Christmas Photos

As always, we had a holiday packed with family and activities, and the fun isn't over yet! We had a wonderful Christmas, filled with lots of love. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, (many times, in fact!), I'll take the busy schedule, the shuffling and the juggling over the alternative any day. We are truly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. I am grateful every day that my children are being raised in the midst of two close-knit families and have the experience of knowing, without a doubt, every single day of their lives, that they are loved beyond belief. That, my friends, is the gift God gave to us on the very first Christmas - love so magnificent that he was willing to give his only son to us, so that we may know Him. Family - comfort, mercy, guidance, a bond that only continues to grow and knows no boundaries. I sincerely hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas too, and regardless of your family situation, your economic status, or your social calendars, took time to truly recognize how God shows His love in your life. I know in our household, it's hard to look around and not see it!

On Christmas Eve, we made Reindeer food at my mom's house before mass.
One part oatmeal...

...two parts sprinkles, and one heaping helping of enthusiasm!

Sprinkle liberally on lawn. The boys were definitely up to this task!

It wouldn't be Christmas Eve, without at least one photo candidate for www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

After mass, we headed over to my sister and brother-in-law's house, for some quality Williams time!

Andrew was thrilled with his gift from Kiersten!

Brooke was happy with her cow Pillow Pet.

Jake thought his Spiderman alarm clock was totally cool!

Greg needed a "meatball," as he calls it (a little tap on the back of the head) to keep him in line and remind him not to be jealous, but rather to be happy for others. Men! (Just kidding, he wasn't jealous!)

Then we headed home to prepare for Santa's arrival. We thought it would be a great idea to have Andrew give his binkies to Santa, in exchange for a guitar (which we told him Santa would bring). He was willing enough. He and Greg gathered all of his pacifiers and put them in this brown bag with a letter instructing Santa to give the binkies to the babies who need them. He even went to bed without fuss, although we heard him over the monitor saying, "Santa take my D.D. Give it to the babies. Stick it in their mouths." We had to laugh about that! He went to sleep and slept soundly until about midnight, at which point, we stopped laughing. He was up at least 6 times between midnight and 5 in the morning, when we finally caved in and gave the binkie back. This is the third failed attempt at ending the binkie addiction. I'm done trying to get rid of it now. He can have it til his adult teeth come in, as far as I'm concerned. He only takes it in the crib. It's not impeding his speech, and he doesn't tote it around like I see many bigger toddlers doing (which I think looks ridiculous). If he needs that little extra comfort, so be it. Andrew got an extra gift this Christmas. He got to keep his binkies. And Greg and I will hopefully have some better nights of sleep by default!

Along with the binkies, we put out cookies, of course. As is only typical for my boys, they argued about who would set the plate on the table.

And continued arguing about getting their picture taken...

After they were all snuggled away, Greg and I set out the loot. Keep in mind that my parents, and both of my sisters' gifts are under the tree too. It's not all stuff from Greg and me.

Jacob was up at 4 a.m. Christmas morning. He was good, though. He did not wake us up. I got up at 545. After the 100th trip to Andrew's bedroom, I gave up trying to sleep and opted for coffee instead. I came down stairs to find Jacob watching cartoons by himself in the living room. He waited patiently (well, as patiently as a 7 year old can) until 730 to call my parents and summon the gang down to open presents!

"I know, Andrew! It's amazing!"

"I wish I could read, so I could tell which ones are for me!"

"Come on, guys! We want to open presents!"

Andrew's heart is big enough to love even the Grinch on Christmas!

Jacob drew a design for a Christmas quilt for me. Mom made it under his specific instructions. How cool!

Andrew got his prized guitar. His absolute FAVORITE gift!

Jacob had to use his rifle to "keep the peace" a couple of times throughout the morning.

Andrew also got a Scooby Do motorcycle, which he promptly used to run over everyone else's gifts!

Andrew was actually overwhelmed with the number of gifts he got, and at one point gathered all of his unwrapped packages and just sat with them on the couch for about 30 minutes! We took some of them and put them away for his birthday. Excess is excess. May as well spread it out!

My step-sister, Meghan and her fiance, Patrick were in for Christmas this year. It's the first time in many years that they have been home for the holidays, and we were glad to have their company on Christmas morning.

A static ball. That's one cool gift, if I say so myself!

And last, but certainly not least, we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast prepared by my master chef, Greg.

In the evening, we had dinner at my parent's house. They even purchased a free-range, organic ( and home-schooled, as they joked) turkey in honor of Greg and me! How sweet! Dinner was delicious, as was dessert. My dad and Patrick are both excellent cooks. The kids got to play some more together, and my mom and sister took the kids out to drive through our local "Lights On The Lake" Christmas light display after dinner. We're meeting more family today for brunch, and then will have a little down time to prepare for the annual "Sheehan Family" Christmas bash, which will be on New Years Eve this year, and his been extended to include the Williams gang as well. We will be ringing in the new year in style, and most importantly, surrounded by those we hold most dear!