Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas with lots of family! We had a rather full house- my younger sister came and brought her cat; my older sister and her husband and their dog Petey; then my parents arrived Christmas Day. Our new house was at capacity for the first time! We had a great time together.

Christmas Eve, we had our traditional reuben sandwiches for dinner and then we went to a church service downtown. It was a nice, cold and clear night. The service was great- lots of wonderful carols and a nice message. I never realized how much they talk about babies at Christmas and how special they are- I really picked up on that this year. After church, we took some family pictures in front of the state capitol building- the moon was full and just above the capitol- very pretty. We went home and opened a few gifts. We always open a few on Christmas Eve, Dan says we cheat, but my sister's and I like it!

Christmas pictures at our house:

Feeling the baby kicking!

Christmas Morning, we went to Dan's parents' house for a Christmas Brunch. We had a lovely breakfast and then opened gifts there. Samantha got a princess outfit for Christmas and came dressed up- very cute!

My parents arrived in the early afternoon, so we started our Christmas dinner and then opened gifts! I made a traditional dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, lots of veggies, rolls, cranberry sauce, cherry and pumpkin pie. We had lots of gifts this year- everyone had fun shopping! Dan and I got a lot of stuff, then we also got a lot of baby stuff- Christmas and baby shower combined into one. My Mom had been unable to come down for our previous baby shower, and who can resist cute baby clothes! My parents also brought gifts for the baby from members of their church- one person quilted a beautiful blanket and I don't think we have even met her.

We got a nice wooden, antique rocking chair from my parents. It is really comfortable and I am sure I will use it often in the near future!