Christmas Celebrations

We spent lots of time with family and friends this December, as usual! Which is always hectic, but so much fun! This is technically a marathon post, since it covers most of the month, but it's also mostly pictures, so I think you'll be okay. =}

MOPS Steering Party

I absolutely love spending time with these women!

Our personalities may all be different, but we compliment each other well.

{Unfortunately, I did a great job of getting horrible pictures of everyone (mouth open, eyes half closed, food in cheek - you get the idea!), so this the best of the best.}

Winter Orchestra Concert

Joey was so handsome in his tie! Cheryl and Kenneth joined us for the holiday music and Tucker kept himself amused with Daddy when there wasn't music playing.

Trimming the Tree

Tucker decided he liked the blue ornaments this year and lined most of them up on one side of the tree. Joey focused on the front of the tree for some reason and Mama & Daddy do their best to even things out. Chris and Cheryl decided to come watch the fun this year.

Decorating the tree is always one of my favorite traditions! It's a time to be silly and relive memories with almost every ornament that goes on the tree. Since I was little, my grandma has gotten each of her grandkids a different ornament each year. That's added up to quite a collection. My mom has started the same tradition with her grandkids - our tree is always colorful and abundant! =}

Baker Christmas Party

I look forward to getting our Baker Christmas invitation every year - it means Christmas is just around the corner!! We get together to share a meal and exchange cards with my grandma's side of the family every December. It might be the only time I see a lot of my relatives on this side, so it's fun to see how much everyone has changed.

We're a large bunch (I think I got about 2/3 in the bottom left pic above) and it now takes two tables to hold the stacks of cards that we sort out for everyone. We usually play a couple of games and Santa comes and gives the kids a gift each year.

Tucker was so excited to see Santa and I was so proud of how patient he was while he waited for his turn. He just stood and waited..and waited..and waited for his name to be called. He was the very last one (out of about 20 kids) and it was worth the grin that lit up his face when he was finally on Santa's lap!

Christmas with the Austins

We headed down to Aloha to celebrate Christmas with Houston's family this year! My sister-in-law, Debbie, is a wonderful hostess - we always have wonderful meals with her and Tom. We also got to meet Chelsea's fiance and spend time with Brandon and Kristie's little ones - number four will be here soon!!

Severson Christmas

I adore my dad's side of the family! We always have fun - lots of noisy, yummy fun! Houston is still getting used to the ten different conversations at one time, but that's just how it works with big families! This year we even had a couple of "look what I can do!" moments - that's Joey laying on his stomach touching his heels to the ground and Evan licking his elbow...I never said they were normal, just that I adore them! =}

Christmas at Shannon's

Celebrating with my mom's side is always chaos!! Fun, but chaos!

And I can't name it like the other get-togethers because we now all have different last names! The Gilman-Austin (Cable)-Minihan-Howard Christmas just doesn't quite flow...

The little one passed-out on the couch while we played games is my newly acquired niece, Lizzie. I would have introduced my brother's new girlfriend, Samantha, and her daughter, Lizzie, sooner - but they went and got married on Christmas Eve before I had the chance!! Impulsive, yes, but David seems very happy.

Christmas Eve at New Bridge

I don't have any pictures of this yet, but it was wonderful! I'm part of the drama group and we had a great time doing a white glove/black light pantomime to "We Are the Reason." After the service we headed outside for the candlelight portion and a music and light show. Tucker entertained us with his awesome dance moves under the lights!

Our Decembers are always busy, but so much fun!

We have so much to be thankful for and so many wonderful friends and relatives that make the Christmas season even more bright!