Christmas 2010

Hope your Christmas was merry! Praise God for the best gift we could ever receive -- Jesus Christ!

Christmas started on Christmas Eve in the Stevens household. Since we were unable to be with my family this year, we decided to let them open gifts from my parents & my aunt. The kids were surprised to find an XBox 360 w/ Kinect from my mom & dad! While they took turns playing the XBox, they enjoyed the coloring books, crayons, markers, and PlayDoh from Nannie. We also took in "Megamind" at the movies. Christmas Eve pictures....

Stockings hung, ready to go

This is what a tree looks like with toddlers around -- all the ornaments up high and the lights all pulled off the bottom :)

Christmas Day dawned with no kids in sight. It was well after 7 before we heard from them. Once the older 4 was up, we had to wake up Timothy & Lydia to get the festivities started. Lydia crawled/walked around the presents & kept picking each one up. Nathan read to us from Luke chapter 2 to remind us of what we were celebrating. Then we started off with each one opening one present at a time but it didn't really last long before presents were just being torn open. Still it was fun. Stockings were unpacked and everything was done by 8. It was clear, though, that John was very sick. Poor guy was coughing his head off and running a fever. When we went to Jonathan's parents later that afternoon, we "quarantined" him upstairs & he watched the festivities from the loft, coming down to open his presents. He actually fell asleep at one point. :( (Trip to urgent care yesterday revealed an ear infection & he's feeling much better today although still fighting a bad cough.) I don't even know if I could write up a list of who-got-what, even if I tried. It looks like a toy store exploded in my house. Christmas morning pictures...

Timothy and Lydia are ready

Can't you just tell she's dying to get in???

Elizabeth ready to go!

So today starts the last week of 2010! Elizabeth & I just christened her new Easy Bake Oven and we're having a relaxing day at home. 1 doctors appointment tomorrow (me), Timothy's bi-annual audiology appointment on Wednesday (IF we're all well & baby-sitter's family has recovered from their Christmas illness, too, so I have somewhere to leave Lydia), another relaxing day on Thursday, then a small New Year's Eve get-together on Friday night will round out our (only) week of Christmas break. Monday, it's back to school for the boys & Elizabeth's first day of homeschooling. Time is FLYING by! Whew!

Elizabeth in her apron from my Mamaw who passed away in November

Enjoying her first cake!

Have a blessed new year, everyone!