Christmas Eve at Home

 Our family Christmas is relaxed; waffles, stockings, gifts, munchies and jammies. We lounge around and take a casual pace to the day. I love it like that.

 Walker's first Christmas and Lincoln's fourth; oh how life has changed for our family. It's so much fun with the boys, not quite as relaxing, but so much fun!

 

 

 Next year there will be another baby. Briana will be a mommy and Jay will be a daddy, so many exciting changes for our family. We will still be laid back but maybe just a bit less relaxed with more little ones.

Christmas feels so magical for so many reasons. I do love this season and all of the celebrations.

Nonnweilers on the Twenty-third

Every year I look forward to December 23rd. It's a holiday that is filled with tradition, food and fun. Everyone who can possibly make it shows up and celebrates together every year on the same day.

Aunt Ashley and Saela Grace

Kaley Jo and Jill Ann

Great Grandma's handmade baby gifts for Briana and Jay

Great Grandpa

Garrett and Drew

Dale and Jay

Kaley and Ashley; cousin photo

Roman with his Grammy and first Christmas gift

Great Aunt Cindy with Walker, Ashley and Hilary

Brecken and Lincoln, truck time

Jake, Dan and Robert

 Fun with Jill...always lots of fun! 

Eight Little Ones

  I was so excited to get the youngest generation all in one spot on December 23rd. They are adorable and I love every one of them. We were impressed that they stayed long enough for us to snap our photos.

 Walker, 9 months, Lincoln, 3 years, Brecken 4 years, Saela, 22 months, Weston, 4 1/2, Anna, 17 months, Izzie 6 1/2 and Roman, 4 months.

 It took a bit of work and cooperation but it worked! Eight wonderful little ones with three more expected to arrive in 2015!

December Days

There are only a couple of weeks between Lincoln's birthday and Christmas but we found plenty of fun. Jill, Kaley, Brecken and Saela came for a very fun overnight visit. It was a busy house but so fun to have everyone here. The kids are staggered with 14 months between each one; Brecken, Lincoln, Saela then Walker.

Baking day is a great tradition and I think we may have been less productive than ever. We still made plenty of things and found time for a walk around the block. Walker got to come to baking day cause he still needs his mommy. He was a great distraction and Dale was here to play too.
The big news is that I actually ran an entire mile before baking day started. I wanted to get a quick walk and decided to run part of it before the day got started. I kept going cause I could and ended up running the entire mile feeling quite accomplished.

Lincoln and I planned a morning to do a little Christmas shopping but when he asked if we could go hiking too, I couldn't decline. He likes to be on the trails and loves to visit the beaver lodge at the lake. I love being out in nature and I am thrilled that its also Lincoln's choice of activity. Today I asked him if he would still hike with me when he is a grown up and he agreed.

It was barely drizzling but he really likes his umbrella!

The Christmas shopping was a success. Three dollars at the Dollar Tree and Lincoln found perfect gifts for his mommy, his daddy and his baby brother. He made great decisions and took his task seriously.

Walker continues to be a ray of sunshine with his gorgeous smile and sweet voice. He is so happy and so very loving. I love spending time with him and listening as he learns new consonant sounds.

 

On Saturday I started the Christmas stocking for Jay and Briana's baby and I finished it on Tuesday morning on time to fill it for our family celebration on the 24th. It was a crunch but so fun to be knitting with purpose right at Christmas time.

 I just love our stocking tradition! Its exciting to add new stockings and find the right things to fill them. It's a favorite part of our holiday.

 More about our family gatherings soon. We traveled to Mason City to celebrate with the Nonnweilers on the 23rd then gathered here with my kids on the 24th. After our family gathering, I went to church with the Schrages then went to St. John for a later service with the traditional hymns and candlelight. It was a wonderful Christmas season!

All is Calm, All is Bright

It was a wonderful Christmas and I am still enjoying the glow and intend to keep my tree and stockings up for a while yet. I will blog soon to catch up on December and our Christmas gatherings. I love the Christmas card that Ashley created for me. I am so grateful for her photography and generosity. I love the photo so much that there is an 11x14 hanging in my family room!

Lincoln is Three

 

 It's hard to believe that the tiny baby who made me a grandma is already three years old. I love spending time with this boy and it just keeps getting better! He even loves baseball. Of course I love that!

Lincoln and I had a special birthday date. I started a tradition of a trip to the bookstore to get a birthday book then get a treat. Lincoln again choose Cup of Joe for his treat. He also asked for a hike. Of course I love that too. We did go to the bookstore but the beaver lodge and lake hike is much more interesting!

I didn't take a single photo at Lincoln's birthday party. It was a busy day! But he got to enjoy some gifts quietly when Uncle Jay and Aunt Breezy brought some to brunch on his birthday week.

 This is Spiderman on ice skates. Could you tell? Lincoln loves to pretend!

 Ashley and Travis threw a great birthday party with lots of family and it was so much fun. I baked the cake but Ashley decorated it to look like a baseball. Lincoln has decided that he loves red velvet cake too. He helped make the frosting. Birthday celebrations are so much fun and a great time to think about how much has happened in the past year. Lincoln's birth has changed my life drastically in so many very wonderful ways! That gives me lots to celebrate too. Three years went very fast.