~ that Mark had the whole week before Christmas off!
~ aunties and uncles and cousins galore!
~ celebrating my grandpa's 90th birthday, and being surrounded by that extended family I love so much
~ Ella's happy sigh one evening, coming home from a Christmas event: "I just love having cousins!"
~ homemade cinnamon rolls, two days in a row
~ homemade pizzas on Christmas Eve, and making them with my dear sisters-in-law
~ Isaac's nativity scene for our Christmas cards this year, colored in by all our kids
~ Christmas morning breakfast, lovingly prepared by my parents
~ a traditional Christmas dinner, with ham, potatoes and rolls- made by mom
~ siblings, and all the days we've lived together and the inside jokes that are so abundant at these gatherings
~ gifts given that were loved
~ grandparents who love my children well
~ our kids' exuberance over giving gifts to children across the world: baby chicks! fruit trees! blankets! meals! clean water! mosquito nets! sports equipment!
~ skyping with Michelle, days before Christmas
~ singing Happy Birthday to Jesus; blowing out the candles on our coffee cake that morning
~ our slumber party by the tree
~ playing Settlers and Ticket to Ride with Mark, doing a wintry puzzle, and playing LEGO Creationary with Isaac
~ the kids all tumbled onto our bed on Christmas morning with their stockings
~ all the gifts Ella so carefully made this year: a sewn pillow for Audra's baby, a mobile for me with colored ornaments hanging from it, an ornament in my stocking that said "JOY", pictures for the boys, a phone for Adelia, a drum for Audra
~ Isaac's question to me a few days before Christmas: "Mommy? What is the thing you love most in all the world?" [My response was 'daddy' until he clarified: "No. Something I could wrap and put in your stocking!"] So I said 'chocolate', and then opened my stocking to find that he'd tucked all sorts of chocolates into it
~ Audra's any-time-of-the-day cuddles, the way she wraps her arms tight around me and says "I yuv you so mush!" What a joy she is!
(counting up His lavish gifts, #s 1326-1346)
Michelle introduced us to Ticket to Ride when we visited this past summer (she said you introduced them to it) We got it for Christmas for Daniel (and us) We LOVE it! I want to buy some of the other versions!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a lovely Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI want to have family memories like this for my kids when they grow up. Right now our Christmas is just us, no family near and even if they were near they don't celebrate Christmas. But don't worry, we had a lovely family day anyway and we are making lots of our own memories that will hopefully carry on for years to come.