Christmas 2011

December 25 was a little different for us this year. We didn't actually open any gifts (my extended family Christmas was a few days later this time around). For Micah's Christmas gift, we had bought chickens... we purchased chickens for a needy family through World Vision (www.worldvisiongifts.org). And Jacob and I ended up buying each other a new house, which was a big enough gift we figured. But it was actually pretty nice to focus just on the real celebration of Christmas anyway - Jesus' birthday. So after attending church, we headed over to my parents' for a great dinner, followed by dessert (creme brulee), complete with candles in it so we could sing "Happy Birthday Jesus"!

All of my siblings made it into town and we celebrated Christmas together December 27. It was a nice, relaxing day at my parents. We at a great meal - Honey Baked Ham, cheesy potatoes ("old school"... meaning someone helps mom slice up real potatoes, rather than the frozen hash browns she uses the rest of the year), Dad's applesauce, peas... all good stuff.

A new Michigan shirt for the Texas girl, and Micah in his new Texas shirt

Micah and Calla working together on the new workbench

After a great meal together, we settled into the living room for opening gifts. Afterward we had the traditional task of putting together a large puzzle. This year's puzzle theme was Texas, since Mom & Dad traveled to visit Ben (finally) this past fall. They brought home a challenging puzzle from the Houston Space Center - and Ben & Lynice also brought an additional Texas puzzle.

There hadn't been any snow on Christmas, but when we woke up on the 27th, there was a bit of white on the ground. Though it was barely enough to cover the grass, they had to get Lynice out there for her first ever sledding experience... on the hill going into the retention pond at church. :)

We also celebrated Andy's 28th birthday (which is Dec 27th). It was a lot to cram into one day, but it was really great to have everyone all together... Mom & Dad; Josh & fiancee Jen from Ohio; Andy, Heather, & Calla; Ben & girlfriend Lynice from Houston; David from Chicago, and us (in the midst of our move...). What a wonderful blessing to be able to celebrate Christmas together!