It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone. Before it drifts too far from our minds, I wanted to recap our Christmas 2015.
The days leading up, the kiddos were off from school and Ryan got to spend each (sometimes very LONG) day with them! They played at home and visited me at the hospital (always love their visits!) for lunch. The excitement in their bodies was spilling over, they could hardly contain themselves as they prepared for Christmas.
This was a rare year, in that I somehow, with the power of some amazing co-workers, was able to get Christmas Eve off work. I cried when I learned that I would be able to spend the with some of the ones I love most. As per (new) tradition, I picked up some balloons to say a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Cheryl. We shed some tears, and held each other tight as we sang the birthday song through quivering voices.
Hope admitted that having Lincoln around was the best medicine. You can't stay sad very long with his bouncy personality, and the giggles from the two of them horse playing in the family room were contagious! (blurry picture note: they were moving far too fast to capture on camera.)
We feasted on soup and chili and then drove through a nearby neighborhood that was lit with luminaries with each turn of the corner. They seemed to go on forever, really a spectacular sight! At one point, we pulled over to take a closer look at the candles and when I looked back to the road, there was Santa walking right towards us! Holy buckets timing was perfect. The kids were beyond excited!
And before bed, they sprinkled their reindeer treats outside and set out cookies, which Santa obviously devoured during his stop at our home.
Shockingly, we were able to sleep in until about 7am on Christmas morning. Sidney simply couldn't contain herself any longer (rule is 7:30 in this house on non-school days)! She leaped into our room, swearing that she had heard Santa making noises overnight. I don't doubt that she did; our ultra light sleeper doesn't miss out on a thing!
With some prompting, they took a little longer to open each gift, trying to appreciate their siblings' presents too. Barbies, Elmo, make her own volcano and rollerblades are among some favorites from Santa. From us, we opted to give an "experience" instead of a toy and will be heading on a trip later this winter! We are all so very excited!, including Lincoln who proudly carries around his new wooden airplane as a reminder.
We got all fancy to prepare for our next Christmas celebration, and I couldn't resist a family photo op.
My parents arrived with a car full of love and presents. We had a great time spending the day with them, dancing with papa's "sing-a-long" Santa hat, and playing with new toys!
I'm so happy that we had Hope with us this Christmas season again.
I kinda love this girl...
...and our kiddos do too!
The day after Christmas brought our final celebration, this time with Ryan's side. Shane decided to grace us with his presence and although Lincoln was initially nervous to see him in the flesh, he warmed up quickly. We had another great day of food and gift opening...now where to put it all!
The outtakes of this set up are far better than the normal picture I finally got in the end.
Here they were trying to hold their composure and do a "gaze into each other's eyes"....but no one could stop laughing long enough to snap the picture!
there is a lot of brother goofiness when these two reunite!
Hoping that everyone had a most wonderful Christmas holiday.
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