Project 365, Week 51

This was Christmas week!! So much love and goodness and joy.

December 19

Avery was working, but the boys jumped in to help get the house ready. They both kept a close eye on me to make sure I wasn't doing something I wasn't supposed to.

December 20

Shaun was out with the car when it broke down, unable to be driven. I went and picked him up and we had the car towed. Unhandy to have that issue thrown into our week.

Jack and Avery played cards and board games.

And Shaun took Amanda Christmas shopping and they found a cute coffee shop.

December 21

December 22

We dealt with rain and holiday traffic on our way to Westchester, but the next day was very stormy, so I was happy to be traveling on this day.

Once we cleared out of the worst traffic, we stopped at a DD on the way home. Randomly, they had a pay phone. Naturally I felt obligated to share some 'back in my day' stories regarding the good and bad of the days before cell phones.

December 23

Pop and Kiki have traditionally taken Amy's kids so she can have the day to prepare for a hoard of people for dinner on Christmas Eve. They added a couple extras, including Aiden for the sleepover and pancake breakfast. The cousins are always happy to be together.

At our house, preparations were underway! I told my kids to learn what they could from Aunt Bonnie and Melody. They are both exceptional at cooking and baking.

December 24

After some good coffee and conversation, we got to work in the kitchen. We worked right up until we left for service at 230, smelling very much like bacon. :)

Our candlelight Christmas Eve service is one of my favorite hours of the whole year. The music was top notch and the message of Christmas is just so mind-blowing, so extravagant.

Then we headed directly to Amy and Colombo's house for a lovely dinner and birthday cake for Jesus.

Back at our house to play santa claus with presents and stockings.

December 25

Christmas morning was a little different this year. The night before my brother's boiler had gone out so they had no heat on a single-digit night. He worked through the night on Christmas Eve and sometime in the early morning hours, he found what was most certainly the problem. He needed parts that Shaun just happened to have and its a repair job Shaun has done many times between all of our homes/rentals. My dad offered to pick up the parts and go do the job, but I wanted him to be with us and Shaun already had everything gathered. Uncle Lee went for the ride.

They were hoping for a quick fix, so we held off the kids and waited on brunch, until it was evident they were going to be longer than expected. The kids played games, we ate brunch and the guys caught the tail end of it, then we dove in.

The day was full of hugs and laughter and tears. Wrestling, chats and game. Family.

Stockings are "a thing" here. These are the girls...

...and these are the boys.