It’s nice when we can still do an activity with all the kids.  I savor these opportunities.

And though we had so much fun together, I somehow did not save the videos we made from our time.

But this was the boys’.

This was Marie and Johanna’s

This was Katriel and Tab’s.  Katriel grew weary of the process, but Tab finished strong.

I held off on starting breakfast until the kids were up and could help me assemble it. 

We dipped marshmallows in butter and cinnamon as though anointing with oil and preparing the body with spices.

rolled them in crescent rolls as though in a shroud

Then we dipped them in butter and cinnamon a second time

We baked them while we got dressed and, voila!

The tomb is empty.

It was a great idea on paper.
It took a lot of work to execute.
It took help from a friend.
But we had cinnamon rolls.

Lots and Lots of them.

They were incredible.

To celebrate New Year’s Eve this year, we decided to watch The Wizard of Oz.  Although none of us was super interested, it seemed like a good idea given the oldest four have been granted the opportunity to be part of the production at the Finney school this year.

The kids had never seen it before.
It is one of my least liked movies.  Ever.  I did pick up on a few funny lines, however. 

The best part of the evening was the food.  Even though we were coming off a season of good eating, we decided to go out with a bang.  Deep friend Oreos were on the menu.

They were ridiculously amazing.  But you really can’t eat more than two.  Or three.

Then the older kids joined us to watch/rewatch Captain America.  I actually really enjoyed it!

We woke the kids at 6:30 AM so they would be ready when Nan, Nene, Ba, and Poppy arrived at 7:00 AM.  It was a very hard wait.


We busied ourselves by setting the table for breakfast.

Our guests arrived at 7 on the dot.
Nan was the courier for Marie’s gifts to us.  Marie had gone to Nan’s on Monday to make us these gorgeous cookie trays.

We started with gifts.  First Johanna handed out hers to her siblings.
She made a book for Katriel.

Who was elated!

She gave Stewart a dollar.  Her “second-to-last” dollar.

She made Nigel a book, too.

I stepped out to frost cinnamon muffins as Tabitha handed out hers.  She gave her siblings gifts she had specially selected when we went shopping.  She had play-doh for her younger sisters, candy for her brothers, and a new set of colored pencils for Marie.
Stewart and Nigel gave the little girls Peabody and Sherman.  Do they look happy?

And gave Tabitha and Marie the movie Brave.

The first gift Katriel opened was a Yoda doll.  Because doesn’t every three year old girl want a Yoda?

Then there were a lot of princesses.

superheroes

and other great gifts.

Stewart didn’t know what this is.  (A reversible, portable green/blue screen.)

A soccer ball that actually hold air.

Speechless with Narnia toys.

Disney CDs.

The girls sang on the praise team, and Stewart sang Messiah for service at 10:30. Then back home to rip open the toys. 

And the garage looks like Amazon puked here.

Merry Christmas!