Christmas 2011.

What a perfect Christmas it was! We were busy running here and there, but had a lot of time at each place to enjoy. The company was wonderful, the gifts were more than enough, and the food made us so full we felt sick every single night. That's perfection.

We started on the 22nd with our own little family. We gave the kids their Christmas jammies, put them in the car, and made the trip to visit Santa. They all *hated* him. After that disaster we drove around and looked at Christmas lights while sucking on candy canes. Here they are before we left. This picture absolutely swells my heart:

When we got home it was present time! Maleah kept saying, "drive faster!" Dallas and I talked about our childhood and the torture of Christmas Eve when our parents would want to visit after the church service and we wanted to get home. The memories were flooding in with our own little tikes being the same exact way.

We told the kids to find a spot in the living room and we would pass out gifts. Well, by the time we came into the living room to pass out, Layla was already done opening! Oh well. :)

This present here was the hit. There have been more fights over this stupid stuff. Ugh.

And the mess, oh the mess. And the putting together toys, oh the putting together toys.

The next morning we headed to Dallas's parents. Santa made a visit, where the girls again despised the man. Other than that, it was a splendid time! Here are Rod & Bonnie with the grandchildren:

Rod made Layla a cradle for her baby this year. It is precious, and Layla loves it. So does Charlie, as you can see in the photo. After she opened it, he climbed right in, started rocking, and singing. It was sweet.

That evening we met the Hayes cousins at Polar Express at the Parkersburg High School Auditorium. They had popcorn, milk, & cookies. It was super cute.

The next morning we had this for breakfast:

At noon, Famous Dave's arrived, along with my sisters and families. We ate and played games all day. The kids disappeared and played. It was delightful. Santa, again, made a surprise visit:


That evening, we went to the Christmas Eve service. Check out my 3 beauties:


And the little ladies:

Christmas morning we dove into stockings here, then sped over to Papa & Nana's where Santa also stops. Then we repeated Christmas Eve: playing games, eating, playing games, eating. We had our nice meal late afternoon. The kids ate downstairs:

so we could actually enjoy our prime rib around this table:

Our last Christmas party was spent with the Hayes extended family. We always have a blast being together, playing games, and laughing, laughing, laughing. This year was no different. It was a great conclusion to a fabulous week of celebrating!

Here is my Grandma Hayes with all the GREAT-grandkids. Is she blessed or what:

Grandma Hayes is the most pleasant person I have possibly ever met. I have never heard this woman complain about a single thing nor a negative comment out her mouth. She is so soft-spoken, content, generous, and happy.

My sisters and I with Grandma:


This Christmas was really, really wonderful. The ages of our children made it so fun. We were able to see everyone we love so much. We are healthy. We are blessed. We thank God for his baby boy, Jesus.