

And Elon was the best narrator / donkey ever!

Then after all that walking to Bethlehem, our little Joseph wanted a turn on the donkey too!

I really don't know what had these little heads so turned up, but this picture makes me smile.

Gotta love "scrap material" costumes.

Then we let the kids open one present each before we headed into the kitchen for cookie decorating.  They got slippers from Elon and I (usually they get pajamas but they're both good in that department this year) :

Somebody was a little exited about decorating cookies:

Then, it was off to do the serious present-opening portion of the evening.... 

And Chandler was a big fan!

 

And what mother doesn't love when their kids open up clothes?!

Then came a present for Elon that reached in and yanked out the child within.

I mean seriously, check out that smile. The man was on cloud nine! And I'm not lying when I say he spent the rest of the night rigging that thing up and trying  his darndest it to get it up off the floor...(which just so happens to be a lot harder than one might think).

Check out that beautiful princess holding up that puzzle:

This is so Chandler.  The fact that someone is a human being doesn't stop them from becoming a race track for his cars or a trail for Woody and Bulls-eye.  Grandpa Pierce sure did a good job letting him do his thing.

Then came the arrival of Christmas morning! 

We let the kids do their stockings before we headed off to church.

Check out these two bow-tie boys of mine:

Just look at my cute family.  

Who needs presents when you share the same airspace as these three?:

Hallie's Great Grandma Myer gave her this porcelain doll that she fell in love with immediately.

She also got her beloved K-Mart kitty that she clung to for the rest of the day.

Hallie wanted to give her dad a piece of artwork because she knows how much he loves it, and after some much appreciated help from my mom, we were able to put this together for him in the nick of time.  Can you believe this picture of the Savior came from an old calender I had laying around?:

 

























It was such a great Christmas.  
We stopped in at the Dudley's (Elon's sister's family) to give them their gifts, and then had dinner and presents at my Grandma and Grandpa Libby's (mom's parents).  What a blessing it is to have so many family members close by to share the holidays with.