Until next year!

Christmas was exhausting and wonderful.  Jubilee caught on pretty quickly: smile and agree to wear tights, and you get new toys. 

Other than our fridge going out, resulting in the loss of our Christmas dinner, things went off without a hitch.  (For those of you who have made/eaten chicken and dumplings, you can appreciate our loss).

I LOVE the clothes that Momo gave me, and I LOVE the earrings that my parents got me from Spring Sweet, a boutique in downtown Holland that is owned and named-after a childhood friend of mine.  I also LOVE the necklace that Daniel got me, which is a Chinese word that means "double happiness" and is used at weddings.  I am wearing all of them in this (rather interesting) photo.  Just to clarify, I have no illusions of being hot-to-trot.  I was showing Daniel how much of myself I wanted in the shot, and he snapped a pic.  Giggle, giggle. 

Brave and Zion both looked very handsome with one of their favorite gals, Miss Michelle.

And this picture of Daniel and Brave could be my favorite picture of my husband.  Ever.  He only cracks this particular smile when he is laughing at something that he genuinely finds funny.  He looks like this every time he is hanging out with Philip Morton.

Speaking of Brave, the cheap guitar I picked up for him at the last minute proved to be a sensational hit.  I have a PG-rated video of this that I will post soon, but a picture will have to suffice for now. 

And speaking of gifts, this was the year of Legos for Bright.  He is so into them.  The set that rose to the top was his RV set, from Grandma and Grandpa, of course.

Jubilee and I received DARLING matching aprons from Grandma and Grandpa, and at least one of us looks mighty cute in hers.

And let's not forget our favorite little redheads, our kids' best friends Kayleigh and Zeb!  Kayleigh and Bright are still planning on getting married when they reach the marrying age of 21, and Kayleigh is planning on having 20 daughters with Bright.  Bright has not commented on that detail.

And so, it is with many wonderful memories, made with many good friends, and it is with warm hearts and thick waistlines, that we pack up the bulbs and tinsel and drag our "tree" to the elevator.  Until next year, Merry Christmas to all!