Christmas

Here are a few pictures from our holiday celebrations! We were in Caneyville with my family the few days before Christmas, home for Christmas morning, then at Ronnie's parents that night. The following weekend, we went (the four of us) to Gatlinburg for a few days, which was really nice to just get away for a little bit. Of course, any type of overnight requires HOURS of planning and packing. Once we were in the car, though, things were a lot less stressful! We planned to stay through New Year's, but came back on New Year's Eve. (mainly because it was all four of us in one bed and Ella was a constant, all night spinner!)

One funny thing - on Christmas morning, Ella would look at the gift tag and see the picture on the tag (Santa, presents, stars, trees, etc) and assume that was the giver of the gift. She would say, This one is from the apple trees - like that was something normal to receive a gift from a particular type of tree. Each time she opened a present, it was more fun to hear who the "giver" was than anything else!

We really tried to focus this year on helping communicate giving more than receiving. We gathered things for drives at church (clothes, food, etc), took cookies to a nursing home, and a few other things. I would love to hear what ideas you have in your home!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday as w