As I mentioned before, we are blessed by a BIG family. And, because of that blessing, we have Christmas all month long. In an effort to put them all in one big ol' post, I've named them all...
Every year, we get together with Mark's extended family from California, as well as cousins from Denver and Florida.
For the last few years, we've developed some pretty fun traditions, most of which involve eating.
So, this year, while Babe's still made the cut for the family dinner, we added a new twist: Ugly Christmas Sweaters. It was quite hilarious to go out as a family in some absurd outfits, and laugh at each other's finds. Mark was determined to find our family's outfits at a true thrift store for as cheap as possible. (Did you know that there really is a market for these ugly sweaters? If you have old ones in your closet, you could be holding on to hundreds of dollars!) Anyway, he was very proud to purchase 5 sweaters for our family for under $27. And, he informed me on his way home that mine was "two-piece". WHAT? I found out soon that mine had a matching skirt. And, it gets worse. I actually owned it 20 something years ago. Yes, I did.
And, Mark wore a cross-stitched Nutcracker vest with turtleneck. And, the turtleneck had a holly leaf and berries embroidered on it. I couldn't stop laughing when I looked at him!
Anyway, it was a fun family night, and we even got to vote on our favorites. Best Girl Sweater award came to yours truly. I'm so proud. Best Guy Sweater went to Pops, with his girly button-up, and best Kid Sweater went to Sophie. She was very deserving as well. And, the best overall Ugly Christmas Sweater went to the man who thought of it all: Uncle Chris. Complete with a turtleneck dickey with a jingle bell on it. WOW. Here are all the winners in our victory picture.
It was a fun weekend just hanging out with the family we don't get to see enough. We scratched plenty of lottery tickets (Uncle Joe's awesome gift each year) and we ended up with $57 for our family! That is BY FAR a record for us!
2. Holiday Hunting!
We celebrated Christmas Eve Day with Grandad and Grankay, with a DELICIOUS spread of food and the kids' usual tradition of hunting for their gifts. They receive a wrapping paper pattern (or two for the older ones!), and they get busy discovering what is theirs under the tree.
It is HARD work, as you can see.
They have to think hard,
carry heavy loads,
and try to navigate their way behind piles of presents.
But, boy is it fun when they achieve their goals!
Even Brewer looks excited about the challenge!
(And, Mark and I may have found a few other times to cuddle this little man. OH, how I love him!!)
And, this is also what I love. This room full of craziness, with so many cousins and sisters and grandparents...mass Christmas chaos. :)
Grandad and Grankay always do such a good job of finding the perfect things for the kids, and they were all squealing left and right at their surprises. They also gave all of us a date night gift card, which is HIGHLY appreciated!! And, I really wish I had a picture of the stained glass cross my grandparents gave us. (See them there in the middle?)
My grandfather made it by hand and carved Chase Allen in the top. Means the world to me! And, I stare at it every day over my kitchen sink now.
3. Feasting and Fountains
On to Pops and Grandma's house! And, oh my, did we FEAST!! Uncle Chris was the chef this year, with Grandma's assistance. And, they are one amazing team. We had the most delicious meal and were stuffed to the brim. It is always fun to see what Chris creates, and this one had to be his best ever!
And, of course, we got more fun cousin time! I just feel so blessed that my girls are growing up with so many cousins as their most favorite friends. And, they are all the perfect playmates for being SUpEr SiLLy!!
We were amazed this year that posing for the Pops and Grandma Christmas picture was actually easy! The kids are growing up! Even the dog cooperated. This might be a first.
And, the chocolate fountain tradition continued again!
Every year, Pops surprises us with some disgusting food to dip in the chocolate first. And, this year was a BRUSSEL SPROUT! YUCK! The kids get a kick out of this, and then we all dive in with our bananas, strawberries, pretzels, and cream puffs. My stomach is growling even as I type it!
We returned the next morning for gifts, and the girls were once again pleased with more big wishes coming true. Carlie got the Madame Alexander dolls she had been DREAMING of, and was so incredibly happy (and still is!)
Kendyll is just getting WAY too old, and her gifts have grown up too. She got her first pair of earrings (to be used in just a couple months, when she turns 10!) and she was beside herself about her special silver jewelry box, and is hoping to put it to good use as the years go on.
And, after opening her fun gifts, Abby Kate spent her time playing with Ty's superhero dress-up. That girl cracks me up! :) And, I of course have no pictures of her!
Aunt Jodi and Uncle Brad have started a collection of ornaments for the girls, and this year, they were excited to see what years they got on their candy canes!
So many thoughtful things given and so many blessings poured out on us. Whew.
4. Noel Night's Nice Nativity
Our next stop was east Texas for a trip to Gammy and Papa Ron's on Christmas night! It was a great getaway and was perfect timing for some yucky weather...because it forced us all to just be still and hang out, drinking coffee, playing games, catching up, eating, and staying in pajamas all day.
We were originally hoping to get to camp out or do a bonfire breakfast with our new family tent we got from Gammy and Papa Ron (!!), but the day "off" was pretty good too!
We also decided this was the year to finally start a nativity play with the cousins, after talking about it for a couple of years. First of all, we had the cutest baby Jesus EVER. (He was fed well in utero.)
And, all the kids were great ages to play the parts and understand what they were doing...and they were SO CUTE!!
We had our narrator, who told the Christmas story, complete with Christmas carols sung throughout.
The most beautiful angel, Avery, who was very good at flapping her angel wings.
Then, we had Mary and Joseph, who were quite the pair.
They prayed, and the angel came to each of them...
Then, the shepherd (aka Caleb) came to visit with his "sheep", Ruby, Pearl, and Tobias.
The wise man (AK) kept being called a "wise woman" and she (I mean he) did NOT like this. So, (s)he insisted that I put the hair in a bun so "everyone would know she was a boy". She took this job VERY seriously.
She brought her purple sparkly Caboodle treasure box and laid it at the manger. And, I really did almost cry. She was so excited to give her gift to Jesus. Even though it was a funny thing to us, they really did such a good job with their parts.
And, the homemade costumes (well, really, they can't even be called costumes. They all came from a cardboard box full of dress-up accessories!) made it even cuter.
They ended with the whole group circled around Baby Jesus, singing Away in a Manger.
Oh, I could eat them all up!!
It is definitely a tradition we will continue. :)
The cousins also exchanged books as their gifts this year, and we sisters were a little worried that they might think this was lame. But, it was THE sweetest thing to see them all group up around the house and start reading together.
It made the aunts so happy to see this. :)
5. Cousin Christmas Continues!
And, THEN, after east Texas time, it was time to go west! After a couple of days, we headed to Abilene to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Chuck, and the Abilene cousins!
More wonderful meals and family time + cousin dress-up and slumber party + another year of fun Chinese gift exchange fights {I mean, gift giving} + time to sit and soak in Christmas = NO PICTURES to show for it! I can't explain it. I was just in relaxation mode.
Okay, there was one cute cousin shot! :)
So, there it is! Jacobs Family Christmas 2011.
We came home to welcome in a New Year, and we look forward to what 2012 will bring! We're praying it brings more opportunities for service through His Chase, a trip or two to Africa, and a new addition to our family!!! Praying always for God to continue breaking our hearts for what breaks His, and allowing us to join in---even deeper---with Him as He rescues and redeems the broken of this world.
We hope you have all had a wonderful holiday season, and are ready for what the new year will bring for YOUR family! Love you all!
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