This past Saturday we celebrated our annual Family Christmas, a tradition we started six years ago (I think?), since we usually go out of town to visit extended family the week of Christmas. It’s one of our family’s favorite parts of the season!
We start with a breakfast that our children help make. This year we had pancakes, eggs, bacon, Brown Sugar Biscuit Twists, fruit, tater tots and orange juice.
Then it’s opening presents – which we do one at a time, in order of age. Micah and Kierstyn were thrilled with their gifts (they received four gifts each), especially their bows and arrows!!
One of the big highlights of the day was David getting so excited about opening a gift, actually opening it, and then carrying it around and playing with it for an hour. He has never shown much interest in opening gifts before, so this was such a big milestone!
After the presents, we hung out for the rest of the day – doing a puzzle Kathrynne gave me, the kids playing with their presents, eating snacks, watching football and a few shows, and just being together! I decided not to even think about cleaning anything up until the next day and just be in the moment.
We loved having Will (Kathrynne’s boyfriend), Emma (Kathrynne’s roommate and good friend), RJ (Kaitlynn’s boyfriend), and Isabel (our longtime friend) joining us for this special morning!
Jesse and the three older kids got me the BEST gifts for Christmas (I didn’t make a list so their gifts were a total surprise and they did an amazing job picking out things that I absolutely loved!!)
Silas got me this pair of Adidas – my first ever, I think? He buys me a pair of beautiful shoes every Christmas and has the most amazing taste in shoes!! He was really concerned that I might not know how to style these, but so far he has approved of how I have worn them. I love these and have worn them several times already!
Kaitlynn gave this to me luxury bread cutting knife called Bread Bow! It has taken my homemade bread game to a new level!! Seriously, if you make homemade bread, get one of these!! It is SO fun to use and cuts the perfect slices of bread.
Kathrynne got me this vintage puzzle that she has and I love it (already started!) because it combines two things I’m a big fan of: puzzles and travel!! Plus, it’s brightly colored so it’s really fun to put together!
Jesse got me this bread bin which I was SO excited about because it keeps our bread fresher and our kitchen looking more organized!!
He got me one too handmade bread bag from an Etsy seller (if you know me, you know I love supporting small businesses!) to store my sourdough loaves!
And finally, Jesse gave me this sweatshirt from Etsyalso, which I couldn’t love more than I do!!! I guess you could say I’m fully in my sourdough era.
I have big plans for a few different sourdough products that I hope to perfect over the next year because it brings me so much joy AND my family gets to eat the fruit of my hobby – which is a win-win!
We are in Kansas this week celebrating Christmas with both of our extended families! I look forward to making many special memories with them!
I hope you have a very special Christmas this year. If you’re having a hard time this Christmas, read this post I wrote at Christmas last year. I hope it really encourages your heart.
Christmas reminds us that Hope quietly entered the world and changed everything.
Not for one day.
Not for one season.
But for everyday life.
May that truth shape how we live, love, and show up all year long.
#family #Christmas #family #year