Christmas!

We've had a wonderful Christmas here at our house. On Sunday my sisters, their families and our aunt all braved the winter weather to come to our house for a soup and chili lunch and then opened gifts. We had a horrible blizzard on Saturday but by Sunday roads were good enough for everyone to make it. It was wonderful to get to see two of my nephews that I haven't seen in a few years and meet their new little ones (yes, I'm a great aunt)! Emily's aunts spoiled her with some fun gifts and here are some photos to prove it. Benjamin got to meet his Aunt Lisa and cousins for the first time and saw his Aunt BB again. He didn't mind the attention and being held by a few new folks. Here's a photo of BB holding him while he sported his little Christmas outfit. Cousin Haileigh also got in on the action. Boy, this little guy sure gets a lot of attention from the ladies! He doesn't seem to mind a bit! :-)

Last night, we attended Christmas Eve services at our church. Here are a few photos of our family before church. After the service we drove around for a bit looking at Christmas lights then stopped off at our pastor's house for snacks before heading home. The kids were both up past their bedtimes so needless to say it didn't take long for them to get to sleep. AND...drumroll please...we had our own little Christmas miracle last night. Benjamin slept all night through! He finally woke up around 6:45 and Jeff and I looked at each other and asked, "Did YOU get up and feed him in the night?" We certainly aren't expecting this again, at least for a while. But apparently Benjamin was tired enough to make it through the night.

This morning, we got up and opened our gifts to each other. Santa was good enough to bring Emily a ball of yarn (see photo where she is hugging it), more chapstick AND a computer--all the things she asked for. Mommy and Daddy got her a digital camera and she spent the morning trying that out, too.

We will have our Christmas dinner of ham, sweet potatoes, corn and bread this evening before turning in the night. Until then, we will call our family in New Zealand (who celebrated their Christmas a day before us) on our computer and try out our new webcam so they can see live shots of us. I'm sure there will also be some television watching and of course, naps for the little ones and maybe the big ones, too.

Merry Christmas to everyone!