Christmas, Part II, DSLR Edition

We had a lovely Christmas celebration with my family and enjoyed the extended McKinneyfamily get-together as well as time with my parents, Daniel and Kimie, and Heather and Justin.These are a few more highlights from our Christmas weekend. See if you can pick out whichwere taken before I got my new 50mm camera lens and which were taken after ;)

Sweet pic of my grandparents.

Our family at Christmas Eve service.

When we arrived home, Christmas Eve dinner was ready (perfect occasion for a crock pot!), and Santa had come! We opened presents and played a while after dinner before heading to bed... and sleeping in on Christmas morning!

Nonnie helping Abby unwrap her Elmo book.

Abby, her Mommy, and her new puppy.

My little Fire Chief put out some serious fires on Christmas Eve.

A highlight of any trip to Dallas is bedtime stories with Nonnie and Papa. Jonathan wrapped up Christmas Eve with stories like, Even Firemen Hug Their Moms.

Christmas Day meant Christmas stories, some play time with aunts and uncles, a nice Christmas dinner, and then hitting the road for naptime on I-45.

Aunt Heather was a human jungle gym, keeping munchkins entertained while lunch was prepared.

My little toddler, always ready for a snack, got in at least 5 meals a day thanks to her ever prepared Nonnie.

Papa and Jonathan talked through the Christmas story as they set up the manger scene.

Abby and Jonathan listened while Papa read Christmas stories.

See the way little Lucy looks at her uncle Justin? Kids ADORE this guy!

Isn't she beautiful!?

We enjoyed a nice Christmas lunch at my parents' house, with Grandma and Grandpa, Daniel and Kimie, Heather and Justin, and the kids. Ham, creamed spinach, broccoli cheese casserole, and biscuits made for a yummy meal.

And family made for a fun visit and nice conversation.

Since the kids' best understanding of a birth day celebration is the birthday parties they've attended, we've started making cupcakes to celebrate Jesus' birth.

My mom got some really nice pics of me with the kids this weekend, including these with Jonathan making cupcakes, and the one with Abby in front of the Christmas tree above.

We sung Happy Birthday, and while Jesus certainly could have blown out his own candles, Jonathan helped.

Abby and Grandpa feed the baby puppy.
Jonathan and his treasured grader.
Soon, the grader was set to work at the construction site out back. I couldn't believe it... my father created a full construction site, complete with a home-made crane and a broken-pipe project. Jonathan and his cousins took great delight in working hours at a time at the construction site.
Abby was eager to lend a hand and quickly grabbed a shovel and set out digging.

We were pleasantly surprised to arrive home early enough to sit down to dinner together, and even enjoyed a few rounds of evening Christmas carols at the table before getting kids ready for bed and unpacking.