Armour Family Christmas

With just a few days until Christmas, we enjoyed our second family get together celebration, this time with the Armours, which is Kyle's mom's family.

Daddy and Grace cheesing in their Christmas outfits.

Visiting with Grandma Virginia.

Despite an icy weekend, the roads were cleared in time for the party, and even though temperatures were just above zero, there was plenty of warmth at the party.  Once again, we dressed in our darling Christmas shirts and Grace wore her Rudolph outfit.  We definitely looked like we were ready for some Christmas fun.

Herschelman Family Photo

And Grace loved seeing all the kids, especially our nephews, Keelen and Quincy, who are one this Christmas and lots of fun to watch.  

Armour cousins photo.

After we got there, we had a chance to visit with Kyle's Grandma Virginia for awhile, as she and Grace have always had a special relationship.  It was also fun catching up with family members that we don't see nearly often enough.

Hanging out with Katelyn, Kensey and Kayley.

Family photo with our smiling princess.

The Armours serve several types of soup for lunch, and there's always plenty of great things to eat.  After we finished, Grace enjoyed a pediasure, along with a snowman Christmas cookie for good measure.

Grace got a new book called The Gingerbread Pirates.

We had a lot of fun taking family photos and just hanging out throughout the afternoon.  Grace had fun helping me open her presents.  She got several new books, including The Gingerbread Pirates, which quickly became one of Kyle's favorites, a bright yellow Care Bear and some warm, fuzzy Elsa socks, which she has worn almost every day this week.  

Snuggling her new Care Bear.

All too soon, it was time for Kyle and I to head into work.  We left Grace with Papa Randy and Grandma Kim and plenty of people to cuddle with, including some of her favorites, Kayley and Kensey.  Although the time is never long enough, it's always nice to have everyone together and celebrate family throughout the holiday season.

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A Hutson Christmas

It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas! And we are sure enjoying all of the celebrating.

For us, it started with the Hutson Family Christmas, which is always held on the second Saturday of December. The location rotates around the central Illinois area, and we were fortunate that this year, it was at our church in Hillsboro.

Grace loved a visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Mom did most of the planning, and we helped as we could.  Kyle offered to run this year's game, and we had fun putting it together before the party.  Mom also suggested an ugly sweater contest, which turned out to be fun too.  Kyle and I didn't go for sweaters, since we were afraid we would get too hot.  But I found a darling Snoopy Christmas shirt that said "I'm Just Here for the Cookies," and Kyle found a t-shirt with a tacky Christmas vest pattern. He was most excited about the bowtie on it.

Fun family photo op!

We arrived at the church just before dinner, to one of the largest crowds for a Hutson family reunion in quite some time, with about 80 present.  The best part of the evening is always catching up with everyone.  My favorite part this year was a surprise visit from my cousin, Stefanie, who didn't tell anyone she was coming home.  

Yup, I'm just here for the cookies!

The food is always great too.  My Aunt Cathy is famous for her cheesy potatoes and cookie press cookies, which are always gone very quickly (and was the reason for my "I'm Just Here for the Cookies" shirt).  But no one went away hungry, that's for sure.

Ugly Christmas sweater contest!

Kyle the game show host and the winning Family Feud team!

After dinner, we had a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, who greeted all the kids and passed out presents.  Grace was so excited to get a new Minnie Mouse purse and Santa hat, as well as a bedtime stories book and some new nail polish.  It's always so much fun to see the kids excited about their presents, and then watch them play together afterwards.  I have such fond memories of playing with my cousins over the years at get togethers, and it's neat to see the next generation having fun too.

Cheesing with Grandma and PaPa Galer.

When the presents were opened, voting started for the ugly sweater contest, and Kyle won second place!!  I think everyone really enjoyed getting into the Christmas spirit.  Then, we got two teams set up to play Hutson Family Feud, and Kyle was the game show host.  The winning team got to take home the coveted Hutson family medals.

Kyle and I can't wait to hang this awesome wall hanging up in our house!

Before packing up our belongings, mom's brothers and sisters gave Kyle and I a very special gift, an "Amazing Grace" wall hanging made of horseshoes. And we can't wait to hang it up in the family room.

