Christmas weekend

Merry Christmas! What a weekend. It feels like it's been one party after another, but I'll tell you this, I would not change a thing! I love Christmas time and getting the opportunity to be with family. There's just something about Christmas that makes everyone forget all the excuses about why they don't normally get together so that everyone can be together to enjoy the holiday. I love it!
After our Nowling Christmas last weekend, it really felt like Christmas was over. We worked on our basement and continued to make the necessary preparations for Christmas. However, once all the other parties started, if definitely felt like Christmas again.
Since I treat my blog like a journal, I'm including everything we did this weekend. Christmas Eve we had dinner with my dad, step-mom and brother, Dan. It was a small gathering from what we normally would have had, but not everyone could make it. For us, it was nice to have somewhere to go. :) We enjoyed a yummy dinner and then exchanged presents.
Eliza was in awe of this gift.
Brooklyn loves opening presents and especially loved helping Eliza who would get bored opening presents. Afterward, we went home and unwrapped our pj's and went to bed. Brooklyn went to bed better than she has ever done before. She was very worried Santa would come before she fell asleep. She understood that she would get skipped if she wasn't asleep by the time he came to our house.
Christmas morning was lots of fun! Brooklyn woke us up around 7:45 amazed that she didn't wake up at all during the night. I'm not sure what she was expecting because she always sleeps through the night. We all looked through our stockings, but couldn't open any presents until after breakfast. We invited my dad and step-mom over for Christmas breakfast and to watch the girls open their gifts. They really enjoyed watching the magic of Christmas in our girls again!
Eliza wasn't in much of a mood to open presents. Here she is playing with part of the train tracks and making her grandparents smile with her silly faces.
Brooklyn received trains from Santa, which is exactly what she wanted. Last year, Santa disappointed her and she reminded us for the next few months. Luckily, this year she wanted a much more attainable gift. No disappointments this year! Eliza loved playing with them too.
Eliza got this giant dollhouse from Santa. She didn't ask for anything, but due to a very generous donation from a family member who wanted the girls to have this, we had a little extra this year. This is obviously for both girls. They are in love with it! Brooklyn just kept talking about how big it was. Oh, on a side note, Brooklyn loved every single one of Eliza's presents this year and quickly adopted them as her own. Having two kids really made it feel like we got way too many gifts this year. It feels like our house is covered in toys!
We spent Christmas day playing with all the toys and games and enjoyed being together. Then we decided to go downtown to see the lights since we hadn't done that yet this year. It was cold, but as pretty as ever!
I LOVED what they did differently this year. Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus were on the water. The water was warmer than the air so there was this amazing steam surrounding them. It was a fun evening being together.
Saturday we spent the day working in our basement and playing with toys. Later that day, we had plans to meet up with my mom and 3 brothers and their families. We ate out and then meet at a church to play basketball, open presents, and take pictures!
Eliza saw the eyes to this present first and was very curious.
My family from left to right: Top, Ryanne, Micah, Tim, Silas, Dan, Asher, Barry (not sure what appeared on his head, but it's the best picture where you can see every one's faces). Bottom, Marty, Angie, Eliza, Mom, Brooklyn, Caitlin, Sariah, Micah, Jen, and Jamon.
Overall, we had a great time and were spoiled as ever! Thanks to all my family for making it one incredible holiday!