Merry Christmas!

Suprisingly, we were not aroused until 7:10 on Christmas morning.  And Nathan was very patient waiting for Andrew to wake up, who had suddenly started feeling ill the night before.  By about 7:30, we headed downstairs and sure enough, the boys ended up on the "nice enough" list for 2012. 

  

Lucy was sure to clean up any crumbs that Santa had left behind.  

 

After opening Santa's gifts, I made a special breakfast for everyone.  Then we headed into the living room for a few more gifts from us to the boys.

Later in the afternoon, Dan's parents joined us for Christmas dinner and a fun afternoon of playing with some of the boy's new toys....  some of the favorite games played were Uno & Battleship.

Merry Christmas to all!  We hope you had a wonderful time with family & friends and were able to celebrate the best gift of all ... the gift of salvation given to mankind  - baby Jesus!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve for us it quite predictable, which is nice.  First we have an early Christmas Eve dinner at my parent's house.  The highlight this year was a delicious raisin gravy for the ham.  Then we celebrate Christ's birth at their church (the service was very crowded this year.... which is exciting.  And this was the last year that their church will be meeting at the firehouse as the new church building should be ready in the next few months).  After church, we head back for some snacks, a family photo and of course, the boys favorite part of the night, gifts!

Snow in a Can

A co-worker gave the boys "Snow in a Can" as a holiday gift.  So one evening, we checked it out and the boys had lots of fun building snowmen inside the house. 

Christmas in Alexandria

The Saturday before Christmas we enjoyed a delicious dinner and mini-Christmas with my brother, Matt, and his girlfriend, Lauren.  Although Nathan was not feeling his best, new toys will always bring a smile to his face. 

This a photo of Andrew being his silly self.... hiding from Nathan. Can you find Andrew? :)

And Charlie was a really good sport dressing up for the festivities.

Christmas Fun with Friends

After a delicious dinner with some old friends (and new - welcome baby Julia to the bunch!) we enjoyed a new holiday event - a drive-thru nativity hosted by a church in Leesburg.  The pictures really don't capture how wonderful the sets and live actors were.  It's really starting to feel like Christmas!

Christmas at the National Harbor

On Friday, December 14th, we headed to the National Harbor to see this year's ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord.  The theme was "Shrek the Halls".  As usual, the venue was "ice" cold and the structures were amazing.  But it was a little too crowded to really enjoy the exhibit.  Next year we'll definitely plan to go on a weeknight again.