Our 4th Christmas Here...

It sounds so weird to say that.

Four Christmases in this house? FOUR?!

We moved in just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2008. Wild. ness.

So, our fourth Christmas in this house began at 6:06am, when I awoke to the sounds of four children yell-whispering, "STEAM ROLLER!!!" (so as not to scare the baby - thoughtful, really) followed by Sam and I being shocked into further consciousness by four bodies jumping on our bed and rolling all around on top of us.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like having the breath knocked out of you before dawn.

Hooligans.

After stocking shenanigans, we all opened gifts...

And, yes, that does say "catapult". Momentary lapse of reason in Santa's workshop.

(Hmm... looking at this photo now, I think maybe we should have given her a few more bracelets.)

After gifts, I made creamed eggs for breakfast (do you know creamed eggs? I had never in my life heard of them until I married in to Sam's family. Maybe I'll post the recipe some time...) and we got our hustle on for family arriving mid-morning. My parents and my sister with her little crew.

The sun had risen by that time, so the photos were brighter than those previously taken in the (still very dark) wee hours...

See my mom? She's glowing. Literally.

Her earrings and necklace lit up. And blinked.

Silly and festive :)

Love her.

(Also silly and festive^^^)

Then we ate stupid amounts of food, played Farkle, fell asleep... standard.

But I didn't take a single photo after gifts. I wasn't even Instagramming. Which is bizarre. I just wanted to be in it. To live it. To enjoy it without the need to "freeze" it, you know?

It was a really nice, long day together.

Then, the snow started in and Sam's family arrived that evening... and the next day we did it all over again with them!

Except with them it was BEEF. And my mother-in-law makes the best bearnaise sauce. Beef is my love language. For sure.

Over the weekend I had a migraine that just would not quit. Days later, I'm realizing it's probably some weirdo virus. It's like a sinus infection without the draingage... or something. I'm not even congested, but the pressure in my head is clearly telling me something is up.

Sam and the older 4 are out bowling with our church... a New Year's Eve tradition. Baby and I stayed home so she could nap well and I could chill out a bit... rest my sinuses (?). Tonight's plans are still a bit up in the air. We may wind up over at our friends' home for games and snacks... or we'll hunker down here together after bowling and watch Anne of Green Gables. We just finished reading the book aloud together, and the movie was a gift from Sam's brother. We'll see what the kids want to do more.

Either way, I know... we are wild and crazy.

Happy 2013 to all of you! Hope you have a wonderfully fun (and safe) night. Without sinus trouble.

I'm looking forward to some fun things in January. I think I should actually have TWO room reveals for you! Yes, legit reveals! As in... done. Just tweaking some odds & ends first.

Okay... time to rest my sinuses. Happy New Year!!!