Christmas Day

Every year our Christmas looks different. This year we ended up being home on Christmas Day and it was SO nice! I loved letting the boys stay in their pj's, play with their toys and relax. Even though it was just the five of us, I decided that we were still going to have a nice dinner. I made Alton Brown's homemade meatballs. They were delicious! Here are several pictures from our day!

I made Comfy in the Kitchen's biscuits and gravy for breakfast.

My boys enjoy drawing so I made them each folders to keep their artwork organized.

Love this! It's from the creator of Veggie Tales and walks children through the Bible.

We have enough legos in this house so I requested that family get the boys Hex Bugs.

Our attempt at a family Christmas Day photo. They are so silly!  It is hard to get a serious picture.

The dining room is my favorite room in this house!

This China was given to me by a dear elderly friend.  She passed away this fall.  I miss seeing her.  My life was enriched by knowing her and it is nice to have a reminder of her around my house.

Our "fancy" Christmas dinner.  Seriously, I used China and cloth napkins, forget the fact that they are still wearing their pj's :-)

Christmas Eve

This fall and early winter have been unseasonably warm. I'm not complaining! On Christmas Eve it was sunny and in the low 40's. Dan took the boys out for some exercise in the early afternoon. Around 3 we headed over to spend time with my in-laws. After a wonderful dinner and opening presents, we watch The Smurfs' Movie.

My niece

I REALLY wanted these!

My nephew and step father-in-law

Uncle Jim

 

Christmas Traditions

58 years ago my parents celebrated their first Christmas together.  Each year they would get a real tree.  My dad started keeping the tree trunks and after a few years he took the wood and made a beautiful stable for their nativity scene.  Every year my mom would place it under the Christmas tree.  We were allowed to play with it and it became a special part of our Christmas time. 

Over the years my parent continued to purchase a real tree.  Every year my dad would save the tree trunks.  The first Christmas after we were married, he would present us with our own stable and figurines.  Each stable had a plaque that said, "Christmas Memories from Home" and had the year of our birth through the last year before we were married.  I cried so hard when I received mine!

This past summer my nephew got married and at Thanksgiving my sister and brother-in-law presented them with a beautiful stable made from the Christmas tree trunks that they had saved.  Of course, we are saving our tree trunks and I anticipate in the next 15-20 years we will be making three stables.

The pictures below are my stable.  I enjoy setting it up every Christmas.  It is a priceless treasure!

Pre-Christmas Pictures

These are my neighborhood ladies.  We meet every Tuesday for a Bible study.  I LOVE these ladies so much.  It has been neat to see God working in all our lives.  2 ladies are missing.

The tiny bit of snow we have gotten this year.  
Notice my son with no jacket, gloves or hat?  
He is a true Minnesotan! 

Christmas Decorations

Here are some fun pictures of our Christmas decorations. I LOVE snowmen and collect them. This year I found that the thrift store was an amazing place to find Christmas decorations.

One of our favorite neighbors.  He hangs out here a lot!

One of my thrift store finds!  I LOVE snowmen.

Another thrift store find!

My middle son, a keepsake from his 2 year old SS class days.

My favorite Aunt made this for me.  God Jul means Merry Christmas in Swedish.

Another thrift store find!

Another thrift store find!

I LOVE white lights!  We put colored lights on the tree for the kids and I decorate the rest of the house with white lights.