{White Christmas}

How many years has it been since we've had a white Christmas? I can't even remember! What a gift to have a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground during the week of Christmas. Last Sunday we took the kids outside to play in the snow. Dixon, of course, has never touched the white stuff before. He was none too pleased to be outside in the cold, and he cried when I sat him on the snow. He really is like his mommy: the warm indoors is his friend. I took him back inside after about ten minutes and he was happy as could be. The girls, on the other hand, LOVE playing in the snow. They begged to go outside from the moment they woke up!

There is a hill in our backyard and they quickly discovered they could slide down the hill on their bellies. Daddy also got out the sled and they all piled on together. They had an absolute blast.

Because we have so many groups of family members to celebrate Christmas with, we always begin to party early. On Wednesday we went to Cory's parents' home and enjoyed some yummy ham and sides. Check out Dixon with his newest cousin, Stella, who is almost three months old. They just checked each other out the way babies do. So cute.

The big kids could hardly wait for Me-Me and Pap to bring out the presents! Sasha and Clara got the Moxy Girls they wanted as well as some clothes and other fun toys. Jude got an awesome pirate ship and other goodies, too. They were quite happy!

And both families, meaning Cory and I and his sister Megan and her hubby Jason, got a Wii and Wii Fit. How fun! We were probably the last families in America who didn't own a Wii.

Pap got some good snuggle time with Dixon. The poor kid was out WAY past his bedtime, but he hung in there and had a good time.

On Christmas Eve we always go to my grandmother Mom-Mom's house. My mother always gave my sisters and me a gift on Christmas Eve (usually something she made), so I've been doing that with my kids. They got pjs again this year. It's nice to have new pjs for pictures the next morning!

The Meyers crew in front of Mom-Mom's tree:

And our kidlet crew. I could gobble them up, they are so stinkin' cute.

Sasha and Clara each got a Barbie and Dixon got an assortment of Chuck trucks.

Towards the end of the evening Mom-Mom sat down at her piano and started to sing Christmas songs. The girls immediately were drawn to the music and they all ended up signing "Joy To the World." What a wonderful moment and memory to treasure!

Dixon had fun seeing lots of family members who enjoyed holding him. But he sure does love his Daddy, huh?

We always get a birthday cake for Baby Jesus and sing Happy Birthday to Him. I love that my kids are growing up knowing what Christmas is really all about.

When we got home we went outside and sprinkled reindeer food in the snow.

Then we put an assortment of cookies on Santa's cookie plate, poured him a glass of milk, and wrote him a thank you note. We made sure to leave a carrot and bowl of water for the reindeer as well. Then we were ready for bed!

This is what our tree looked like, all ready for the kids the next morning. We definitely went overboard this year!

We didn't get much sleep that night. Sasha was up at 12:30 sobbing uncontrollably. She said she was scared, but she couldn't tell us what she was scared of other than the dark. She's been sleeping in the same room with the same night lights for six years, so I don't buy it. Who knows what was really bothering her. She was up again at some point coughing and to see if it was time to go downstairs. Plus Dixon was up once or twice (can't remember) to eat. When my alarm went off at 6:45ish I definitely wanted to hit "snooze", but of course I couldn't. I had to get up, shower, get dressed, and put our red-tinted reindeer water outside. Plus I had to put Santa's mostly empty milk glass back on the counter, start making a breakfast casserole, take the dogs outside, and turn on all the Christmas lights. And this had to be done before the kids woke up or the morning would not run smoothly.

Thankfully, I accomplished almost everything before I heard the pitter patter of little feet. Then the ripping and tearing began!

Even without his breakfast, Dixon was happy to sit amongst the chaos.

Cory helped him open his presents.

The girls tore through their stash quickly. I was shocked when Clara told me, "I didn't get what I wanted. I didn't get anything cool." Wha-wha-whaaaaaatttt???

But I sure did get something cool! Ever since the girls were wee little they have had a thing for the moon. They always spot it in the sky - sometimes when it is just barely visible. When they were younger they would squeal and get really excited when they found it. We would sing moon songs (and still sometimes do). And of course, every night before I shut their door I ask them, "How much do I love you?" And they respond, "To the moon and back." Cory and I even bought them each a moon necklace from Tiffany & Co. when we were in NYC a couple of years ago. They don't know we bought the necklaces, and the girls will get them when they turn 16 along with a note about how we will always love them to the moon and back. A bit sappy, perhaps, but it's our "thing".

So a while ago I saw a website that sells hand stamped silver jewelry. One of the pieces was a moon necklace that was stamped with "I love you to the moon and back." It had charms that you could stamp names onto and a little pearl drop as well. I fell in love. I told Cory I was bookmarking the site and that I would love to have that necklace. When he asked me a couple weeks ago if I preferred hearts or stars, I knew I was getting it!

Well . . . I ended up with something even better! Cory didn't care for the design of the necklace I saw online, so he went to three different jewelers until he found one who would design a necklace for me. Cory and the jeweler sketched out a design and then the necklace came to life. The result? A silver half moon with the moon quote etched onto it and three stars connecting the top and bottom tips of the moon. Each star has the birthstone of one of our kids, and the backs of the stars have the coordinating child's name etched into the silver. It's beautiful. And what I especially love about it is that Cory took the time to design something for me himself. Sigh. I'm a lucky lady.

I think Cory's favorite gift from me was The Hangover. He's been waiting to see this movie since it came out in the theatres last June. He was supposed to see it with "the guys" when we were at the beach, but that never happened. And we never go to the movies without kids, so we had to wait until it came out on dvd. His whole face lit up when he opened that gift! We watched it last night and it was hi-lar-i-ous!!!

The girls special gifts this year were American Girl dolls. Cory bought them each two: one that looks like each of them and a best friend duo: Felicity and Elizabeth.

After an enjoyable morning at home, we packed up the kids and headed to my mother and Jim's house. We were all spoiled some more with more presents, and we enjoyed giving gifts as well.

Sasha and Clara finally got Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure. They've been begging for that movie since it was released!

They also each got a Fancy Nancy doll, doll clothes, books, and lots of other things that I hope are "cool" enough. :)

We hung out there for a long time, then headed back for a couple of hours before heading back out to celebrate with Cory's mother's side of the family in Mercersburg. Once again, Dixon was smitten with his Pap.

We ate more delicious food, some of the crazy people played another rip-roaring round of musical chairs, we had a gift exchange, and finally we posed for some photos. This is G-G Hill (Great-Grandma) with her great-grandkids. Quite a cute bunch of kidlets!

Finally we went home and got to relax. Thankfully we didn't have to be anywhere this morning. Sasha has had a horrible cough, and the poor child slept until 9:30. So today we played Wii, relaxed, and enjoyed being home. This evening we celebrated with the Fegans. More great food, lots of laughs, and lots of kids made for a fun evening.

One more celebration is yet to come tomorrow! We're off to see the Witmers (my dad's side of the family)!

I hope all of you have enjoyed a blessed Christmas with your families!