Every year we try to make it to as many Christmas celebrations as possible with family; we try to see as many family members as possible, whether they live here or we have to travel. In years past, this stressed me out, but God has done a work on my heart that I am so fortunate to get to see this many family members during the holidays and I should cherish each celebration and really invest time into each of them. I went into this year with that mindset and I seriously enjoyed every minute. I tried to get pictures at each one, but I didn't do as well in that department like I'd hoped.
Christmas services started on December 21st at Life.Church and over the course of 4 days we had 11 services. I was so thankful to be a part of each service and get to honor Christ in that way. It's always the perfect way to kick off Christmas.
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| This number represents the number of people that raised their hand to give their life to Christ just at our campus!! By the end of Christmas services this number was even bigger! Each number has a name and each name has a story! It's so cool to get to be a part of this! |
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| My parents came to one of the Christmas services too! Such a good photo of all three of them! |
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| Here is my awesome team at Life.Church! You are all amazing and I love getting to spend every weekend with you! |
Brooks received his first Christmas present from Grandma and Papa a little early because we needed a high chair! :)
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| That face!!!! Melt my heart! |
The night before Christmas Eve we celebrated with Trevor's mom's extended family. The best part was playing a new game...Speak Out!
On Christmas Eve morning we headed to Trevor's dad's house in Porter. Me, Trevor and Brooks went over a little earlier than everyone else because we were going to have breakfast with his dad and Regina. They were doing a big lunch there, but I had to be at church around 11:30, so I wasn't able to stay for lunch. I'm so thankful for a family that's willing to accommodate so I could be a part of the celebration! Love you all!
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| I love this picture :) |
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| I didn't have my own Christmas tree this year, so I had to take pictures of him in front of everyone else's! |
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| He actually did a good job of opening gifts. Once he grabs onto something, he has a tight grip! |
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| SANTA! :) |
On Christmas morning we got up and planned to celebrate with Trevor's mom's family. Trevor and I woke up, got Brooks fed and ready and then made breakfast for the family! Trevor made biscuits and gravy and I made sour cream pancakes. We then headed to the living room to open gifts. I planned to be really good like the day before and take lots of pictures. However, Brooks got fussy after opening one present so we put him down for a nap. Apparently when I put Brooks down, I put my phone down and didn't take any more pictures. But, here are the ones I did take.
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| He loved playing with the bags and tissue paper. |
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| Jude opening his wagon from us |
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| This is the one gift Brooks opened before getting sleepy. He looks so cute!!! Love that hat! |
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| This was from Brooks' baby dedication, but I had to have a picture of who we celebrated with on this morning! :) |
I'm blaming the lack of photos on, we had so much fun living in the moment, we didn't need pictures! But really, I do have the BEST in-laws a girl could ask for!
After breakfast and gifts, Trevor and I packed the car and headed to Kansas to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We arrived just in time for presents.
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| We take GAG gifts/Dirty Santa very serious! There were close to 30 of us this year and each person brings 2 gifts! 60 GAG GIFTS!!! Haha! Trevor and I actually did good this year and came home with some cool stuff! |
A lot of my family is not able to make it to my brothers wedding in March, so we played a little game for the happy couple. I'd say they did pretty good and know each other really well. That says a lot...they know each other really well and they still want to get married! :)
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| Uncles are the best! |
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| Cousin stockings...and their first great grand baby! |
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| Our tradition has stuck of going to breakfast the day after our Christmas celebration. |
Although our trip was short (less than 24 hours), we had a great time seeing family and catching up! There is never a dull moment with this group!
Since Brooks was asleep for our Christmas celebration Christmas morning, when we returned from Kansas we let Brooks open his gifts from Grandma and Papa.
I'd say he was a good boy this year! :)
On Tuesday and Wednesday we hung out with my family since my brother and his fiancé were only in town for a short amount of time. On Tuesday we went to lunch and then my brother always does his shopping after he gets in town so he doesn't have to fly with anything, so it was a mad dash on Tuesday to get everyone shopped for. That evening we went to dinner and then played games that night.
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| Cool new outfit from his Aunt Lauren |
On Wednesday, my family drove out to my in-laws where we are staying so we could show them our property and where we plan to build. It was exciting getting to show them around. It's also crazy to think that the next time my brother is in town, we will have a house! Wahoo!!!!
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| Here is our "before" shot. We are standing right in front of where our house will soon be! :) |
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| Best Aunt and Uncle! |
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| Christmas as the Wellers! |
Brooks did the same thing at my family's Christmas that he did at Trevor's family Christmas. He opened one gift and got fussy, so we put him down for a nap. I did the exact same thing with my phone. I hardly got any pictures!
When Brooks woke up, he got to open his gifts! One was almost as tall as he is!
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| Brooks picked this out for my brother. That's cute now bring your uncle a beer. |
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| Check out his cool kicks!!! Those were crocheted by his awesome Aunt Katy! |
I think that's a wrap! Our Christmas celebrations are officially over. We had a great time celebrating Brooks' first Christmas and getting to see so many family members! We love you all!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
