Christmas has to start with Christmas Eve and that starts at Nana and Papa Cecil’s.
There is a beautifully decorated table, delicious food to fill our bellies for a good night’s slumber, and great company.
Nana is always up for a game of Old Maid!
Aunt Leslie always does all the dishes and supervises the Twister game.
And Papa just smiles away at the children as they play their games and refill their silver goblets over and over again with sparkling cider.
This year was no exception.
After we make it home, we gather in the living room under the lights of the tree and listen as dad reads in Luke of our Savior’s birth.
The true reason for the season!
This year I noticed the children seemed to take it all in a little more. They were actually so quiet that John read well into the next chapter before realizing that the story had been told.
I love these pictures of our kids! They look like a litter of adorable puppies in Christmas PJs! One of the major differences I see, their total gestations represent about 4 years and 7 months, not 6 weeks! It was a sweet moment taking pictures of them all tangled up on the floor beside the tree.
A great start to a memorable 24 hours!
Here they are all “nestled” in their beds!
The welcoming crew for Santa!
This year Santa requested a Krispy Kreme Original and a Peach Fresca!
It was a fun morning of opening gifts, being together, and watching them wait with anticipation of each and every gift. I may not remember what they got this year, but for some reason, I think I will always remember the peace I felt as they opened many more needs than wants. May our upcoming year be so fortunate.
Next on the list of the day’s activities…back to Nana and Papa’s for lunch and a gift exchange.
There were many more creative and fun gifts other than to-shirts, but apparently that is the only thing I took pictures of. It may have had something to do with Annie tripping and stumbling over everything in sight!
Off to Grandma and Grandpa Dieker’s for the final stop on this Christmas Day!
This is the thing…I know that my family isn’t perfect…I am not perfect either…so that makes us a perfect match! As I looked through these pictures tonight, I had a complete flood of emotion about each one. I have all these memories that are instilled in my mind of each of these people. I can remember when Julie’s little Quinn was born and how my sister and brother-in-law survived a terrible family tragedy just a short week later. I can remember how beautiful my cousin John’s wife Rachael looked, standing at the altar, looking at him on their wedding day. I love the way my brother-in-law looks at my sister, Melissa every time I am with them. I love that my dad is wearing a Superman shirt and smiling! I can remember the day Ben was born, and Julie and I talking to mom on the phone while we were all the way out at BYU and they were back home in St. Louis! I know what it feels like to get a hug from my brother Eddie and really know how much he cares about you. I love how much my Ellie loves her cousin Kenna, and truly thinks that Kenna can do anything! I love how Gunner always hugs and smiles at me every time I see him. I can remember meeting Reese for the first time as a baby, and instantly loving being an aunt! I love Spencer and how he always seems to be happy. And I love my mother. I love her for being courageous enough to have all seven of us and see the fruits of her labor! I love you all! Merry Christmas!
Oh, and Annie drove us safely all the way home! (ok, just down the hill and into our driveway.)
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
