Christmas 2013 recap

Well ---Christmas 2013 has come and gone. 

A fun time was had by all. 

I wanted to do a quick recap of our Christmas festivities.

On Monday, Rebecca, Jacob and I baked cookies for Santa. 

Rebecca helped me make the sugar cookie cutouts, and Jacob helped me make M&M cookies. 

Both kids had a blast decorating the sugar cookies. 

Tuesday, Christmas Eve, Hubby had to work in the morning, but then was off from noon until Thursday morning. After he came home from work, we all got dressed up and went to my in-laws house for Christmas Eve lunch and opening presents. We had a fun time and were spoiled by my in-laws. The kids got a lot of clothes, toys and fun stuff. Bill got a brand new coat! And they bought me a beautiful Nativity set that I can't wait to put out next year.

After Christmas Eve festivities, we headed back home and arrived back in our town around 6. We stopped at McDonald's as a treat for the kids for dinner and brought it home to eat. When we arrived home, we found that Santa had already stopped by once and left a few presents under the tree. He left new PJs for everyone in the family and the book "Twas the Night Before Christmas" for our annual reading of it before bed. The kids were exhausted, and in reality so were Bill and I. After the kids went to bed, Bill and I put out the Christmas goodies and we had stocking filled, presents out and were in bed by 10pm. LOL

Christmas morning, found the kids having full stockings and presents from Santa and Mom and Dad. Rebecca enjoyed getting a tiara from Santa, the game Operation, books, puzzles, a school sweatshirt, and s Spongebob Snuggie from Mom and Dad. Jacob loved getting more super heroes (Thor, Iron Patriot and Wolverine) from Santa, books, puzzles, coloring things, a Spongebob shirt and a Superman snuggie from Mom and Dad. Benjamin loved his Bubble Guppies toy car that he received from Santa. And he was more interested in messing with his siblings things than opening his own presents! LOL.

The gift that the kids LOVED the most though was a doll house and set that I was actually given for free from my former boss. We gave it to the kids as a group gift from Santa. My former bosses' daughter only played with it a couple of times. The kids opened it first and played with it for a good 20 minutes before they opened their other gifts. And they have been playing with it everyday since. 

I got Bill several DVDs, including a box set of all the original Star Trek movies. He really enjoyed his gifts. 

I got a couple very practical gifts...a new computer chair with a back to replace the one that I had been using whose back fell off over a year ago. I can now type with no pain in my back! He also got me a Shark cordless sweeper, which I LOVE and which I have already used many times. He also got me a blu ray player which we actually ended up returning because my mother bought one for Bill and we don't need 2! Bill also got me a new Joel Osteen book to read which I have already started reading and is a really good book. 

After spending the morning and afternoon, just relaxing and enjoying Christmas at home with just us, we went to my parents house for Christmas dinner and to open more presents. It was a fun time there, with my parents, siblings, Sister-in-law, niece and nephews. The kids received more clothes, and toys! Bill received his blu-ray player and "Star Trek: Into Darkness" on blu ray to watch! 

I received several practical gifts from my parents. They gave me gift cards to use toward an eye exam and new glasses! This was a much appreciated gift. They also gave Bill and I several gift cards to different restaurants and a local grocery store.

 They also gave us 1/4 of a hog. They had a half of a hog processed and split it between my brother and his wife and Bill and I. Our freezer is now loaded with LOTS of pork---ribs, roast, a huge ham, sausage patties and ground, and bacon!  I cooked some of the bacon a few day ago and it is SO much better than what you get at the grocery store. 

We had a lovely dinner there, with ham, turkey and way too much to eat. And by the end of the day, Benjamin made us all laugh because of all the new toys he had to play with...this is what I found him doing....

He was loving taking all the pop cans out of the container and just moving them around my parents' kitchen floor. 

Overall, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were wonderful days with fun times with family and lots of laughs and memories. We were blessed above and beyond with gifts and are so grateful for these blessings. Our kids had a wonderful 2 days and are still having LOTS of fun with their new toys! 

How was your Christmas?

Did you receive special or useful presents this year?