A Joyful Christmas

We enjoyed a lovely Christmas. It was busy ... but not too busy. Just the right mix of celebration and relaxation. 

We started things off with a Christmas party with our playgroup. We made some snowman crafts and then played reindeer games. Lots of fun!

Christmas morning, we were up bright and early getting into stockings.

 After breakfast, the real fun began . . .

Michael's (and Dad's) favorite gift was a small drone, which they are still learning to fly.

Ada's and Sadie's favorite gifts were their jewelry boxes full of necklaces and bracelets.

Joseph loved everything.  --Maybe you can't tell from his face, but that is his smile, at least the one he puts on for the camera.

 After unwrapping all the presents at home, we headed to Grandma's house!  We enjoyed a lovely dinner with Matt's extended family at his Grandma's (the kid's Great-Grandma's) house.  It was so nice to see everyone!

Even more presents!

Grandma's house is always fun, but this time we discovered a brand new torture device --tickle torture, that is.

On Monday, we visited Grandpa at work in the Fourth Court of Appeals. Michael led us in a mock-trial.

Sadie was accused of snitching some cookies from the cookie jar.

Adelaide and Joseph served as witnesses.

And Aunt Sarah was lawyer-esque, helping procure testimonies.

Later, we enjoyed Brackenridge Park, touring it by train with Aunt Sarah.

 One of the train stops was the Japanese Water Gardens where we ate a picnic lunch

and fed lunch to the koi.

It was pretty amazing. They are so tame they will swim up and stick their heads out of the water to take food from your hand.

Back at home, we said good-bye to Matt's well-loved, and well-used leather sandals. He bought these things when we were first married and has repeatedly refused to get rid of them until they literally fell apart. --You can even see where his toe had nearly worn completely through the sole.  So, he tossed these babies and went sandal shopping. (Yes, my friends from the "North." You can go sandal shopping in Houston in the middle of winter.) After visiting four or five stores, he came home with a pair of leather sandals that look almost identical to the first pair. I wonder if these could possibly last as long as the old pair?

One of Michael's presents was a robot kit. He was working on this as soon as we got home from Grandma's, and within an hour, he had walking, dancing, tumbling robot that he had built all by himself. He was soooo proud.

Joseph's favorite present was this "moon sand" kit from Aunt Rachel. The girls love it too. I have to make sure they give him fair time with it before they take over.  Way better than play-dough!

We also did our annual Gingerbread House contest. It was boys vs. girls this year

And the competition was intense!

.....And everyone had a lot of fun and ate a lot of candy!

It arrived a little late, but it's such a great present, who cares!?  My parents ordered the kids a swing set. Matt and Uncle Stephan worked for hours putting it together.

The result has been kid-heaven! The kids keep telling me that our backyard is now a park, and they spend LOT of time out there.

And last, but not least .... for those of you who haven't yet heard --Compton Baby #5 is on it's way and it's A GIRL!  Due May 23rd.  Of course the girls are super-excited. Michael was really wanting another brother, but I think he's gotten over the disappointment now. Joseph still doesn't have a clue, but has noticed that my tummy is getting bigger. --He keeps pushing on it and saying "squishy, squishy!"

I was pretty sick for most of the fall, but finally started feeling better just before Christmas. What a relief to be able to really enjoy the Holidays with my family, instead of trying to fake it! ...Hard times and yucky stomachs really make you appreciate and savor the happy times that much more.