Christmas, Part 2

Christmas Day we headed to Nana and Papa's farm for lunch...

...and presents...

...and visiting...
...and a few laughs! (We love to do a few silly stocking stuffers.)

Look at this gorgeous table and chair set. The table belonged to the boys when they were little. Papa made it for them, and it got many years of use. Once they outgrew the table, it housed a guinea pig cage for several years and really took a beating. So, Papa took it to his barn and refinished it for Emma. He stained it with a rich walnut stain and I absolutely LOVE it!!! It is the perfect size for her, and Nana had the little table all set up with some new books and a big bow. She immediately took to it and spent quite a bit of time sitting there on Christmas. They found a perfect chair to go with it that he stained to match perfectly.

The next day we did a family celebration with my Mom. She came over to our house and we grilled steaks for dinner, then we went to her house to exchange gifts.

Hannah got a new pair of boots.

Emmie got a baby doll.

The boys got Cowboy jerseys.

And I got a cute lamp for my kitchen. (I found this a few months ago in my favorite store and called my Mom immediately to tell her I had found my Christmas present. I've been itching for Christmas to get here so I could find out if she really got it for me because I just loved it!)

I thought I was a shoe in for the biggest surprise of the year. I worked really hard to get a quilt ready in time for Christmas, and I had to work on it at really strange hours because my Mom stops by a lot. I was so worried I was going to get caught at my sewing machine one day when she popped in for a visit, but I managed to keep this a big secret. I was really excited about it, and she really did like it.

However, she trumped me on the biggest surprise award.

I got a HUGE surprise from her.

It's a real dandy. More on this later. (I'll give you a hint. You sew with it!)

We had such a joyful time with ALL our family this year. It has been very hard for me to see the season end. There were many moments that were very meaningful to me, and I'm grateful for an abundance of blessed memories.

Buzzard, Hannah, Max, Hayden, Emma, Mom, Dad, Stacy, Nancy, Dave, Mike, Kaylyn, Aaron, Hunter, and Will....you all made this Christmas merry and bright. Much love to you all.