Our CHRISTmas Celebrations (2014)
Today is our last day of Christmas vacation (unless we get the big snow and cold temperatures they are predicting this evening). It’s been a lovely – although seemingly quick – Christmas break. It’s one of the times I am especially thankful that my husband and I are both teachers so our breaks align. Here’s a look at our Christmas in pictures.
Our break started out with a visit from Andy’s best friend, Michael, and his wife and daughter. They were in town to spend Christmas with Michael’s parents but their house was full. They came in the evenings and we stayed up late visiting, before they headed back after breakfast. It was so good to see these friends again because Houston is so far from Fort Wayne. It was also fun to watch our children play together. Elizabeth is almost a year older than Nathan but these two hit it off. We were able to capture them giggling on the couch one morning. Precious!
We spent Christmas Eve at my in-laws. We let Nathan open some of his presents during the day since his bedtime came during church. He was starting to get the hang of unwrapping but the paper and boxes were often more fascinating than the gifts. Some friends gave Nathan this cute elf outfit so he was a festive little boy for the day!
We went to Christmas Eve worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran for the evening children’s service. Nathan stayed awake through the first two carols and then slept through the rest of the service. On Christmas Day, we went to worship at Ascension Lutheran. We let Nathan open some gifts before church and some more after. I also set up the tripod so we could get a family picture. Nathan was getting sleepy so Dad tossed him around trying to get a smile until just before the camera took the picture. Here’s one of them.
After church, Andy’s family came over to our house for a brunch of appetizers. We were having a ham dinner at his parents when his nurse Mom got off work, so we kept it on the lighter side for lunch. Nathan opened a couple more presents and got a nap in his own crib while we watched “The Muppets Christmas Carol.” After Nathan woke up, we Skyped briefly with my parents in San Antonio so they could see Nathan open a present. He got better at it as the evening went on. Nathan was treated so generously this Christmas! We ended Christmas Day at my in-laws. After opening presents, Nathan went to sleep in his pack and play, while we stayed up visiting.
On the Saturday after Christmas, we traveled down to Indy for the extended Whirrett family Christmas. It’s a small affair but it was good to see everyone. Nathan has one second cousin, Waylon, who is a couple months older. We managed to get a picture of the two Great-Grandparents with their two Great-Grandchildren. I took a lot of pictures to get one where everyone was looking – and the boys both smiling!
The rest of our break flew by. There was no sleeping in with a 9 month old in the house! We did take some extra naps while Nathan slept. We went out together and browsed the after-Christmas sales. We went out to eat together and accomplished a task or two around the house. We spent time playing and tag-teaming time with Nathan. As always, Nathan loves having his Daddy home for bedtime stories!
As I said at the beginning, it really was a lovely Christmas break. It passed much too quickly, as all breaks seem to do. Still, we enjoyed the time we had together as a family of three! I hope you and your families had a very Merry Chrismas, too!