The "Saturday" 7

1. Christmas was celebrated and enjoyed by all. Well, actually, I had a stomach ache for three days including and surrounding Christmas, so I didn't get to enjoy the food nearly as much as usual. I actually lost weight over the holidays, which is absurd and unheard of. Other than that, though, it was everything I dreamed it would be. We actually enacted a new tradition this year. As my family grows (meaning my siblings and their spouses/kids/kids' spouses and kids) so does the present pile around the tree on Christmas morning. We love to see what everyone gets, so historically we've saved all the present opening for Christmas morning. This year, though, we decided to do some with our immediate families at home before getting together, so the present portion of Christmas didn't take up quite as much of the day. For us, that meant opening a few presents each at home on Christmas Eve. The kids took no issue with the new precedent.

At the beginning of this year, Lucy mentioned that she wanted to get Lena a Bible for Christmas. She didn't forget! So we ordered one from Christianbook.com, and even paid extra to have it engraved with Lena's name. So special.

2. A tradition we dared not trifle with is spending the night at Niki's on Christmas Eve. First, we attended a somewhat chaotic Christmas Eve service (made so by 2 squirming/loud/impatient children) . . .

Lena was terrified the church was going to start on fire. (Fortunately, she was too busy whining about how bored she was to notice when a candle on stage did light a wee bit of the carpet on fire, which had to be snuffed out by an observant congregant.)

Afterward, we all went back to Niki's for snacks and hanging out, and ultimately filling stockings and putting the presents under the tree. I finally headed up to bed at 11:15, where my kids were still wide awake. A solid hour later, all three were asleep. It was much later before I actually fell asleep pressed into Levi's side on the twin bed. Needless to say, it was a restless night . . .

3. The following day, however, was wonderful . . .

Jammie twins!

Lapful o' grandbabies (before Ruby arrived)

The cousin crew! My how they've grown in a year . . .

 

Our attempt at a family picture. Lol. Niki snapped this while we were getting ready. The actual photo is on my dad's nice camera, so we haven't seen it yet.

4. In non-Christmas news . . . I finally did it . . . I finished Harry Potter. With 5 days to spare to fulfill my New Year's Resolution. And in even bigger news . . . I liked it! I really liked the last two books! I actually read all of book 7 in one day. I felt like finally after six looooooong books, so much came together and was revealed at the end. That was a huge part of my dislike for the first 5 books - there were so many secrets, so much left unexplained. But by book 7, the pieces all started to fall into place. Part of me wants to go back and re-read them all knowing what I know now. But most of me is just happy to be done with them! Lol. And I still maintain that one of the reasons I liked book 7 the most is because there was finally some romance! 🤣 I read another book today, so my total for the year stands at 77. I won't rule out at least one more before the year ends . . .

5. The day after Christmas was one of the warmest December days I ever remember. It was amaaaaazing! The kids spent the morning playing with their new toys:

Legos and Aqua beads and Claw machine, oh my!

Then, I stepped outside . . .

Once the kids realized how warm it was, they decided to try out a few more Christmas presents outside!

Remote control monster truck

Rollerblades!

 6. Because I start enjoying Christmas so early in the season (aka November), by the time it's over, I'm ready to be done. I fully intended to take the tree down this week, but alas, it still stands. Instead I've been doing a lot of reading, a lot of reorganizing to make room for new toys, a lot of laundry, a lot of Battleship playing (another big hit from Christmas), and way too much sleeping.

It's amazing how quickly the kids have gotten on a "Christmas break" sleep schedule, wherein they all stay up til 11 or midnight, then sleep 'til 10 the next day. Not so great when trying to get Levi to bed at night, but sure wonderful for the late morning wake-up!

Speaking of which, I actually have to be to church for first service tomorrow (9:00 instead of our usual 10:45), so I best wrap this up . . .

7. Just a few more pics:

Sweet girls helping me make treats for the neighbors. (No, Lucy never takes that robe off.)

My mom's amazingly addictive "crack" caramel corn. Both of our neighbors stopped over to thank me and tell me that it was indeed as addicting as I warned! Haha.

We have one more Christmas tomorrow, then it's on to the new year. Stay tuned for my usual end of year reflections and lofty/unattainable goals for 2020.

Don't worry. None of those are my resolutions. Although I wouldn't say no to more money . . .