Galer Family Christmas

Just when you think we couldn't have any more fun, we have one final family Christmas, with my dad's side on the day after Christmas.  We never celebrate on the actual holiday, but shortly thereafter, while my brother, John and his wife, Emily are home.

Our traditional family photo at the Galer family Christmas.

This year was especially hard, because it was the first Christmas without my Grandma Galer, who passed away this spring. But to celebrate her memory, my Aunt Anne picked some of grandma's casserole recipes, and we shared making them. Okay, in our household, Johnny and Emily did the cooking, while Grace and I did the supervising (and eating sugar cookies), but it was still fun to be all together.

Uncle Johnny and Aunt Emily work on the cooking.

We dodged raindrops on the quick drive to Aunt Anne's, and enjoyed our family meal together, taking in the company and the casseroles.

Grace and her cousin, Izzy.

After dinner, my cousin Phil's daughter, Izzy, played the piano with Aunt Anne and sang Christmas songs, and it was so sweet to hear her little voice.  Her baby brother, Henry got passed around quite a bit too, before falling asleep in my mom's lap.

Izzy and Aunt Anne provided Christmas entertainment.

Izzy has now taken over one of my childhood roles, that of present-passer-outer.  For years, I have helped Aunt Anne pass out all the presents, and this year, I could officially pass on my role to Izzy, who seemed to love opening presents.

Grace and her new "Hollywood" sign.

Grace and her new Pete the Cat pajamas.

Grace got a darling "Grace" sign for her bedroom and some new Pete the Cat gear. Her mommy even got a Pete the Cat shirt too, so we can match sometimes.

Cousins Keith and Phil with their new toys.

Mom and dad got a new sign for the office.

Sometimes, the gifts even get a little silly. My cousins got a remote control cage fighting game, which brought endless hours of entertainment for everyone watching them play.  Most people took a turn, but I think Keith was crowned the winner, or maybe Johnny. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

Grace enjoyed sitting in her beanbag chair and watching all the festivities around her, and some snuggling with mom and dad too.  Christmas is definitely a good time for snuggling. And for family, and we are so grateful for another year with ours.

MLH

A Christmas To Remember

After all the hustle and bustle, it seems hard to believe that the holidays are already here.  Fortunately, we had lots of chances to remember the true reason for the season this year.

We started our official holiday with a Christmas Eve service at our church. That's been a tradition in my family for years and years. I have learned that over the years, traditions ebb and flow, but I'm sure glad this is one that has stayed.

Singing Silent Night with daddy.

Family photo opportunity at church.

After having an impromptu dinner at my parents' house, we put Grace in her Christmas dress and headed to church for the special candlelight service. It's always a chance to sing some of my favorite Christmas carols, and really meditate on the meaning of the season.  I couldn't help but feel blessed for all God has given me in my life as we sang "Silent Night" in a darkened sanctuary, lit only by candlelight.

We followed up on one more holiday tradition before heading for home on Christmas Eve, a drive around Tremont Terrace to see the beautiful luminaries.

After reading a few of my favorite Christmas stories to Grace, Kyle and I exchanged presents. Somehow or another, we got started our first Christmas together opening gifts on Christmas Eve, and it just sort of stuck. I think we both get so excited about watching the other one open their presents that we just can't wait for Christmas morning.

I love that sweet smile when we opened presents.

Ready to cheer for her Bison!

All too soon, it was time to go to bed in anticipation of the big holiday. Although some days, I wish Grace could wake up early and run into our room excited that Santa had come, it's also nice that she sleeps in some. But after she woke up, we enjoyed cinnamon rolls and opened presents.  It's hard to find just the perfect gifts for Grace, but I think we did a great job this year. She ended up with an illustrated copy of the first Harry Potter book, a North Dakota State Bison cheerleader uniform and a wall hanging to display her race medals and bibs. It was fun to help her open her presents and just be together the three of us.

Grace and I got matching socks for Christmas. They say "I am amazing."

Since our families live so close, we end up with two stops on Christmas Day. We have lunch with Kyle's family and dinner with mine.  Although we had seen our families over the holiday season, it was nice to have another chance to visit.

