Too Much Christmas

There is, apparently, such a thing as too much of a good thing.  Christmas, instead of being the exception to this rule, proves it like no other holiday!

We came back from caroling, had a delicious dinner made by Brian, then settled in for a bit more play time before bed.  It was bedtime that started the drama.

Turns out kids running on no sleep and lots of sugar are prone to complete and utter meltdowns!



It turns out it's impossible to get two utterly exhausted kiddos to settle on a single book for bedtime... It's even harder to get a happy picture of them following the book debacle.  Ava managed to be won over with the promise of silly faces...Noah was a harder sell. He was "not in the mood".

This is the ultimate "TOO MUCH CHRISTMAS" picture.  Isaac says I should stop here. So if you listen to Isaac, you'll stop at these pictures immediately below.

If you'd rather end on a happier, less pitiful note, I present to you: CHEEZY NOAH! 

After some snuggles from mommy, he recovered quite nicely to show off his awesome new pjs from Auntie and made his cheesiest of grins!

'Tis Truly Better to Give Than Receive

Grandfather is still in the hospital recovering from surgery for an intestinal blockage. He's been feeling pretty low being in the hospital so long (he's been so healthy!) and was feeling incredibly weak. Still, he's been making progress each day! He's recovering from surgery, bounced back from kidney failure, and has been walking the length of the hall with a walker...and all at 96 with no stronger pain relief than Tylenol!  He's a rockstar!!!

Anyway, my Auntie Jeannie thought it would be the best gift to Grandfather to surprise him with some caroling on Christmas!  Boy, was she right!  We assembled in the lower lobby at Valley Medical and waited for him to arrive.  We started singing as soon as he appeared.

He was beyond touched!  Let's just say this is the first time I've ever seen my Grandfather cry! It was by far the best part of our Christmas. We are so joyfully blessed to have such a man in our lives as our GF! And to have such a family that will drop everything on Christmas day and drive to the hospital to sing for him...it warmed me to to my tippiest toes to think of it.

I must say (in the words of Xandra), "we sound goooood!" and we did! We even drew a crowd!  It was such a blessing to me to bless him, and I know the rest of us were feeling the same.

He called each kid over and hugged and kissed them, and chatted a bit. I'm sure it was exhausting for him, but I'm equally sure it was worth every bit of strength it took!



The newlyweds even made a surprise visit!

The entire caroling chorus (minus me, of course!) 

Fam, Fam, Family Time Christmas!

We had a great Christmas with the Coury Crew, and Ma and Pa Hendricks! 

The Courys just got a new wii so we spent a good bit of time learning the games and trying to beat each other through the learning curve! It turns out those kids are a couple of ringers! Ava at golf and Noah at bowling! The boy got a 190 in his first game!!! 

There were lots of presents to be opened: 

Some were decidedly less serious than others while some were sweet:

And then it was time to relax and enjoy what we'd received! Ava and Noah were blessed to receive big kid razor scooters from the parents and grands! They couldn't wait to try them out and since it was stormy outside, they took to the wood floors! 

Ava was insistent that she apply her new nail polish herself with a "supervisor".

It's always fun to see the classic toys make a comeback! Turns out army men are still fun!!! 

Merry (first!) Married Christmas!

This year brought with it a record number of firsts, not the least of which was our first married Christmas!  I have to say, I thought Christmases as a kid were the best, but being married on Christmas is pretty much the best thing ever! 

We were so excited we hardly slept, but at least we could snuggle as we waited for it to be a respectable hour to get up and start opening gifts! 

Our little tree was overwhelmed with presents!  Christmas morning brought with it two very full stockings, an excited pup, and a roaring, warm fire!

We opened our stockings to each other, and laughed and played while Charlie played...and subsequently destroyed his new (indestructible) toy within the first five minutes!  Then we moved him on to his Christmas treat!

We opened gifts both big and small: handcrafted and store-bought.  Isaac immediately donned his new hat, and got right to work installing his present to me: a new faucet and sprayer! He knows his wife well!!!  I was so excited!  I took the time to decorate the cookies he'd baked for us to share with the fam.  

This Christmas brought such joy to us as we remembered the birth of our Savior, and savored good time together.  I became even more aware of what an amazing, thoughtful, strong man I married. I'm even more in love now than I was Christmas Eve!  

We even made a point of pointing each other to Christ through our gifts: Isaac received a new Bible, and I received a journal with daily scripture recommendations for each day that we will read together and discuss and journal about.  Wow. I'm humbled by the leadership my husband shows in drawing us closer together in Christ. 

So blessed! So, to sum up, Christmas, married life, nutty dog...life is good!  More Christmas to come as we headed to celebrate with the family!