Christmas Pictures ✽ And Lots of Little Stories

It's snowing for the third time in two weeks here in SC. It's not sticking around this time either, but just the sheer fact that it's TRIED three times in two weeks is something to give it credit for. And so, with snow outside the window, coffee under my nose, and before we take down all the Christmas-y things, I'm taking the time to share some little moments from our Christmas :).

Do I drink coffee all the time? No. Do I have a struggle when I do drink it deciding which activity I want it to enhance... reading, writing, or blogging? Yes. I'll be honest ;).

Christmas Eve, of course we had Gramma and Papa Nate and Granny over...

Gramma thought that my readers needed proof that she really brought a trailer ;). I stand corrected though; this wasn't a rental, but my Papa Nate's trailer. I'm not sure how I got that confused, haha :).

Gramma got these adorable little books made with the little one's names in them as the main characters. Noah's is about a little dinosaur :).

Josiah's Christmas = Made before Christmas even came, hahaha! He came to me after he opened his box, and told me how cool/useful it was that he was given batteries, haha! And then he got this construction truck set that is TOTALLY his thing... and then the crowning item was a light up car track with battery cars. It's not been turned off for more than an hour all his waking hours since, haha!

This is Emmi, "I got Shopkins socks?". Look in your hand, girl! Haha...

This is a big hit with all the boys, too. It's a floating/helicopter ball that moves higher when something is  held under it, they all think it's so neat. Andrew has had to hide it a few times ;).

Bethi loves puzzles, unusual ones, anyway (she helped my Aunt with her puzzle while we were there, but nobody ever helps me with one here, so I'm not sure what that means ;)...). She sits for hours working on origami puzzles. (She won't do an origami figure thanks to my horrible teaching-while-I-learn skills last year, but she'll do origami PUZZLES with no instructions? Explain to me the logic. I haven't touched them, ha!) This ball is like an odd version of a rubiks cube, so it was perfect for her ;).

After family left, we had supper, the middles finished wrapping some gifts, and our annual Christmas Carol movie, most everybody went to bed. Mama and I stayed up another hour to feed the birds, carry alllllll the gifts downstairs, and make them pretty under the tree. 4 a.m. is a really tiring time of the morning to go to bed... haha!

This is just a reminder that the family photos you see are never the first ones that were taking. I mean... what is going one here, hahaha!?

Noah looking at the gifts is cute though :).

Close enough ;). 

After Cinnamon rolls and a Christmas documentary,  we unwrapped the gifts the siblings gave to each other :). Josiah thinks that the coolest thing ever is to drink water out of a water bottle rather than a regular cup, so guess what he gave Peter?! Peter shared with him, sweet little guy that he is ;).

Noah :). He was kind of excited about water too, haha!

If you want some great gift memories, let a three year old pick a gift from the dollar store for each member of the family ;). One year I got "I can read!" certificates... haha! This year, Abbi got dishsoap.

And so did Andrew. It was hilarious, haha!

Mama said Josiah knew what he was getting me before he even got to the store... he knows my love for candles that I have a hard time bring myself to burn because then they are gone, haha :).

Peter wanted to help Andrew dress for the day with his gift ;).

My Grandparents gave us older girls gorgeous fans for Christmas. Abbi and Emmi fell in love with them, and so siblings slipped some into their purchases :). Abbi is an expert at that little "flip" to open it!

As a guy, he had to take random items off the floor and juggle them ;). Also, see me cup? I wanted a Christmas cup all  Christmas, and I got two! I've been enjoying them since, and look forward to having them all year next year!

Such a strangely wrapped package. What could it be? Oh... wait for it...

The moment of realization...

And hilarious laughter and explanations given!  Peter saw a toilet brush and asked to get it for Andrew. I told him, well, let's see if there is anything else... and he found something else, so I had Bethi put the toilet brush away, because, Um?! Haha! But he really meant it. We got home and he wanted to know where Andrew's "thing to fix the toilet" was. Mama figured he meant a plunger, so she went ahead and got them as a set, and it ALMOST won the "most funny gift" of the day. Almost.

Abbi gave Peter his first mug for Christmas. It's this little penguin head with a winter scarf that is sooooooo Peter! I love it... and so does he, he uses it for everything, including his water, and he is always using it unless it's getting washed!

Andrew made the little boys a car ramp, he loves to build :).

Bethi is smart. She places all her gifts TO people in a basket, and then when she hands out her gifts, she starts putting all her gifts FROM people in it. That way nothing gets lost in everybody else's shuffle. Which would be nice. Haha! The little ones were losing things like crazy!

This gift was the official winner of funniest of the day. It was a total gag gift, and those of you who know what it was (and who it was from) are privileged. The rest of you can just wonder, hahaha!

Noah LOVES animals, but especially birds since we got Dawn and Misty. He got so many birds for Christmas, haha!

We took a break for dinner and advent/devotions. Because... it was getting really late, haha! Then we went back and opened the gifts from Mama and Daddy. And if you want a perfect gift, trust my Mama to find out what it is!

A little ABC theology book. I'd never seen one like this, too cute!

Peter LOVES his Penguin/Bear books!

Noah <3.

Noah kind of stole the show in a lot of the pictures from the evening, it was hilarious going through them!

That look of confusion? Don't let him fool you. He has beaten or tied with e.v.e.r.y.b.o.d.y he has played with so far!

This game is the new Monopoly in our house. It's similar to said Monopoly, but has it's own little twists, too, and it could be addictive!

Bethi's day was made with a peg doll supplies kit. She LOVES making those little dolls up, and so I suggested to Mama that she get something like this for her, because I remember that two of my favorite birthday gifts when I was little were a stationary kit and a sewing supply kit. I'm happy to say, I didn't lead her astray, haha! I was slightly worried... but mostly sure ;).

Andrew got a wood burning kit! He loves to build and create, and is excited about the possibilities this brings! 

Noah loves his "persons!!!" He carries them around everywhere, haha :). He prefers to put the shapes in by opening the back door rather than matching the up though... ;).

After presents were opened and some toys assembled, our night was finished out by some pie and the movie "The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey"... which doesn't make me cry as much as the children's book (I don't read it aloud anymore -I'm not sure why it gets me so much worse in written form!), but is still one of the most touching Christmas movies out there.

It was a wonderful day... these are only a few snippets of it! I hope your Christmas was blessed as ours, with family and laughter and love and reminds of the great joy that makes the day so important, the birth of our Lord and Savior! But now that I've given you these little peeks, I am off to make some hot chocolate and popcorn, because, though the snow may be gone already (::sigh::), we're still calling it a snow day, because we don't see signs of a more promising one coming, haha. We were spoiled in VA!