Christmas in PA

The Friday after Christmas we went back to Pennsylvania to visit with the extended family.   We spent Friday at the Tishko's house with my Dad's side of the family.  It was good to see everyone and the boys had lots of fun playing with the cousins.  There was a ping pong tournament, lots of food, presents, playing, talking and our annual singing of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  We spent the night in a hotel with Ma and Pa . . . .always a highlight for Max! :)  We woke up to snow on Saturday morning so the boys played a little in it while we loaded up the car for a visit to Great Grandma and Pap-Pap Smith's house.  Aunt Diane and Uncle Charlie stopped by as well.  There were more presents and food and Kyle even learned how to sew from Great Grandma.  He made his first pillow which he is very proud of.  We got back late Saturday night.  It was a fun trip.   

Christmas at home

We spent Christmas Day at our house.  We woke up in the morning and came downstairs to light the advent candles and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus.  Then we opened presents, had breakfast, and played with new toys.

Around 10:30 Ma and Pa arrived for some more Christmas fun!  More presents were exchanged, opened, and played with while we munched on some snacks.  Uncle Mike arrived soon after to join in the fun!

We had a yummy dinner of ham, stuffing, corn casserole, and sweet potatoes followed by a variety of Ma's cookies for dessert.

We had a great time and are so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Christmas at the Inmans

We celebrated Christmas with Jason's family on the 22nd this year.  We went to Carey and Casey's house and Grandma Luster, Michael, and Grammie and Grandpa Inman were there as well.  We got to visit with everyone, enjoy a yummy dinner, watch Christmas movies, open presents, and play pokemon. 

Gingerbread houses

A couple nights ago we made a Gingerbread Mini Village with the boys.  We usually do one bigger gingerbread house, but I saw this and thought it would be perfect!  Kyle got to decorate three of the houses in the village and Max decorated two.  It worked out perfectly.  Each boys houses definitely reflect their personalities.  Max has a lot of stuff on his . . . they're quite busy and colorful!  Kyle's are very neat and orderly and followed his thoughtful plan.  They had fun making them and we now have a nice centerpiece for our table. 

Max's Christmas program

Today was Max's Christmas program at preschool.  He performed several Christmas songs with his class followed by a lunch party with teachers, parents, and friends.  It was a fun time.  Max did a great job!  Last year he got a little stage fright and just stood there most of the time not really singing or doing any motions.  This year was quite different.  He was so excited and sang all the songs and did the motions.  After the show he had fun with his two best friends Hammie and EJ being silly and eating some yummy treats.  We left with a Christmas gift for our family . . . a beautiful ornament that Max made for us along with a card.  He also got a gift from his teachers . . . a story book of the song "Away in a Manger." 

Kyle lost his first tooth

Kyle's tooth has been very loose for the past couple of days and last night it finally came out!  He is so excited to have lost his first tooth!  Most of his friends lost their first teeth back in kindergarten so he's been waiting quite awhile for this moment!  He got $5 from the tooth fairy since this was his first tooth and he's waited such a long time.  We made sure to let him know that the rate for other teeth will probably not be quite so high! :)  He's got a cute little toothless grin now. 

Christmas Cookies

Yesterday we decided to make Christmas sugar cookies with the boys.  We've done this the past couple of years, but this was the first year that they both participated from beginning to end.  They worked very hard and had a lot of fun.  The cookies turned out delicious!