Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas celebration this year...school let our early so we had plenty of time to relax and prepare.  Matt and Ben spend a weekend hunting so Alex and I worked on the Christmas cookies together.

We also checked out his very favorite house for Christmas lights...they do an incredible display every year.

When the hunters returned, Grammy and Grumpy joined us for a few days of eating and playing.  Luckily for the kids, Bart the elf brought tickets to iFly.  Alex is a natural!

 

 We spent a few days at Grandma and Grandpa's and opened some gifts there.  Ben was so excited about his mebo!

Alex was pretty thrilled to get the "Millelium" Falcon but was a bit intimidated by its size.

Holly was pretty interested in the mebo when it was carrying treats!

My favorite church service of the year - the candlelight Christmas eve service.  Such a peaceful and joyful hour, even if we walked out into 78 degree Houston heat.

Back home, we left out our cookies for Santa, who still visits our house :)

Love these boys so much!!  Christmas is twice as fun as a parent.

They wanted a quick pic with the inflatables before bedtime.

Ben got his Christmas wish...an electric guitar.  He's done so well with the acoustic that we figured he'd earned it and that kid went to bed with blistered fingers Christmas night because he played ALL day.

Alex was pretty excited about everything but especially for this chemistry set from Mr. Scott and Miss Lou Anne.

He got two minecraft lego sets and got straight to work assembling them.

Minecraft mine...done!  In one day!  The Kirkhams joined us for a relaxed Christmas day at home but this doesn't seem to be my year for taking pictures.  I dropped the ball the entire week.

Ben got busy on his X-wing and finished it up the next day.

The Millennium Falcon took a bit longer but this boy stuck to it and only needed help a few times.  He's a master builder now.

We did lots of science projects together and learned lots of kitchen chemistry.

The boys and I spent a few days at Aunt Stacey's and Ben had to prove to me that he still fits in the tiny car.  I really think this will be the last year, but who knows?

Sweet Ben loved reading to Carter and playing with him.

 

Cousin fun!

There was some serious minecraft and mario time...even Carter "played" with a disconnected remote!

We were so thankful for all the time we were able to spend laughing and playing with our loved ones this year.  Christmas is the best time of the year!