Christmastime is...gone

I think this is the saddest end of Christmas that I have experienced in many years. It's mostly because I loved re-living Christmas through the eyes of a child. Chris and I both got so much delight out of Evie yelling, "Wooooow, Mooooommy, keeko-cheese!" everytime she would see a Christmas tree all lit up. I've never seen her squeal out of delight so often over this past month. It was just a really, really fun month for all of us, and I'm sad that it's over. Both Evie and I are in a little withdrawal now as it's just the two of us again, but we'll be back in routine soon enough, and before we know it, we'll be a family of four! I can't believe I only have 2 months to get our house ready again for a newborn. Thank goodness we don't have to do all the big shopping this time!

This year my parents came down to visit us again since all 3 of us kids are down here now (well, I should say it's mostly because the grandkids are all down here!). We also had a wonderful celebration with the Benders for a few days, as well as some great activities with friends and extended family.

To start Christmas week, Jeff, Chris, Evie, and I drove to Williamsburg for the day. It ended up being almost 70 degrees the whole day, until the evening, which you will see in the pictures!

See the mug that I'm holding? That is the sole reason why the guys were excited to go. We bought these mugs last year for $10, and with them you get free drinks all throughout colonial Williamsburg for a full year. They decided to bet on who could drink the most Coke or cider all day. Needless to say, they didn't make it very far before their stomachs started disagreeing with the whole plan!

A few of Evie's favorite parts of Williamsburg: wearing mommy's sunglasses,

finding the adorable pug outside a gift store,

and patting the horsies.

Beautiful Williamsburg Inn. That's our next place to stay kid-free!

And then it started pouring. We totally didn't anticipate that after being almost hot for most of the day.

The next night, we visited the Gaylord with some friends. We tried to give the kids a better view of the show.

The Mommies

It was cooold that night. Thank goodness! I can't handle 70 degrees in December!

Cute kids dancing by the Christmas tree before the fireworks show.

On Christmas Eve, we went to a service at our church with both sets of Evie's grandparents. They passed out glowsticks which Evie loved (much safer than a candlelit service!)

For Christmas, Evie received many fine toys. It's funny how the cheaper ones tend to get the best initial responses, like the Slinky, Elmo cereal, and oyster crackers!

Poor Evie had to pose for us way too many times in front of the Christmas tree.

I love the blurriness of this shot. It shows all the great activity that was happening in our cozy little home.

Evie got a new computer just like Hannah. But one isn't enough for her. We found her quietly in the corner playing with both computers.

Hi James!

Thanks to my very generous Grandma, we all were able to go to a Japenese steakhouse for a delicious meal and wonderful cooking entertainment.

Evie's face shows you how much she "enjoyed" the bursts of fire in the air.

These two are just hilarious. I'm so glad that these cousins are growing up together and get to see each other every week. I couldn't ask for more!

This has been a great year of growth, building relationships, learning flexibility, and figuring out how to rest in the midst of busyness. Chris has 1 full year left in his MBA program. We can't wait until it's over! But for now, we see how the Lord has sustained us through this time, and He will continue to do so. You will "hear" a huge sigh of relief from us at this time next year when graduate schooling will be complete for both of us! And neither one of us has any intent on getting a doctorate, so we will officially be DONE with classes!
We wish the best for you all this year! We can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us in 2012!