Celebrating Christmas- Part 5

Christmas morning arrived! As a kid, I was an early riser and was even earlier on Christmas morning. Now I feel sorry for my parents and grandparents. We were usually done opening gifts before the sun ever came up!  Part of my enthusiam lied in the fact that if I wasn't the first to call our grandparents to come watch us open gifts, they would go to one of my cousins' houses first and we would have to wait longer! :) Well, since all of my siblings live closer to my parents, it's a given that my kids have to wait on Mamaw & Papaw to visit the cousins before they come to our house to watch the girls open their gifts.  I love how it works out! The girls actually sleep in (a little) and we watch Christmas movies together while preparing some brunch before everyone arrives. 

Alex is the one awake before dawn now, and he is always so good to video the girls coming down to see the goodies left behind by Santa... only problem is he didn't realize the video camera was in night mode so all of our early morning videos have a green and gray hue! :)

Before we open gifts, we read the Christmas story, pray together, and then the girls sing a song. This year, they chose to sing Joy to the World.

Snacks are always a big hit!

I love how oblivious Brielle is in these next pictures!
The big girls are busy emptying their stockings and she opened about 9 bandaids. :)

She received a ladybug xylophone from Santa. So cute!

When we were in China, we had one of our favorite shop owners paint their names for them.

A new ballerina-inspired outfit for our ballerina.

And a panda towel for our little panda.

A pink harmonica. Such joy from a $3 gift. :)



The main gift Braylee had been asking for was an Ipod Touch. She rarely mentioned anything else...just an Ipod touch (with no case because she wanted to pick out the case herself).  We decided to pull a "red-rider-BB-gun" scenario from The Christmas Story movie on her.  She had noticed as we started opening gifts that Brynna had more gifts than her. I simply mentioned that it's not about the number of gifts but what's inside. She didn't ask about it again.  We were completely done opening gifts and had started cleaning up the mess when we asked Braylee if she received everything she had wished for. She had never once complained about not getting her ipod touch so it made it even more fun for us to surprise her! I thought she would squeal the moment she saw the small package hiding behind the satellite box but she told us later that she didn't want to get her hopes up if it was something else. :)  Needless to say, when she opened it, she was one happy little girl!

That evening, Alex's brother and two of his cousins and their families came over for a relaxing evening of leftovers and games...well as relaxing as an evening with 12 little ones running through the house can be! 

 We had an amazing Christmas season! I prayed all 3 of the girls would be healthy this first year with Brielle home and none of them even had a runny nose!  We are always thankful for our family but we do enjoy getting to spend the extra time with them at holidays!  The girls finished off their Christmas fun with a sleepover on the living room floor...well at least the two older ones did. :)

Highlights of 2012

We have had an amazing year!

 

We added a new branch to our family tree but I don't think any of us fully realized how much one little girl would change our hearts. God has revealed himself in new ways to us...broken us in new ways by giving us a firsthand glimpse of just how much He loves us as his adopted children.

Our year started with an anxious pleading for that LOA to arrive, and just like labor pains, the agony of the wait is gone. We entered Spring with a spring in our steps as we headed off to China to bring home our girl. The summer was full of adventures as we watched our girls soak up the long days playing together- many including "firsts" for Brielle. In the Fall, our big girls went off to school and we celebrated 3 special birthdays. The holidays approached and we couldn't be more thankful this season. It was one fabulous year, but we already have big plans for 2013!

I struggled to pick just one highlight from each month,

but here it is...our year in review.

January

Annabelle decided to donate her long curls to Locks of Love.

February

We welcomed cousin Miles on V-day!

March

We celebrated my Pa's 80th birthday. Brielle and Calvin arrived just a few weeks later.

April

#1 highlight of the year- we became Brielle's forever family!

May

Finally had all of our family together!

June

Little Miss Braylee became Little Miss Daviess County.

 

July

I love our tradition of camping over 4th of July, but it was also Brielle's 1st time camping!

 

August

Brynna started Kindergarten!

 

September

Our 3 September Sweeties!

 

October

Fall Break camping with our best friends.

 

November

Such a simple thing- 6 months after being home, Brielle would venture upstairs to play alone.
The first day I realized it, I called, "Brielle, where are you?"
She responded, "In payroom." (playroom)
It was a moment of realizing she was comfortable here with us,
 knowing we weren't going to leave her and that this home was really hers.

 

December

Christmas morning with all three of our sweeties.

We always video the girls on New Year's day with their favorites- colors, food, friends, songs, etc. I also asked them what their favorite thing in 2012 was and what they most want to happen in 2013. Guess you will have to check back next year to see if their wish comes true! :)

Celebrating Christmas- Part 4

Christmas Eve is spent at my parents' house. Mom claimed she wasn't going to go overboard with the food this year...but she did. :) It was so yummy and we were all stuffed.  My grandparents and my dad's brother Tom celebrate with us every year.

This is quite possibly my favorite Christmas picture of the year.
Miles & Brielle- the newbies of the family and they are both loved so very much!

My mom's tree is always so beautiful!

Mamaw and Brielle playing with the red-nosed reindeer.

My parents with my brother's kids- Emilee & Elyas

Papaw & Mamaw with my girls.
We took these before the others arrived and missed getting them with Hadlee & Kooper
(and I think Miles was off getting changed out of his jammies).

So excited about her new heels. ;)

The three 2 yr olds.

A pretty chalkboard from Aunt Tracee.

Pretending to be asleep in her new sleeping bag.

Brynna received a huge doctor kit. She loves it!

Sharing with Uncle Travis

Papaw and my three girlies.

Me & my Daddy

Love this! She was worried about Papaw when he had his surgery.
She went with me to take him to a follow up appt- she would say,
"Papaw sick. Go doctor. Papaw OK!" She also claimed her leg hurt like Papaw's. ;)

All of the grandbabies together! Looks like Miles has his arm around Koop!
We had a gradual start but the number of kiddos went from 4 to 8 rather quickly!

We played some games, ate even more, and I almost killed Papaw with a lent brush (on accident! Sorry dad!). Lots of memories made and thankful to have everyone home together this year!

We headed south to make it to church for Candlelight service. I always loved it growing up, but it is even more magical as an adult. Partaking in communion, seeing your daughters' faces glow in the candlelight as we softly sing Silent Night, and to think back some 2000 years ago on the birth of our Saviour. So much more has He blessed me with than I could have imagined. God sent His son into the world, knowing his fate, knowing He would suffer for sinners like me.  We do all of the fun stuff that comes with the Christmas season but I pray we never lose focus of what it's really all about.


By the time we arrived home, it was getting late. The girls put on their gingerbread jammies, threw some reindeer food out in the yard, and left some snacks for Santa.



She was saying, "San-na Caus, are you?"

Santa Claus did come and finished off his snack the girls left him too!