christmas

christmas eve was spent with the kelly family. it is always a fun night and this year was no exception. like a little girl, i always run to the tree to look for mr. and mrs. claus who smile and sway to their own little beat. really! they move!

before our christmas supper and gift giving extravaganza, mama marsha brings us fun hats and headbands. festive!

and there is always a beautiful table set. this year, prime rib graced our plates. delectable.

my favorite kelly tradition: christmas crackers. we play with the little toys and read the jokes to one another. and i think the kelly parentals should wear these glasses every year. i couldn't stop laughing.


bright and early christmas morning we threw on our christmas pajamas and headed down to the abernethy's to wake up my sleeping sisters and discover that santa had come!

i was gifted with another another ina masterpiece...you know what that means.

my parent's christmas tree was a really beauty this year....i could hardly take my eyes off of it. and of course, this jolly old st. nick makes everyone feel the holiday spirit.

in between gift giving we enjoyed rachel's HOMEMADE cinnamon bread (which was the best we had ever had) and we admired my dear dad's wrapping and bow tieing (sp?) skills. and of course, what's not to love about ryan's ribbon suspenders?

christmas afternoon found the entire family at my grandparent's house where ANOTHER grand tree greeted us. this tree is a masterpiece every year: hundreds of vintage ornaments delicately placed by my devoted, christmas-loving grandma.

prime rib again! lucky us!

the dish washing crew...all wearing grandma's aprons. well, except alex. and emily showed us her bubble trick.

one of my favorite christmas traditions is exchanging names with my sisters and cousin and filling wooden shoes with little treats, honoring our dutch blood. the objective is for all the treats to fit in the shoe and as you can see someone cheated this year. but the best part was when hannah stuck a piece of coal in emily's shoe. we laughed and laughed...

and all were merry.