Christmas 2015

As I mentioned before, this year was the first Christmas since I moved home that members of our family have been out of the state for the holidays. Hands down, the best part of Christmas was having Isaac, Dominika, Adelina, and Micah home again for a few weeks. We spent lots of much-needed quality time together.

Adelina's gotten pretty good at smiling on command, and she is always the center of attention wherever she is.

Mom's house = good food. She always has yummy things like cheese and avocado and tortilla chips. Things I can't buy for myself because if they're in my house, I eat them all immediately. Isaac and I were up late one night and both had munchies, so we took advantage.

Our family tradition is a big family dinner on Christmas Eve, followed by a program of some kind and presents. We had Alisha with us for the first time this year, and Grandma Shoaf was able to join us again. So many of my favorite people in one picture!

And because I was the one taking the photo...Christmas selfie with the fam!

Cousins table

We had a Christmas program afterwards that included a poem describing how the common symbols of Christmas (Santa Claus, candy canes, etc.) can remind us of the Christmas story and the true meaning of Christmas. We sang some songs, took some pictures, then opened presents.

Cutest cousins

I'm so glad Grandma is able to be a part of our family tradition!

Annual Christmas Sisters Picture - now with Alisha in our group!

Beautiful mess

Jonah took on the role of Adelina's new favorite - she insisted he play picnic with her!

Night vision goggles from Aunt Kaley. A big hit, thank you very much.

New rocking horse for this sweet babe. Seriously, if she were any cuter I might die.

Following the festivities and after the non-staying-over groups left, we played Ticket to Ride and snacked on leftovers from dinner.

My mom made these stockings for the older four of us kids when we were little.

Christmas morning we woke up, had breakfast with the missionaries, then opened presents among those of us who stayed over at Mom and Dad's. And Adelina and I took more selfies.

Adelina remained, as always, the center of attention, trying on the new boots I bought her and her new inflatable ball pit.

My parents got me a framed photo of the Indianapolis temple - just what I wanted! It now hangs over my bed and I love it.

At special family times like this, I'm filled with so much gratitude for these two loving, faithful parents whose commitment to each other and the gospel of Jesus Christ has created such a wonderful family who fills my soul. They are an incredible example of devoted, Christ-like love and service in marriage and I'm grateful to have them as a standard.

My parents, the missionaries, Micah, and I went to help serve at a special needs lunch while Isaac's family went to visit some of Dominika's relatives. We came back together at my parents' house that night and ate and played more games. Isaac and Holden played Holden's new pie face game. It wasn't very successful but it was fun to watch them get nervous about getting whipped cream in the face.

The game wasn't working very well, so finally they took matters into their own hands.

And you know those nachos made a reappearance, along with our traditional whirley-pop popcorn.

I went home the morning after Christmas, and even though I was happy to be back in my own bed, I was so grateful that I live close enough and have the flexibility to have spent so much time with my family. The best part - knowing we still had so much to look forward to over Winter Break!