Christmas, Part 1

Here's Christmas Eve with my mom, Don, and my siblings.

This is Tip It, Jonathan's new game from his aunt Amanda.

The siblings: Corinne, Todd, me, Jeff, and Amanda

Grace is just old enough to really enjoy all her new toys, although she loved the boxes more at first.

Aunts and uncles give really cool gifts.

Tasting each piece, one at a time

We had a nice brunch and gift-opening time with Mom and Don and my siblings, and then we went to church later that evening. It was really meaningful to enjoy our Christmas with our two precious kids this year.

Our tree. And Christmas morning at our house. We opened stockings and then had waffles together before we opened the gifts under the tree. Jeff loaded my stocking so heavily with candy that it had broken the stocking hanger and fallen to the floor in the middle of the night! Jonathan helped me choose Grace's stocking gifts.

Time for gifts under the tree. We are so grateful to all the family and friends who did so many special things for our kids and for us.

Jonathan is giving Grace a Christmas gift for the first of many years.

This gift, the Magic Mouse, got the most enthusiastic response from Jeff. Thanks, Jamie and Michelle!

Grace's gift to Jonathan

Our gift to Grace. And really to Jonathan, since the swing will make it easier for him to play outside, too.

The best gift of all!

Jeff also gave me a couple of gifts that I loved: a digital picture frame that he pre-loaded with pictures for me and that I'll be able to enjoy all the time in the kitchen. He also enlarged the first picture taken of Grace with me, right after she was born, and I thought that was really special.

The aftermath.

Jeff decided to make us a fancy lunch on Christmas day. He is so much better at cooking interesting things than I am! We had crostini, asparagus, potatoes, and salmon, all with fancy names and recipes. We had a wonderful, relaxed Christmas day together.