This year for Christmas was full of time with family. On Dec. 24th we had a big dinner and opening of presents at Dan's parents home. His brother Vaughn and his wife Becca (their 4 children), his sister Laurel and her son Josh, his brother Ben and his wife Shalyse (their 2 kids), his Aunt Victoria and of course his parents were there. I wish I would have gotten pictures of that day. For the dinner we had Ham, cheese potatoes, rolls, fruit salad, and spinach salad. I also made a green cake in the shape of a Christmas tree. Hannah asked me if we could make a cake for baby Jesus, since it was her birthday. I thought it was a great idea. After enjoying the delicious dinner, we opened a HUGE mountain of presents! Again, I wish I had gotten pictures! It was pretty amazing. I am thankful for all of the family, and for all the thoughtful gifts. It was very enjoyable. After opening the presents, Vaughn and Becca had to run because her parents had driven from Iowa.
Christmas morning was a big rush. We had church at 9 am, so we got up at 7:30. The girl's slept in so Dan and I were able to get ready before the girls even woke up. I was thinking, why can't they sleep in on mornings when we don't have to be somewhere? Either way we rushed to get them ready and Dan's mom and aunt stopped by so Auntie could go to church with us. As you can see from the pictures below, they were there with us when we opened our presents before heading off the church. We were a few min. late but still made it for the opening hymn! Hannah received a Tinkerbell book with figurines from mom and dad, a magnetized ballerina doll (like a paper doll only with magnets) from Santa, a princess puzzle from Bella and a little mermaid play vanity. Bella received, a book with sing along songs with CDs from mom and dad, a rainbow fish puzzle book from Santa, and dress up jewelry from Hannah. Hannah and Bella received finger puppets from Uncle Will and Aunt Jodi, a princess balloon from Andrea, coloring books, crafting paper and candy canes from Uncle Ben and Aunt Shalyse, and a princess castle tent from my mom. From Dan's parents Hannah received a rocking chair, a barbie doll, a singing penguin stocking (we have since hidden it because it there was a constant singing of jingle bells :), and a stocking full of goodies. Bella received some clothes and a stocking full of goodies as well. I do apologize if I have forgotten everything, my memory has been especially bad recently. Dan and I also received many many gifts for The Parents! They were very generous, and I know they were glad to downsize on a lot of stuff. They have also been so kind as to help fill our house with things like flatware, and slotted spoons. Dan's dad made a tray for our flatware that he custom built to fit into a drawer for me. We feel so blessed to have them so close by and are thankful for all the help they give to us. My mom gave Dan and I a new camera (our last one had died on us) which we are still trying to figure out. Dan surprised me with a gift of a hand cheese grater (the kind used in restaurants) and a slotted spoon. Which was pretty sneaky of him considering we both agreed not to get each other anything this year. The house was our Christmas present. We were pretty proud that we were able to spend so little on Christmas this year. Will and Jodi sent Dan a gift card for Home Depot, which we faithfully went out and spent the next day on some supplies for a french drain, Dan is working on. I received a fancy Belgian waffle maker, the kind that turns! How awesome is that! Dan received some nice bullets from Ben and Shalyse gave me a deck of cards called, Hand and Foot.
After church, we came home and had a great big breakfast, which is my family's tradition. It included: A danish pastry (which I made the night before), pillsbury turnovers, cream cheese eggs, fruit, and hot chocolate with a candy cane and whipped cream. We were so glad Auntie was here to share it with us. In the evening, we invited Ben and Shalyse over to play Hand and Foot. We watched "Joy To The World," and explained to the girls that the movie was telling the story that's in the scriptures. We then sang Away In a Manger and said prayer and put the girls down for bed!
We felt so blessed to be around family and to have so many people who cared about us. It was indeed, a very Merry Christmas!



First thing when we woke them up they wanted to go see the Christmas tree.
























Such a goofy face :)


You can tell this is one happy little girl!

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