At Kyle's mom and dad's house, Grace really enjoyed playing with her cousins, Keelen and Quincy on the floor, and we enjoyed catching up with everyone.  Kyle's mom made homemade pizza for lunch, and I think we all ate a bit too much of the holiday goodies!

Our family photo keeps growing!

Our favorite little sweeties!

After lunch, we gathered around the tree for family photos, and then opened presents. One of the "highlights" with Kyle's family is the random Woot T-shirts he orders for everyone. Kyle even got the honors of best shirt this year. And he was excited to get his own pie for Christmas.

Reading books with Grandma Kim.

Snuggling with Uncle Shane.

About mid-afternoon, we headed back to our house for a nap.  Kyle and Grace snoozed away, and I walked over to mom's for some sugar cookies and visiting.  Then we gathered up our stuff and headed back to mom's for dinner when Johnny and Emily arrived from the Chicago-area.

This year's menu was soup and sandwiches, and we loved it. None of us even had room for dessert, but we made up for it later.

Snuggles with Uncle John and Aunt Emily.

Then it was time to open presents, and we had such a fun time watching Grace smile, and trying to get her not to eat her new things.  Kyle and Grace got matching Tottenham Spurs shirts, and we all ended up with new shirts for our favorite team, the North Dakota State Bison.

Grace and daddy got matching shirts!

She's definitely our "Amazing Grace."

All too soon, it was time to head for home, hard to believe that the holidays were over once again. We settled Grace into her bed, wearing her new pajamas that matched her American Girl Bitty Baby. She and I read one of her new presents, an illustrated Home Alone book from Uncle Johnny and Aunt Emily.

Playing "Jingle Bells" with Grandma Susie.

Although the festivities were over, we enjoyed a chance to be together, share laughter and hugs, and enough magic to last us until next Christmas.

MLH

Armour Family Christmas

Just the Sunday before Christmas, we got ready for another family celebration, this time for Kyle's mom's family. They are just about as big as the Hutsons, and it's always fun to be together.

Annual cousin photo at the Armour family Christmas.

The celebration used to be held on Christmas around lunchtime, but the last few years has been moved to right before the big day. As the family continues to grow, it seems like more members can come if it's not right on Christmas Day. We feel like we don't end up having to rush around as much.

Grace and her daddy show off their taco dip!

That Sunday is always cantata Sunday, so we arrived a little after the festivities started, but in plenty of time to have fun with everyone. Grace also got the chance to see both of her newest cousins, Quincy and Keelen again, as they were celebrating their first Armour family Christmas.

Talking to Great-Grandma Virginia

Lunch includes a variety of soups and chili, as well as other long-time family favorite recipes. We brought taco dip in a giant gingerbread man pan. It's sort of become our own tradition, and it was completely gone before we left.

Asleep at the party.

Just after we got there, Kyle's Aunt Kim gave Grace a turkey medal from one of her races in November. She said she thought it was fitting since we kept calling Grace our "Little Turkey" around Thanksgiving time.

I'm not sure this photo needs a caption . . .

It's always nice to visit with Kyle's Grandma Virginia. She gets to see Grace on Tuesday mornings when there's no school. And it's always been funny that Grace prefers to see her on Tuesday mornings, so she doesn't have to share her with anyone.

Grandma Virginia and her kids, minus Aunt Kristy.

Just before it was time to open presents, Grace managed to fall asleep in my lap.  She's not very good about falling asleep that way, so how she managed to snooze through the chaos is beyond me, but I enjoyed all the snuggles.

Grace liked opening presents.

Her new Minnie Mouse was a hit!

We also participate in a gift exchange for the Armour Christmas, and Grace got several new Disney and princess books. She also got a new Christmas ornament for the tree and some paint for the bathtub.  Kyle and I got travel goodies and spending money for the entire Armour family trip to Branson next June. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone.

I'm not so sure about these two.

All too soon, it was time to head for home. Well, Kyle and I had to go back to work, but it meant more fun for Gracie Lou!  She got to stay with Grandma Kim and PaPa Randy, and Grace got to go with her cousins to visit Great-Grandma Mary and Uncle Pat.  We loved the photos of her hanging out with the two boys, and hated to miss out.

Grace hanging out with her cousins at Great-Grandma Mary's house.

It was another fun Christmas celebration, and we feel very blessed to live so close to everyone.

MLH