Christmas Day

WOW! Look at all the presents!

Let's get busy! :)



Thanks, Gramma, for the pretty Santa dress. And Daddy, I love the new pink water bottle you bought for me on your trip.

My brother Carl, his wife Katie, and their four adorable children joined us at "Gramma's House" for a few days. They live in the Chicago area, and it was nice having an extended period of time together, starting with Christmas dinner.

Cecilia (almost 5 years old):

Ferd (almost 2 years old):

Nicea (3 1/2 years old) & Isabel (6 months old):

It's quite amazing how much Ferd resembles his Daddy, from back when Carl was that age. It's kind of how I still remember my lil' brother! Ok, admittedly, younger brothers who are 6 foot 4 should probably not be referred to as "little."

"Ring around the rosie..."

"...and we all fall down!"

Abigail is completely enamoured by her fun, fascinating cousins. While she misses her friends in Hawaii terribly and still talks about them, having cousins in Chicago just thrills her and takes the edge off the transition a bit. Here they are watching the Veggie Tales Christmas video:

After the little kids were in bed, the big kids got to play games together and stay up way too late. :) We drank a lot of coffee the next morning!