Merry Christmas to all!!!

We have had a great week celebrating Christmas. I will refrain from posting the hundreds of photos that we have taken in the past 5 days, but I at least have to record the highlights.

Day 1

Monday was our day to celebrate with neighbors. Our friends, Tom and Nancy, hosted everyone over. They are amazing! We enjoyed dinner, singing, story time, and then a visit from a right, jolly old elf!
The kids each got a chance to sit on Santa's lap and talk with him. This was the first year that all four kiddos loved it. And he gave each of them a present too!

Day 2

Tuesday was our day to celebrate with our extended family on my Dad's side. We went over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house in Sun City. Well, not quite, but we did go through a tunnel, which is always a huge hit with the kids!
It was wonderful to have all the second cousins together this year!!!! Of course, we provided 4 kids to the crowd, and my brother and his wife have 2 kids, and my cousin, Kim, and her husband, have 2, and my cousin, Kristin, has 7 bundles of joy! This all adds up to 15 kids, fourteen of which are 7 and under! I love how kids who don't even know each other very well just start playing as if they were old friends - they played great together!

This photo is precious to me because my earliests memories include the many little Christmas decorations that Grandma and Grandpa had. They all played music of different sorts, which I can remember driving the adults nuts, but they provide kids with endless joy, especially when played over and over and over!

Day 3

Wednesday (Christmas Eve) was our day to celebrate at Steve's parents' house. In the morning, we exchanged gifts with Steve's parents and sister and family. And in the evening, my parents and Steve's aunt and uncle joined us for a wonderful meal.
The 6 cousins are anxious to open some packages!

This enormous garbage truck was a huge hit with all the kids!

Tonka Tommy! Somtimes the boxes are fun too!!!

I had to include this photo because the three men in my life were looking so handsome!

Here's Allie eating an oyster. It is tradition in the Weber family to enjoy oyster stew and swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve. The kids even have fun being brave and eating the oysters. Tommy, however, would not even consider eating an oyster. He just enjoyed the broth with lots of oyster crackers. It was super funny when his spoon got flipped around and he accidently flung his one oyster through the air and it landed on my hand, with plenty of broth splattered on the beautiful table. He had no clue what had even happened!

This photo shows the joy that Jack found in his oyster stew. He had 3 oysters in his first helping, and one oyster in his second helping, and he finished it off by drinking it from his bowl - notice the oyster stew mustache on his face - and the big smile. He is a Weber through and through!

Tommy is trying to make a big decision of which cookies he wants. Another great Weber family tradition is the cookie plate. There is always a selection of about 10 different kinds of cookies on Grandma's cookie plate, but this year was extra special because each grandkid had the opportunity to come over to Grandma's house to bake one kind of cookie with her. So they were able to spot their own creations on the cookie platter.

Day 4

Thursday (the real Christmas day) was our day to celebrate at our own house. We spent most of the day opening gifts, putting toys together, playing with neighbors, and taking naps. We also got to spend time with Steve's parents and sister and family in the evening. It was another great day!
The kids are waiting until Daddy says that they can come out to the Christmas tree. First, Daddy read them the Christmas story in a Children's Bible, and then they just had to wait a few more minutes. We probably got started at about 7am.

This Buzz Lightyear has absolutely no bells and whistles, but it is one of Tommy's most-loved gifts. You can see that it can fly, but only when powered by Tommy. It was well worth the 25 cents that I spent on it at a garage sale!

Day 5

Friday was our day to celebrate at my parents' house. We started out with exchanging gifts with my immediate family, and then all of my extended family (on my mom's side) came over for a great meal and lots of fun. It was a great day!
It is pretty amazing how Santa fills 12 stockings at my parents' house. Eli (my nephew) looked at them and said, "Whoa!!!". Santa is great!

The kids loved getting a bowling game in the family gift exchange. With a family of six, we've already got our own bowling team!

Macy has not been feeling well most of the week, so she sat on Grandpa's lap for quite a while.

This photo may not seem to show anything of much significance, but it does to me. It shows exactly how the moms, and aunts, and cousins, and grandmas all work together to clean up after a holiday meal. From a very young age, I remember these times of togetherness in the kitchen - they really are precious to me.

My parents' new toy for Christmas was a Wii, so we had lots of fun bowling and racing and standing on the balance board. Go Allie and Tommy!

Do you think that my husband and brother are at all competitive? Not at all.

All of these family traditions and food and fun may or may not have been how God intended for us to celebrate the birth of the Savior, but, we have been able to focus on Christ through it all. The kids know exactly what Christmas is all about. We praise God for sending His son, and we pray that you, too, have had a great time celebrating with family and friends.