On December 22nd, we celebrated Christmas with the Edmonds side of the family. This Christmas is full of laughter and children. There are 10 grandkids now, and little baby Edmonds makes 11! Here are a few shots from the Edmonds' Christmas (from the new camera!!)
John, Pete and Papi :)
Atherton Opening his "Spot the Difference Game"
Garrison Opening his Hopping Ball
Sophie opening her Pedicure Set!
Sebastian opening his Build Your Own vehicle set!
Ellia opening her gardening set.
Everett opening his basketball hoop game.
Turner opening his OSU bag. (Not sure if he was a fan... he responds, "Who isn't?")
Crimson loved her octopus!
Remae opening her game set!
Based on Steph's reaction, I think Edmond liked his airplane kit!
Annual PJ picture! I think out of the 30 I took, this one is the best! <3
The girls playing in their pj's
Happy Birthday Jesus!
On December 23rd, we celebrated with the Dorsey's. We call them family. I am with them every day and I know that they have had an impact on our lives. We are so blessed to call them friends. (Mason left early that day... so he opened his pocket chair early... perfect for the horse races!)
Alex complains (every dinner) that there is no hot sauce.... So we got him a sample set of about 8 different kinds! (hehe)
Stella loves Sofia! She got a wall puzzle!
Hudson is READY! He waited all day (guessing what his gift was) and he LOVED his dominos!
Kennedy put her new purse type phone case immediately on her phone! <3
Daddy got a new frame. I got a massage (woo hoo) and we both got a 3D ULTRASOUND! So excited to get it scheduled and see this baby girl!!
We completed the puzzle (thank you Kennedy for your help)!
And we played dominos! :)
December 24th (Christmas Eve) was jam packed! We started by dropping the pups off at boarding... then headed home. We started at PaPa's house. Almost all of the family was able to make it in. We do a fun gift exchange. If you want to participate... bring a $10 gift. Makes it easy! John got a cute Christmas welcome sign for the door and I got a CHILLOW!!! I have been begging John for one... and I lucked out and got it! So excited to use it!
Mia opening a present at Papa's.
Papa and Papa watching the fun together! (that is my Papa, and my dad who is a Papa to his grandkids... and little baby Edmonds!)
Lydia opening her annual Christmas diamonds from Papa. She gets them every year. She is the favorite! ;)
Mia playing with little baby Edmonds' baby doll from Aunt Nancy. She is ready to be a big cousin!
Papa, Shirley and Papa (my dad)
-Alissa and Mia Grace-
After PaPa's house, we headed to candlelight service at Grace Presbyterian. (My home church family) This is one of my FAVORITE holiday traditions. It is beautiful to see a church lit only by candles. We get to see family and friends, and of course hear the story of Jesus's birth once more. We try to get yearly pictures as well... with all the "Grace Church Kids". We are all around the same age, grew up in the church together, and have a special bond (to say the least).
These girls are my loves! This was the last picture... there were about 10 prior of us trying to get it together! hehe
The Girls- Sarah, Tiffany, Me (little baby Edmonds), Tara, and Rachel
Add some boys... :) (Jeff, Gary and John)
My FAVORITE part... the candlelight. So pretty and powerful. Silent Night. Holy Night. <3
Little Baby Edmonds enjoyed listening to Rev. Bill speak. She was moving and kicking the whole time. I am so blessed to be part of this church family too!
After church we headed to my mom's house to celebrate. We all shared our gifts and mom got her BEST gift yet.... tickets to CHER! (she is a groupie... I have decided... and I am not far behind her...always singing along)
The Girls opening their gifts from Grandma Carol!
Dawn and Boyd (with two photobombers) Dawn got a cute overnight bag from mom!
Wendy got her Phantom of the Opera Tickets!
Kerrigan opening her color your own tablet bag from us! She started coloring immediately!
Rachael LOVED her tea set. She was not willing to even share with Blake.
Blake loved her scarf and hippo pillow/blanket set!
Dale figuring out his multi-tool. (hehe)
Dark Picture, but Mom opening her CHER tickets! She loves them!!!
We got cash for our trip to NYC. So blessed and grateful. <3
December 25th! Merry Christmas! We woke up at Alissa's house (my cousin) and watched Mia open her gifts. So much fun. I can't wait to be home next year and watch little baby Edmonds open gifts in front of our tree with our pups nearby. It is going to be awesome.
Santa Came! Doc McStuffins Check Up Center! (I had two bandaids by the end of the morning)
Alissa and I have the tradition of exchanging ornaments. Last year, John and I got Mia a tree for her room, and added to the tradition. This year we got her a Doc McStuffins and a Sofia ornament to add to her mini tree! She loved them!
It is one of my favorite traditions! <3
Opening her Sofia Amulet! It was so pretty!
Cheese! I am a princess! <3
December 26th.... on the road. We traveled to Allentown, PA (my dad's house) to stay the night before we ventured into NYC with Courtney. Kaley decided that morning that she didn't want to go to NYC. We tried for two hours to get her to join us, but she wasn't having any of it. It was about a 6 hour drive. Being 31 weeks pregnant and in a car can be annoying. We stopped often (to pee) and I drank a lot of water! It wasn't too bad.
When we got to my dad and Barb's house we unloaded, then headed out to grab some food and a movie to watch. The italian restaurant we went to was very authentic and delicious! The waitress was very Italian and kept feeding us and called us "my friend" every time she spoke to us!
Early to bed... early to rise. The bus for NYC left at about noon, but we wanted to make sure we were there in plenty of time!
December 27th NEW YORK CITY!!!! Check out the next post for all the NYC fun and photos.
