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| The calm of Christmas Eve... |
Wrapping up the Christmas season.. the jolliest time of the year. This December bought excitement and anticipation for the kids. We filled our time with the usual holiday cheer. We also spent an entire month with a giant (real) tree in our living room- constantly moving ornaments up higher and higher from Matthews reach, eventually even having to move the string of lights up from the bottom layer of the tree. By the end of the month the tree was tilting, had battered ornaments, and a string of lights that wouldn't light up anymore... but we held onto our Christmas cheer none the less! There was baking, shopping, Christmas light viewing, gatherings with friends, holiday parties, and Santa greetings.
One of the BEST parts about Christmas this year was that my brother and his family had moved back to Kansas City! Adam and I were able to host the Crabb Christmas gathering, and it was such a wonderful feeling to have my whole family together and HOME again. Everyone was able to stay the night (with the exception of Mark who had to go to work) and it was an absolute blast! 9 kids, 7 adults and 1 labrador retriever- a very Merry Christmas it made!!! (and lets not forget about our very "huggy" stray dog "Chance")
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| and the excitement of Christmas day hosting the whole Crabb gang! |
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| If you can't have a White Christmas... a 60 degree day makes for a nice change! |
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| what a blessing- a Christmas gathering just like in the movies! |
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| Ringing in the New Year at Uncle Ryans |
We celebrated Christmas with the Schwatken's over New Years. Somehow I managed to not take many (apparently ANY) pictures of it. But again, if you want a big boisterous and jolly Christmas gathering- somehow my children have been blessed with TWO every year. We had a giant spread of food (and no one to tell me that I couldn't eat as many cookies as I want), a plethora of wine and liquors (because being joyous and jolly is even more fun with an open bar right?) and a teeny tiny tree (which made the pile of presents look even bigger). Matthew was able to get one more tree knocked down before the season was over (he really didn't think it was a big deal. As everyone gasped in shock as the tree teetered and crashed to the ground... Matthew merely grinned and carried on un-phased. He had already knocked the Black's Christmas tree over earlier in the month so this was nothing new to him.
Great Grandma had a scary fall on Christmas day so we took a little extra trip to go visit her. She was lucky to walk away with only significant bruising and aches but NO broken bones. We managed to make it thru the visit without making her fall again- although Matthew was constantly aiding her in the use of her walker.
Matthew's first Christmas was pretty perfect in my book- and I'm so thankful for his addition to our family. I think we have finally adjust to being a family of 5... its getting easier to pack up and GO. So let the adventures and excitement of 2016 begin!
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| The exhaustion of January the 1st |
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| visiting great-grandma, and making a very good tripping hazard |
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| Matthew and Uncle Ryan |
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| Oh Matthew :) |
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