We kind of realized at the last minute that we needed to find a time to do our family Christmas before we left on the "Christmas tour of Families". So we decided to do it on Friday December 19. I was thinking I would make a nice meal and we would open gifts, but when I asked everyone Rob wasn't that hungry and Gracie really wanted "cracker soup" which is just tomato soup with cheese and crackers in it. So that is what we did...we had cracker soup and broccolli soup for Rob and I. It was nice to have a little bit of a lighter meal going into the holiday season. It seems like so many of the christmas meals you eat are so huge...no, it doesn't seem like it, they really are huge and so good! 
The girls enjoying their soup and anticipating the gift opening!
Rob and I's attempt to get a self portrait of ourselves and have a pic of our Christmas together!
Sisterly love! Love the way they are really starting to take of each other and enjoy being together.
Had to capture this on film, who knows how long we will be able to get them to do this.
I took each of the girls shopping so they could pick out a gift for each other...they were so excited to open each others gifts! It was so cute just to hear them say "Thank you" to each other and just get so excited to give and recieve gifts from each other.
I just love Karys' face in this picture and had to post it mainly for that reason!
I have never seen two little ppl get so excited about toothbrushes! We gave three gifts this year, a great idea that I got from a friend, a need, a want, and a spiritual emphasis gift. The toothbrushes actually ended up being the want b/c they had been asking for a spin brush like Malachi's ever since we went to CA over Thanksgiving.
Gracie made us the cutest tealight holders at preschool! She fingerpainted snowmen on them with each of her little finger prints making up the snowballs of the snowmen! It is so nice to be able to celebrate on a smaller scale and have some family time reading the Christmas stories and just enjoying time just the four of us....soon to be five ;)
Happy little faces right after they got outside and are all bundled up!
"Gracie, if you rub your hands together like this I don't think they will get cold."
Karys was ambitious and smiley for a little while when she first got outside, excited to be a part of the "outdoor crew" and probably just to get out of the house....but it wasn't long and...
There was a little knock at the door and she was ready for me to help her inside. She didn't even get all her snow clothes off before she ran off to find her blankie and pop her fingers in her mouth!
Gracie, however, endured for another 15 minutes or so...just following daddy with her rake or even heading off on her own to contribute to the snow removal effort ;)
She was sure to tell me right when she came inside that she needed a shovel for Christmas b/c her rake did not work near as well as Daddy's shovel did.
I just love the way she is always so eager to help and contribute, she gets such satisfaction from serving in some way...I pray that quality only continues to strengthen and grow!
On December 10 the girls and I spent the afternoon cutting out Christmas cookies in all different shapes and sizes. I grew up doing this, but have come to realize that I grew up doing it at my grandma's house and never with my mom...it drives her crazy to do it ;) But I LOVE it and hope to be able to do it with my girls as a tradition with either just them or even their cousins for years to come!
This is probably to only picture I have of Karys "attempting" to cut out cookies. Even after she would cut one out she would eat the entire shape and it would never make it to the pan.
Gracie on the other hand was a perfectionist and loved making sure it was cut out just right and scooping it up and giving it to me to put on the tray.
In tradition we make all of our frosting form hand as well and dye it to be the colors we want it to be. The girls helped choose the colors and make sure they were just the right shades ;)
All of the cut out cookies that the batch made prior to being frosted...could not believe how many the batch made! I had to take most of them over to my mom's that weekend so Sarah could help me frost them all ;)
All of the completed cookies from that night...they did SUCH a great job and had so much fun!
Glancing over and admiring their work...actually I am sure they were scoping out which cookie they would want to eat first ;) All in all the cookie day was a complete success!
So we got it up in the tree stand and Gracie was posing right away in front of it...
Daddy got the lights on straight after I made my feeble attempt and messed it up;)
Gracie was so excited to be able to get the angel in the right spot and up on top of the tree...
She and Karys could not stop touching and holding the angel...however, it didn't quite make it up there right away. The tree kept leaning...and that led to tipping over. Both Rob and I knew that we couldn't have a tree full of ornaments falling down and moreover we couldn't have a tree that might fall and take out our little ladies. 
So Rob laid it down on the ground, and after over an hour of attempts to get it to stand up in the tree stand he finally got it to firmly and stablely stand. I heard it all though and viewed it even just in his expressions and his voice...at one point the tree was only moments away from being chucked out to the curb and trashed.
Rob showing his love and affection for the tree ;)
The girls were so excited when we could finally start unwrapping tht ornaments and get them on the tree.
I would unwrap them all since we have such a mix of breakable and keepsake ornaments and then I would hand them to Gracie...
If she could she would hang them on the tree herself....
And if not she would hand the fragile ones to daddy to put on!
The first Saturday in December we loaded up the girls in the van and headed out to the tree farm in town to continue the tradition we started last year of cutting down our own Christmas tree. This was a tradition in Rob's family that I was able to be a part of a couple of times and it was just so much fun. Rob always, and still does, had the goal of being the one to choose that "perfect tree"!
Before we even got to the tree farm, Karys was out cold...and speaking of cold it was FREEZING!!! B/c of that the tree farm let us drive our van back into the rows of trees to choose one. It was definitely warmer this way, but it was also harder to choose a tree from the comfort of our van. Finally we decided on a tree, more out of the fact that it was slim pickings and we were hungry!
So Rob got out and chopped it down with his bare hands....
...and took the time to pose for a picture quick...
...while the girls waited in the car ;)
Rob with Morgan and Jennifer...two youth group girls who were a part of his first LOH group that he did.
Me with Jon and Tammy Milhon...my professor and his wife from APU who did a really GREAT job of caring for me not only as a student but as a friend!
The girls being silly with Megan on the couch of her MOD...fun to see where Megan lives away from home!
More silly faces with B & T Brander....so fun that Rob could pick them up from the airport as they came back from Iowa ;) and we got the chance to hang with them an evening
Tracey and I both decided after many photo attempts this was our best side and the best pic ;)
Megan and I really wanted to make time to get pedicures so we enjoyed a couple hours of pampering...
The salon that we went called cozy toes....not sure we felt cozy but they looked cute!
My very white Iowa feet that had not seen the sun in a couple of months ;)
Our group outing with the VerWys', Shannon, and Megan for a great pizza and pizookie dinner!
My good friend Kristen...I miss her tons and working at LB Memorial! All of our kids together...Chloe, Gracie, Karys, and Dylan
The VerSteegs....love these guys! So fun to reconnect with them, they took over senior high youth group after we left so fun to hear how well things are going for them!
Emily...she drove all the way down from school to see us! YAY! I loved the relationship we had...wish we could talk more!
Karys with Megan and the APU crowd that met us at Corner Bakery for dinner. Gracie was out cold the entire meal and woke up right when I was loading her back into the van ;)
