Moyers Christmas

Saturday we celebrated our Christmas with the Moyers clan.  Jon and Kelly arrived late Friday night/early Saturday morning, so we let them sleep a little and enjoyed a leisurely morning.  As tradition dictates, we had a fire in the fireplace and opened stockings while enjoying the warmth.  Grandma is running out of room to hang all her stockings!

Of course we all enjoyed time snuggling with Baby Carter, who will soon be a baby no more.

After opening stockings we enjoyed a delicious meal of breakfast casserole, homemade cinnamon rolls, and fruit.

Over the course of the next several hours we opened gifts from under the tree, taking breaks as Carter needed to nap, eat, etc.  It was nice to spread the gift opening out over time so that we could enjoy and savor each moment.

Charles being silly with bows and socks

Hannah and Sophie opening gifts

Hannah and Sophie got gifts from the Keanes to enjoy and share together.  One was a puppet theater (top two photos) and the other was Disney comic books that Kelly has had since she was a girl (bottom right).  They include Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and many more.  The girls took them to church the next day and read them throughout the entire service.  Unfortunately, Sophie ripped the cover of one already, so Dad has put them away until they can better appreciate such a rare and vintage gift.

Our favorite little man opening his gifts.  See his cute Carter butt PJs?

More gift opening, plus my cool "Chef Randa's Kitchen" apron from Cafe Press

New bathrobes for the girls, in bright colors!

The girls' favorite gift was a toy cash register that they played with the rest of the afternoon

Later in the day we sat down for a traditional Christmas dinner of ham, baked macaroni and cheese, and creamed lima beans (plus green beans for the new boys in the family who don't appreciate our lima bean heritage).  For the last number of years Grandma has gotten us all Christmas poppers that have crowns and little trinkets inside.  We wear our crowns and trade our trinkets until all are happy with what they have.

As we sat down to eat, however, a friend of dad's stopped by with a surprise.  December is bear season in Virginia, and he got a nice 400-lb surprise for his wife for Christmas.  If you look closely at the face, you'll see this big boy was a fighter.

After standing in the cold to "admire" the bear for awhile, we returned inside to enjoy our Christmas meal.  All but two of us then piled in the van to go see the Singers Glen Christmas light show set to music, which is something we've been enjoying the last few years.  A dessert spread of pecan pie, peanut butter pie, Christmas cookies, and ice cream awaited us when we returned.  It was a day full of family, food, fun, and lots of love.