Christmas 2012 with the Puzeys

FYI: The first time we celebrated Christmas with the Puzeys was in 2001. Zac (who is now a deacon) was only 16 months old!
On Christmas Eve we head up to the Puzeys and party! Cheryl always makes the most delicious dinner: Autumn Bisque in breadbowls and Spinach Salad. Yum! The kids acted out the Nativity for us in the basement. And then was the ever anticipated opening of the Christmas PJs. The kids slept upstairs and it took them forever to be able to fall asleep. That night Nate and I stayed up working on Cheryl's gift. This little baby...
The next morning the kids patiently sat at the top of the stairs and sang Christmas carols until it was time to come downstairs and open presents.

Finally the moment arrived and they ran downstairs to find their stockings. They are always really fun to watch. Olivia received a pack of glow bracelets from Santa, but in that magical moment, all she could say was, "Santa brought me tiny magic hula hoops!" Then they opened their presents and played and played and played and played. We stayed in our PJs all day playing. For breakfast the Puzeys made mini waffles and there was every kind of topping you could imagine to go on top: raspberry jam, almond butter, cookie butter, peanut butter, pumpkin butter, apple butter, cocoa almond spread, literally...everything. It was fun to try it all. It was a wonderful day and we LOVE spending it with the Puzeys!

Barry Krissiemas & Happy New Lucy 2012

We invented a new holiday this year. Barry Krissiemas! and Happy New Lucy! Barry and Krissie had to leave on the 24th, so that morning we decided to have our own little Christmas together and exchange our gifts. Apparently one always wears a Christmas head piece for Barrie Krissiemas...because that is what we did. We had a yummy breakfast of cinnamon rolls and eggs and bacon and fruit, then we opened gifts. Barrie and Krissie had the most fun gifts for us. All hand made. I only have pictures of the kid ones so far, but I'll post ours later. The boys received marshmallow shooters and a bag of marshmallows. Jonah might have been more excited about the marshmallows. And Olivia got this darling scarf knit by Krissie. Then, of course, we had to go outside and have a proper Marshmallow Gun Fight. They are awesome! Then we played a few video games. Owen LOVES watching Barry play video games. :)
    
Jonah preferred to hide out up in a tree while the Great Marshmallow Gun War was going on. He's more of a pacifist. :)

Christmas Service Projects

We did a few service type projects with the kids this year. One was taking cupcakes to the 911 Dispatchers that serve our community and neighborhood. My friend works there and we had her take them for us so we could spread some anonymous Christmas cheer. She reported that they were really grateful for the treats, because their scheduled breaks were cancelled that night. The kids had a great time decorating them and it was fun to do an activity focused on being kind to others.

Barry + Krissie + Lucy = Fun!

We had visitors!!! We love it when people come and visit! Barry and Krissie and Lucy headed our way the week before Christmas and we had a ton of fun. The day they arrived the kids were playing outside with a neighbor, Gracie. We had a little picnic snack outside and then played on the trampoline and in the sand box. Barry and Krissie are so fun and the kids LOVE playing with them! Clearly Lucy LOVES her Uncle Nate every bit as much... We'll keep working on that...
After all that fun we came inside and decorated cupcakes to take to the Fire Station that serves our neighborhood and community. They were really grateful for the treats and let the kids climb all over the trucks and explore. It was really fun.

The next night we decorated our Gingerbread house, and we put together the Nativity Scenes that Nana and Papa sent for the kids. Yes, we packed in a lot of fun! The kids loved both activities. Thank you Nana and Papa!

See? Look what a party it is when family comes to visit! :) But wait...there's more! We went to Owen's school party. We brought Reindeer cookies for them to make and then they had a dance party...Mom helped with the cookies, and Krissie danced with the kids. It was a fun party. And that is Owen's teacher, Mrs. Jackson. Later that afternoon, we headed down to Piedmont Park to do a little ice skating. It was a really small rink, but the kids had a lot of fun. We do NOT have balance in spades in our family. Mostly, that's my fault...or at least I was not the most coordinated person until well into my college years. Like maybe even grad school. Though I do remember tripping as I walked across the street in grad school and doing a full somersault. I think it was a pretty good show for the lucky onlookers. Anyhow, no one was hurt, everyone had fun, and it took much effort to keep everyone upright and going forward on the ice. It was hilarious to watch!
Phew! I'll save the next few events for the next posts, but we sure are glad Barry, Krissie and Lucy came to visit and play!