Christmas 2015

...well...there are plenty of excuses and reasons for the long silence here on the blog...and I do have lots of pictures that I'd love to post from the last six months, but for now we'll jump in with the here and now and a few memories to treasure from our holidays this year!

  I can't remember the last time he didn't wear a suit to church...he even dressed in his finest when we went to an Advent craft day on a Saturday in December.

Brown paper packages tied up with string!

We "staged" Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on December 22&23 so we could celebrate at home together before flying to Philly on the 23rd.  We lucked out again with a whole two weeks off from school, so that gave us the chance to enjoy time at home in StL as well as a whole week in PA/DE with family!

Ready or not?!?!  Compared to other places we've lived, the 1 hour and 45 minute flight home makes us feel like neighbors! (sometimes!)

We arrived in Philly at 11:30pm and by 8:30 the next morning our Woodworth Christmas gift exchange was in full swing!  So many fun and thoughtful gifts were shared.

I didn't manage to capture the new remote controlled car in the pic, but I think the delight is pretty obvious!  Thank you sooooo much, Aunt Lydia!

Likewise, Uncle Ben picked out an awesome car for this guy, too.  Wow!

Eden was quite the jolly package opener (for everyone!).  She oohed and aahed over everything and if she didn't know what something was, she just said, "Wow, this!!"

Once she'd opened most everything in Sam's stocking, she moved on to Grant's.

She's a pretty good little sister to have around!

The first mission of the Christmas rocket!  Getting ready to launch...

Figuring out a new music player with Grandpa.  Engineering at work!

So fun to watch these girls grow up together!  Mary is two months younger than Elise and the daughter of one of my nearest and dearest cousins.

Don't have the exact count, but I think we might have taken this same picture every year for the past 35 years!

Off to Media to see Hannah's cozy holiday house and enjoy a stroll to the coffee shop around the corner.

Making it to Longwood Gardens to see the lights is always a highlight!  This year Elise got to share it with all four of her grandparents while the younger kids slept and rested at home.

Speaking of highlights...now that the cottage is up and running for all seasons, it's an especially fun getaway in winter!

That's a good looking football team!

Thank you dear family for such a wonderful visit!  We love sharing life with you!!!