Christmas

Our first Christmas in our new home was just how I would want it to be (not entirely coincidental, I realize, since I'm the one sort of in charge).  We opened a few gifts on Christmas Eve and the rest after church on Christmas Day, and they were all a lot of fun.

 Big gifts this year:  Strider - mountain bike (met with tepid enthusiasm); Rayna - drum set (met with extreme enthusiasm); Colsen - fly-tying kit (over the moon excitement); Miles - remote-control helicopter (much joy); Jinna Rai -"My Little Pony" items (much squealing).

These tricky Frank men -- juggling tricks, magic tricks, yo-yo tricks...

Afterwards we went to Nonna and Poppa's for the afternoon and evening.  Sadly, I got almost no pictures, which is a real shame, because the whole day and house were so pretty!  Mom and Dad prepared a big game for the adults to play to determine our Christmas gift for the year, and there was lots of gifts exchanged among everyone.  Of course there was all kinds of good food all day, too!

The weather was beautiful, so the kids spent a lot of time on the golf course, and even set off a bottle rocket thing.

The only thing we failed to do was read the very last installment of "Tabitha's Travels," which we've been reading all through Advent.  We're all in suspense and need to read the last page... although we're pretty sure we've heard the part about the famous baby being born...  But overall, it's been a beautiful, awesome Christmas!