Nugget celebrates Christmas

 

My dad has an epic nativity set.  You can't even call it a nativity scene... it's a re-enactment of the entire town of Bethlehem.  Seriously.  It's one of my favorite traditions, and it keeps growing.  Every year my dad buys new pieces and adds them delightedly, showing each one off.  They each come with a story that intertwines with Christ's birth.  As Mary and Joseph travel (and yes, they do travel in my parent's house - as well as in our apartment - another favorite tradition), other characters are situated throughout the town, making Christ's birth all the more real to us centuries later.

Being back at my parent's for Christmas was wonderful.  While not all of my favorite traditions remain intact (seven small grandchildren mean that Christmas Eve cannot mean having every surface covered in candles anymore), Christmas is still magical.  It's like wrapping up the feeling Mary must have felt with baby Jesus in her arms and the stars overhead.  I loved sharing that with my husband and baby in the house where I grew up.

 

 

I was blessed to be able to introduce Anni to this beautiful lady.  Amanda has been a dear friend since high school.  We saw each other a year ago when she and her husband were in Denver for a wedding.  However, it felt like it had been much longer with the amount our lives had changed.  Anni had come along and made me a mommy and Amanda had undergone a return of her cancer and a subsequent amputation and seen her husband sent overseas with the military (have I mentioned she's amazing and an inspiration? - she is). 

Obsession with the Christmas tree branches?  Most definitely.  Then she would have a minor freakout when mommy wouldn't let her eat them.  One of our long-standing Christmas traditions is that we don't decorate it until Christmas Eve.  This year my nephew did a little of it early, but the bulk was still done on Christmas Eve.  It just felt right to decorate the tree with my husband and brothers :).

Cutest treat deliverers ever. 

In lieu of our previous "candles covering every surface" on Christmas Eve, the older grandchildren (with a lot of help from their parents) lit the advent wreath after listening to the nativity story from the Bible.  I'm going to overuse the word magical in this entry... but it was magical.

Have I mentioned the absolute cuteness of my nieces and nephews?  While it's pure mayhem with all of them in my parent's house - it is also a literal explosion of adorable antics.  These two and Anni make up "the triplets," as my dad refers to them (because they were all born within 6 weeks of each other).  Favorite part of these pictures?  Lizzy has got that tongue going!

Gift giving = more mayhem.  Also, lesson learned that if everyone (jokingly) tells the two year old that her lamp shade is a hat... she will attempt to put it on her head.   

Cousin loving.  These two fight half of the time and adore each other the other half.  (In the midst of a cousinly drama, my nephew proclaimed his duty to take care of his cousin.  LOVE it!)

 Christmas morning breakfast: a more recent but very well loved tradition is my brother's yearly Christmas gift of Christmas breakfast to us all.  It's over at my sister's house - so I got to see my nephew in all of his Christmas morning excitement.  Again, my family just seems to make beautiful children.  I am so glad I got to cuddle and love on them for a week.

 

 Seriously wasn't kidding about the beautiful children thing.  All of them are just about the cutest they could possibly be.

 

There is a lot of this at family gatherings... laughing, amused exasperation... yup, definitely my family.

There are also these moments too: seeing my dear sweet sister in all of her motherly goodness.  I am so grateful to have my older siblings to look up to as I raise my own baby.  

 With as many grandchildren as there are, it is fun to see each of their personalities shine through.  As you can tell, this darling is an engineer.  She likes to move, arrange and build.  

  

More of Bethlehem. 

 

We even got to meet the young lady my brother is courting.  She is not only sweet and lovely, but put up with an evening full of orneriness from me (something about being the big sister, I suppose...)  And she brought Village Inn pie... we approve :).

There you have it.  Merry Christmas.  As Catholics we celebrate the full octave.  In our family we don't even think about taking down the Christmas decorations until the epiphany.  Although the celebration has been moved to the closest Sunday/ today, it used to be celebrated on January 6, which also happens to be my sister's birthday, so we still celebrate it then :).  Merry Christmas, my friends.