Christmas

Last year at Christmas, Olivia was only three months old so we didn't bother taking her to see Santa. We thought we'd give it a try this year. As you can tell from the above picture, she wasn't too thrilled to see him and to be honest, he doesn't look too thrilled to be there either. Oh well! :)

We had a great Christmas season. Both Sarah and my grandma came into town a few days before Christmas. We spent the day before Christmas Eve making Christmas cookies (6 different kinds!). My grandma played with Olivia while the rest of us baked, which worked out really nicely for everyone. Here's a picture of my mom and sister during the cookie making process.

We went to Christmas Eve Mass with my family in the afternoon and then had dinner at my parent's house. Here's a picture of the three of us before church and a picture of all of us after church.

Here are a few pictures from dinner.

When we woke up Christmas morning, the three of us opened presents at our house before heading over to my parents to do presents there. After lots of present-opening, we headed home for a nap before heading to Yusaku's parents for MORE presents. A few hours later, everyone (both my family and Yusaku's) came over to our house for dinner. Here are some pictures from all the craziness fun. :)

A few days after Christmas, we got to visit and exchange presents with Leslee, Jon, and Quinn. Olivia and Quinn had fun playing in Olivia's new ball "pit." Here's a picture of the whole group.

Here a few pictures of my sister and Grandma before they had to head back.

The week after Christmas, we went to Indianapolis to see Paul. We had a nice lunch at Bazbeaux's followed by a cold, windy walk over to White River Gardens to see an orchid exhibit. Here are some pictures from our visit.

We are very blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. We are thankful for all the gifts we received as well as for the time we got to spend with everyone. Having said that, though, it is nice for our lives to return to "normal."