After that bleary-eyed but spirit-filled Christmas Eve, we woke up to Grace’s Christmas call, her face all aglow with Christmas wonder in the mission field. She told us she had been talking to the other kids who had been up for an hour. Still so weird to sleep past the crack of dawn on Christmas (no little kids:()

Apparently these guys had been singing but we didn’t hear it.

They were sure having fun though!

(Josh slept over too, but he was the one who got up at the crack of dawn for the launch of the James Webb telescope…still right there with us on Christmas morning but not singing with the kids, Ha!)

Read the traditional squiggly writing from Santa:

Grace joined us via FaceTime for a while…see her on my phone down there?

That girl is a wonder. She sent us all the sweetest cards, all complete with quite impressive drawings…

…I got a painting, isn’t is so beautiful?

And of course a Texas ornament. (A piece of her heart will always be in Texas). And Austin playing cards for Lu.

Nana and Papa showed up to help with our traditional Christmas Eggs Benedict.

We’ve had some giant failures with that over the years, but we’re getting those suckers down to a science and that is fun.

One of the gifts to the family was the SUNS game. WooHoo!

Lucy opted to stay home because she wasn’t feeling great with an ear infection, poor girl! But she had Legos to put together so she was pretty happy.

The excitement in that arena was electric.

…and we were pretty happy to be there!

We were missing Max and Abby so much, but so excited for them as they had the opportunity to head off for Texas with Abby’s family:

After the game we headed to Nana and Papa’s house where these kids played some games (apparently this was a serious part of the game):

…and the adults talked and talked.

Such a nice mellow way to end the day with all those extended family members we love so much.

But of course, the day is never complete without a game of cards back at home before we wave goodbye to all that Christmas hoopla. I had to take a picture of my cards for “Scum,” yikes, not a fantastic hand right there!

I’m always trying to hold onto Christmas at the end of the day, just as it evaporates between my fingers. But it was a good day.

Other stuff this season (since they’re all over the place):

Max & Abby’s pre-Christmas visit

Warm Christmas Vibes

Christmas Eve

Two of my favorite Christmas gifts

Another favorite Christmas gift (Texas reunion)

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11 Comments

    1. I think I need to hire someone to do that! But remember you can go to 71toes home in the meantime! (Link in sidebar). I need to update that thing!

  1. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! I’ve been following you for years and I just love your family.

    We got to Facetime our missionary in CA as well. She’s only been out 2 months but she radiates joy & she loved Christmas on the mission (as did I back in the day). It’s magical!

    The most important reason I’m commenting is this- I’ve heard your dad on the Faith Matters podcast twice now. They are my favorite episodes and I want you to tell you dad (and mom) that he needs to do his own podcast! He’s got so much wisdom that we can all learn from. I’m definitely a fan! 🙂

    Many blessings in the new year!

    Sheila from AK

    1. I loved that podcast as well! For anyone reading who wants to listen in, it is here: https://faithmatters.org/be-in-the-world-a-conversation-with-richard-eyre/
      It really is SO GOOD.

      He and my mom do have their own podcast. It’s called Eyres On The Road and you can find it on any podcast app. But also, I’ll link it here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eyres-on-the-road/id903441394

      I love their down-to-earth attitude and of course, I love everything they have to say.

  2. Would you share what the envelopes are on your Christmas tree? They maybe for decoration only but wondered if you give gifts this way…ie: gift certificates, gift cards, letters, etc. I have older children and am always looking for new ideas/gifts to give. Thanks!

    1. Those are gifts from grandparents (if they gave money to the kids rather than a gift), and some special notes that Grace wrote to us all. Those were the ones complete with the drawings and paintings she did. So sweet.

      For older kids I heard a fun idea: wrap up gift cards/small little gifts, restaurant coupons, etc. in a huge ball of saran wrap. Everyone rolls dice and if you get a certain number you get to unravel a layer of the saran wrap to see if you can get unwrapped enough to get to one of the “goods.” I don’t know all the details but I heard it’s fun.

  3. I typically hate how all the blogs are so focused on stuff and material things. However, I’m so curious about what you gift to your kids. I know you typically steer away from topics like that, but I’d love to get a glimpse. Also, how do you deal with extended family gifts?

    1. Our main gift to all the kids this year was shoes. Dave has a new workout shoe he loves and when he loves something he wants to give it to everyone;). For extended family we always have a rotation. This year we had Josh so we gave him shoes too. Ha! We also had Dave’s sister and gave them some Stanley cups with a little inside joke.

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