Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
The above photo collage is the short story: Christmas is about Jesus, not the presents under the tree....and we saw family--both at our house and far away! (Aren't those toothbrushes cute? The toothbrush holders suction onto a mirror--the 6 Glynns take up quite the amount of space when traveling....)

But if you're more of a "long story" type of person, keep reading, because here is our month of celebrating Christmas in pictures:

We had our 1st Christmas with Grammie and Grampy Gorden mid-December. We had a soup bar and opened gifts...we shared many laughs! Highlights included: Grampy getting a tid-bit book (Gorden family will chuckle at this!), the CAT mobile toy that was nearly chained into it's packaging and the grandparents not going overboard with gifts, yet hitting the nail on the head with what was chosen.

Fast forward then, to CHRISTMAS EVE.
This photo shows us finishing up our beloved Advent calendar, both girls playing piano prior to the Christmas Eve service at church, stocking opening, reactions to receiving mp3 players...and the only photo of our family dressed up for church. As usual, we didn't leave enough time to get ready/get to church and I threw in a curveball saying "It's SO important to me to get a family picture, and how about we use the stairs this year?!" Andy lovingly dragged in a ladder to use as a tripod and we tried numerous times...it wasn't meant to be...but at least we are documented.... :)

You'll also notice our feast of shrimp and steak--it was a hit, both items went 5/6 for likeability--it was a true feast! And for dinner, for those of you who follow our crazy Christmas Eve tradition, we did get to close down McDonald's this year!

ELLIE:
Dress up ware designed for 10 yr olds, a snuggie and a curling iron of her own...she's loving her gifts!

JAYNA:
Again, dress up clothes that actually fit an 8 yr old and a stack of American Girl fill in the blank notebooks. Add to that meaningful ornaments and the mp3 player stocked with music and she's been in heaven.

AVA:
Sleeping Beauty winter cloak, pillow pet and ballerina garb coming out of her ears.

COLIN:
Let me just say that eBay has been my best friend this year. Almost everything Colin received was Wiggle-related and not made anymore. He is loving life, with "talking" Wiggles dolls, a new guitar, Captain's feather sword etc. He loved the gifts this year and had to be watched like a hawk as he did not love the rotation with his sisters in opening gifts.

CHRISTMAS DAY!
We hit the road for Grandma and Grandpa Glynn's house...and enjoyed seeing Great Grandma and the Knoechel's for the day. We sang Happy Birthday Jesus, had a feast, washed dishes by hand (Broken dishwasher! Ack! But great conversation!) and exchanged gifts. Best gifts per the girls: homemade pj's by Grandma! Colin was a hoot, as usual, entertaining all who watched him as he turned EVERYTHING into a guitar and played peek-a-boo/hide behind people's backs.

SLEDDING:
We took all the winter gear for all 6 of us so we could go sledding. Let's just say that the big girls LOVED this, they were out 3 different times. The little 2....well, they enjoyed eating the "big sticks" from Grandma's house and they enjoyed their 1st run down the sledding hill. After that, they were D.O.N.E....as in "Do not even try to get us out there again!"! As you can see, Ellie appears to be a natural at snowboarding....we are trying to accept this newfound love...while we are rejoicing that little Jayna was the queen of the hill this year. She tumbled, she flew down on the saucers, she ran up the hill--she didn't tire a bit and the whole time, had joy emitting from her face!

The girls also had tons of Rebekah time....which was just as pleasing for Rebekah as it was for the girls. Which...makes saying "good bye" all the more harder! And, as the bottom right photo in this collage indicates, Andy spent most of his time taking pictures. He was in picture heaven. He also had time to hit the hill himself--good ole fun!

Still the day after Christmas, we got away for a lunch date and a trip to Menards to pick out paint colors to paint Colin's room. The trip to Menards didn't end fruitful though--we couldn't pick a color and when it was all said and done, we decided to paint a different room...and now? We can't decide on a color and we can't decide on a room....so we're not painting this week! :) That is a project for another snowy day...

While we were gone though, Grandma and Grandpa did a pretzel dipping project with the kids. Yummy yummy and creative cute are what describe these snowmen! The kids had a lot of fun.

Finally, like father, like son...Andy and his Dad moving all the furniture and vacuuming under it before we departed for Wisconsin. No further comments needed....it was a cute moment! :)

Next up: wading through the hundreds of photos from Christmas programs. This, family and friends, is the drawback of the new camera...but stay tuned, it will get done soon!