Cousin Stef gave us some of the bags from her new company, Rowdy Goose.

And then all too soon, Grace was getting tired, and it was time to say our goodbyes. Facebook makes it easier to stay connected to family members, but it's always wonderful to have the chance to visit in person.  We feel so blessed that everyone keeps Grace in their thoughts and prayers, and look forward to seeing them at the next Hutson reunion on Labor Day!

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A Major Promotion

We certainly started off our December in the right way with a family trip to Washington D.C. for a very special occasion. Uncle Johnny was being promoted to Major in the United States Air Force, and we were so honored to be there for his special day.

Grace was asleep when Johnny brought her a new stuffed bear, named Major.

Family photo opportunity before leaving for the Pentagon.

Mom and dad left a day earlier than we did, so Kyle, Grace and I made our way to the airport on the first day of December. Although we ran into a few bumps since our flight was delayed, we made it to the nation's capital fairly easily. We did miss the family dinner the first night, but after catching up on some sleep in our hotel room, we were ready for the big day.

Grace helping Uncle Johnny pin his rank on his flight cap.

We were SO honored that Grace got to be part of the ceremony.

The morning of his promotion ceremony, we enjoyed brunch with both my family and Emily's family, who had made the trip from suburban Chicago. While we were there, Johnny gave the littles (Grace, Zoe and Arlie), all blue Air Force bears.  We named Grace's "Major" in honor of such a special occasion. Then all 18 of us made our way to the Pentagon for the ceremony. I told Johnny he gave Emily the hard job of keeping all the rest of us together on the way there.

This little girl was SO happy to help and wear Uncle Johnny's flight cap.

This one is my favorite photo from the ceremony!

But we made it in good time, and after everyone got through security, Johnny gave us a tour of the Pentagon.  It was very impressive.  Kyle was immediately impressed by the upscale candy store in a shopping area. The tour included stops at many memorials to Pentagon victims, who died on Sept. 11. We even stopped by the chapel, which was very humbling.

All smiles with Grandma and Grandpa after the ceremony.

Smiles for Uncle Johnny too!

After the tour, Johnny took us up to the floor where his office was located, and we made our way to the ceremony. There were about 70 people there for his promotion ceremony, and we were lucky enough to have seats in the front row.  I took a lot of photos, while Kyle snuggled with Grace. One of Johnny's first bosses, General Wayne Monteith was the presiding officer at the ceremony, and he told some really great stories about him over the years. Johnny also asked that Grace be included in the ceremony, and she had a chance to pin his new major's rank onto his flight cap. Emily and both sets of their parents also helped with the ceremony as well.

The whole crew with Major Galer.

Major Galer and his family.

It was so touching that he included Grace in the ceremony, and she has gotten to be part of some really neat things in her five years. After she helped him, she got to wear his flight cap for a bit, and we got some cute photos.  Johnny and I even recreated a photo from when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant at the University of Illinois, and I was wearing his flight cap. 

I got to wear Johnny's flight cap again . . . 

One of the coolest things about meeting the people Johnny works with is that many already knew our story and they couldn't wait to meet Grace. It seems that she has touched so many lives in her short life, and we feel blessed that people continue to share our story.

After a cake and punch reception, we headed back to the hotel to rest and then back over to John and Em's for dinner.  It was nice to be able to relax some and just enjoy being together.

Snuggling with Uncle Johnny and her new Major bear.

This was the best photo we got of the three littles and their new Air Force bears.

On Saturday morning, Kyle, Grace and I walked around downtown Alexandria, and caught a Scottish Christmas parade before finding a quaint little restaurant for brunch. That afternoon brought a reception for Johnny and Emily, which was fun to meet more of their friends.

All too soon, it was time to head for home, back to reality. And saying goodbye was a little easier because we know we will see them again at Christmas time.  I'm so grateful that Grace is such a great traveler and so easy going, even when she's off schedule or in a new place.  We feel so fortunate for all the chances we have had to take her places, and hope to return to Washington D.C. with her again soon.  Until then, we'll always have the memories of a "major" fun trip.

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