Day after Chirstmas

We did Christmas at my mom's house today. Once again the children were showered in gifts and we got to spend some quality time with my grandparents while they were visiting.

Christmas afternoon

Once dinner was cooking, it was time to open gifts with Mingma and Papa. The kids got lots of gifts they really enjoyed and so did we. :) The twins finally passed out from all the excitement and took a well deserved nap. Soon after the gifts were all opened, the rest of the company came over to eat. We had a delicious meal and then the kids wanted to play the Wii Fit to show off their skills to the grandparents.

I'm sure I'm forgetting things we did, but this past week has been such a blur. I wasn't sure if I was coming, going and if I had all my children in tow. :)

I do know that this was a magical Christmas, watching all of the children open their presents and enjoying the very special day.

Christmas morning

The children woke us up at about 7:30 and it was time to open presents. Santa left lots and lots of stuff. Megan scored a Nintendo DS, Max got a huge slot car track , Connor got a transforming "Little Einsteins" Rocket and Keira got Mickey Mouse's clubhouse. The kids got a Wii Fit, too (that I'm sure Mommy and Daddy might put to use, as well). After we opened gifts and got the house back under control, we all got dressed and went to the 11:00 mass. When we got home, we started working on dinner. I got the turkey ready to go in the oven, the ham was dropped off to get cooked, and the tables were set for the guests (Mingma, Papa, Grandma Pam, Papa George, and Great Grandma Helene and Great Papa Earl).

Christmas Eve

We all gathered together to do Christmas Eve with my side of the family. As you can tell by the pictures, it was at the same place we gathered for Thanksgiving. The kids as usual made out like little bandits and there was more food than you knew what to do with. Bill and I both had to work, so we were balancing work, children, dinner, gifts and when we were going to attend Mass. We were shooting for 6:30 Mass, but that didn't happen, we were almost brave enough to haul everyone out for midnight Mass, but that also didn't happen. We decided 11:00 on Christmas would suit everyone. All would be rested, gifts all opened and no rushing to get the bird in the oven.

Trip up north

Megan and I took a whirlwind trip to the U.P. today to pick up my grandparents and bring them here for Christmas. What a trip that was.! It was quite interesting driving in complete white out conditions and sub-zero temps. It took us a bit longer than usual to get there, but we made it. We visited with my Aunt and Uncle for a little while, did some last minute Christmas shopping, ate some pasties for dinner and then passed out. We got up the next morning and hit the road again. The trip home was much better than the trip up.

Christmas Concert

It was time for the traditional Christmas Concert at school. Both of the kids did their parts very well.. They both had a great time and looked good on stage too. The school always puts on a great show and it was fun too.

Gingerbread house, kinda

This is a picture of the gingerbread (graham cracker) house that Megan made in school. I thought it was pretty cool and she wanted it put out here on the blog.

Christmas Cookies

We really went the simple route of making Christmas cookies this year. My mom bought a half a case of already pre-cut sugar cookies. I know its cheating, but it was definitely worth it, not having to clean up a big mess of flour and sugar everywhere. We still had a big mess with the frosting, but that is a mess I can deal with anyday:) The twins unfortunately were in bed when it was decorating time. I hope to have some more time this week to do some "real" cookies.

RCIA Christmas Party

We had our RCIA Christmas party tonight right after the Immaculate Conception Mass. There was lots of food and we all brought 2 gifts to exchange: one normal gift and one abnormal one. We then rolled dice to collect presents and steal them from one another. There were some really nice presents to be had out there...LOL we were just not that lucky. As you can see, I ended up with a thing of fake flowers (not even in a pot), Bill ended up with a half used bag of grass seed and an old sprinkler. Somebody got an empty pop can and a flea collar, so maybe we didn't do so bad after all. :)

Cheap labor

Kids are great, aren't they??
We had a little bit of snow on Saturday and Max was bored.

Breakfast with Santa

I once again was working the Breakfast with Santa at our church on Sunday for part of our school parent participation requirements. I spent the morning washing dishes and helping serve pancakes. Bill on the other hand had to get 4 children dressed up, out the door, attend church, and wrangle them all back to the gym for breakfast. I guess he looked like a cat herder; kids were going in all directions. I have to chuckle a little bit, because he thinks this never happens to me. I can't keep Connor in a grocery cart, the little butt chews his way right out of the cart. Anyway...here is a picture of the kids (and us) with Santa. Once again, the twins were not cooperating with the big fat man.

Christmas Pictures

We felt festive today, so we got the kids all dressed alike and had their pictures taken at Sears. Everyone was almost cooperative. :) Connor and Keira had their moments, but it was nothing a few handsful of goldfish couldn't fix.

Got crackers...

I just thought this was a cute picture of Connor cramming his face full of Ritz crackers.

Decorating time.

Bill got on the roof and hung the C9's on the house and enjoyed the 40 degree weather. It's not often around here that we can hang Christmas lights and not freeze our buns off, so we took advantage of the decent weather and finished the yard up.

Once the yard was done, it was time to decorate the tree. Keira didn't feel too well, so she helped by keeping the chair occupied. Now if I can only keep Connor from pulling the ornaments off the tree, we will be set.

Black Friday

I joined the crowds of Black Friday and shopping at the break of dawn...I fortunately did not get trampled or killed. I figured I was already working the midnight to 5:30 am shift at the Disney store, so I was already in the heat of the shopping action. This is the 2nd year in a row that our mall opened at midnight and it was a complete madhouse. I worked that shift last year too and this year seemed worse. Everyone was looking for great deals...


Later in the afternoon, after I had a big breakfast and all my shopping goodies put away, I put up all the inflatable items up in the yard and put some lights up on the fence. The temperature was in the 40's, so I was taking advantage of it.


While I was doing outside things, Bill was inside putting up the tree with some little helpers.

Happy Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with my side of the family and the kids all brushed up on their gambling skills. Megan and Max will soon be pool hustlers and Connor cannot get enough of the slot machines. He thought it was cool to put the quarters in and then wait for them to possibly come back out. Keira had a good time too pressing the buttons and watching her brothers. We are all thankful for what we are given each and every day and family, no matter how weird or how Connor-like some of them are, we always love them.