Christmas 2013 - The Classroom Community Copilot

Happy Monday! I hope your transition back to work/school/regular life is a smooth one today! I’m still wishing it was Christmas, but I know this week will be a great time to give a fresh start to our year, and put our New Year’s goals and words to the test!
Christmas FLEW by, at least it did for me! One moment I was dreading the crazy retail Christmas shopping, and the next we were on our road trip home from family vacation (I will be recapping that tomorrow!)! But it was a wonderful Christmas, and I wanted to share my celebrations with you!

Christmas Eve is almost always spent at my grandparent’s house on my dad’s side, with all of the extended family! My dad is the youngest of three, so it’s my grandparents, the three kids, their spouses, their children, and some children’s children! All in all, we had 22 out of 25 of us there! We head over for dinner, presents, and family traditions after the Christmas Eve church service.

This was my Christmas Eve look! I got my dress at Old Navy, like 4 days beforehand, on clearance for $9.99! And it was the last one in my size! It has a fun boho style and fits like a glove! I curled my hair and added gold accents.

Now, I mentioned we have dinner, and then we spend time doing a family tradition together. I highlighted this tradition in my January Currently, but basically it’s called “The Blessing Room” where we all gather and sing songs, play instruments, recite speeches, or share our God-given gifts with each other. My generation of cousins and I are all mainly grown up, so my cousins’ children are now starting to perform! It was so fun this year to see their personalities start to blossom! I had fun snapping some pictures of them!

Alayna singing a favorite from “The Sound of Music”

Elizabeth and Elliott (my younger first cousins) sing with the second cousins, Alayna, Asher, and Mace!

The little ones were loving the guitar!

My brother Peter had the magic touch with our youngest second cousin, Ryder!

My cousin Sarah’s three cuties: Ryder, Alayna, and Jonathon!

And then it was time for the presents! And of course, the kiddos were ecstatic!

Christmas morning was pretty uneventful, as my brothers and I are all grown up now. We just hung out and packed for our trip, since we left the next day! Then in the evening we went over to my grandparents’ on my mom’s side: