Merry Christmas!

This Christmas Eve was a wonderful time to share with each other, as Nannie & Grandpa came to visit, and Ben had a new understanding this year about the real magic of Christmas. He's loved this season, enjoyed doing things for others, even upgraded Santa this year to a piece of chocolate cake, and asked to read our traditional "Twas the Night Before Christmas" book to us all before bed. It's my 45th Christmas hearing that story, and I'm quite impressed how much I remember of it each year! 

Merry Christmas everyone!

"Twas the Night Before Christmas" lives on...

The magic of Christmas may look different from year to year, but as long as we remember the reason for this special time and show our love for Jesus, Christmas will ALWAYS have magic...

If anyone remembers Nannie & Grandpa's Christmas visit last year, I would be shocked because they were only here for about 5 minutes before he started not feeling well and later tested positive for Covid, bringing their super short visit to an end quickly. So I guess it wouldn't be exciting if there wasn't another scare with him this year...

Thankfully, it was negative and just a cold, so they could stay this time!

Ozzy just couldn't seem to wait on the stairs... I guess the anticipation was too much!

As always, Santa did a good job this year! Ben got stuff for gaming...

Emily got her new ice skates...

And Abby got her next book series...

As always, their favorite part (and mine), was going through their stocking stuffers!

Abby's new typewriter bluetooth keyboard is super cool!

New drumsticks for our drummer!

Ben could not be more excited about his new Rubik's Cube!

Luna loved watching Abby and Ben play some finger soccer!

The dogs enjoyed all of their new treats and toys this year too!

The most sentimental gift this year came to me from Brian's grandmother. We said goodbye to her long-loved husband this fall, and this is her first holiday without him. I was so moved to open this beautiful gift from her... It may be a sign that I need to pick my camera up more in this new year...

Followed by the sweetest gift was definitely the funniest gift... We've all had a lot of colds and runny noses around here this season, so this new egg separator definitely displays how we've been feeling!

The kids new chairs for their game room are the perfect addition to the gaming desk Brian built!

Grandpa wasn't up for getting dressed and taking pictures, but we're glad they could be here with us to celebrate!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!