Christmas was lots of fun, and it didn't even seem like we had traveled 1,500 miles when it was all over. We were SO blessed to have found a great deal on a minivan for our family a week before our travels (and to have sold our car on Craigslist the morning we decided to buy the van!). For the first time, we had ample room for all our travel stuff. Normally, Marc would have to work so hard to fit all our stuff in the back of our SUV. It was often like a jigsaw puzzle. This time we just folded down the third row in the van and had so much space for gifts and luggage. We always joked about when we would be forced to drive a minivan, but we are actually loving it!
Our first stop was to my grandparents house in SE Arkansas. We enjoyed getting to see everyone who was there and the kids had lots of fun opening presents.
My dad was teaching Eli how to pose like the Heisman trophy with his new football
Hailey always wants to hold Bailey in pictures, but never seems to realize she is not that much bigger in size than Bailey when they sit down together! :)
We are going to have another one in this picture next year!
From Memaw and Poppy's we headed on to Little Rock to visit with my mom's family...and the kids had Round 2 of presents.
Then we headed back to Rogers where we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family. We enjoyed getting to relax for a few days in our PJs, eat some good food, look at Christmas lights, celebrate Christ's birth at a Christmas Eve service, decorate cookies, and watch the kids open more presents.
Hailey loves all her new princess stuff and she makes me wear her jewelry as well. Today, she gave me a ring to put on and later scolded me when she found I had taken it off. This girl clearly loves accessorizing more than me. :)
We headed back to Illinois the day after Christmas so Marc could start back to work. I spent the rest of that week taking down our Christmas tree ornaments and decorations. We also made room for some new toys by donating the toys the kids were no longer playing with. I try to involve the kids in this process so they are used to giving as equally as they receive. Eli really seems to understand this. He surprises me sometimes with the compassion he can have at such a young age. Then, we packed up again to go spend the weekend with Marc's family in Bloomington which is a much closer drive! We had more great food and were even able to sneak away to attend a wedding while Marc's parents watched the kids.
We had a great time with our family over Christmas. I am thankful for the unity we have in both of our families that always makes the holiday time so special. :)
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