Christmas Morning

We went to Doug's parent's house on Christmas Eve morning before the snow really started falling. We basically moved in because we wanted to be able to have Christmas was them on Christmas Day. We woke up on Christmas Morning to find Santa Claus had come during the night and left presents for them and filled up their stockings! The kids were VERY excited! :) Samantha got the Pony House for her My Little Ponies, a Leap Frog reading system, and a Tinker Bell Barbie. Alden got lots of Legos, small toy airplanes, and a Toy Story play camera. Clair got lots of rattles, soft fuzzy blocks, and some books. We had a good time opening gifts. Clair liked the shiny paper that Santa used for all the presents! :)

Christmas Eve Eve

That's not a typo....we did our Christmas with my parents and brother a day early due to the impending storm (a.k.a. Christmas Blizzard of '09). We had expected the weather to be bad already on Christmas Eve Eve, but it wasn't. So, I called my mom, dad, and brother and asked if they wanted to have an "impromptu" Christmas Eve on Christmas Eve Eve. They all said "sure" and got in their cars and came to Plattsmouth. My dad brought Valentino's pizza for supper. After supper, we took our traditional family pictures (not sure what is up with Alden's pirate eye), and then dug right into the presents. :) Some of our favorite presents were:

Doug - Cycling Jersey and a Garmin ForeRunner
Chris - New Flat Screen TV
Michelle - pink iPOD Nano and pyrex dishes
Samantha-My Little Pony Ponyville Playset, Baby My Little Ponies, Toy Story Mania for Wii, and Lots of Clothes
Alden - LEGOS, Big boy underwear, Spiderman light up tennis shoes, and Harley leather jacket like papa's
Clair - Highchair and Personalized Blanket and play tea set

After presents, we didn't have much time to socialize because the roads were already getting slick. We cleaned up all the wrappingIt was a very unusual Christmas Eve....hoping for a better one next year!!

Give a Day Get a Day!

Great-Grandma & Great Grandpa McKnight's Christmas

We had our Christmas at Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa McKnight's house on December 21st. We aren't able to go to their Christmas Eve each year, because that's when my family does our Christmas. We picked up Pizza Hut Pizza and had supper with them, and after supper we had ice cream cake. The kids had a great time. Alden got a nerf football and a basketball and a little toolset. Samantha got penguin pajamas and a slinky that she played with for hours! Doug and I both got clothes and Clair got the adidas outfit that she is wearing for her 3 month pictures (the picture is on right side of the blog). We gave them a calendar with all the family birthdays on it and pictures of the great-grandkids. This was our 2nd Christmas of the year...only 3 more left to report on because we weren't able to make it to 2 of them due to the blizzard. :(

A Night in Bethlehem

My mom and I took the kids to "A Night In Bethlehem" at Calvary Christian Church in Bellevue on December 21st. They used their big activity center to portray the streets of Bethlehem and what it would have been like back in Jesus's time. It was wonderful because it was an indoor activity for the kids on a cold winter night! The kids went around and there were actors acting out different scenes like the 3 kings and the innkeeper, and angel and Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. They got to collect parts for a little manger scene throughout the night and make different activities. We made a scroll that they had to carry around with them because of the "Census" that was going on back then. That way we were all "counted" for Ceasar. They also made bracelets, painted a Star ornament, made a clay pot and got to play with bread dough. They had a great time!

McKnight-Weekly Christmas

On December 20th, we gathered at Doug's parents house in Plattsmouth for the McKnight-Weekly Christmas. Every year all of Doug's uncles and aunt from his dad's side, as well as the Weekly's from Kansas City come to celebrate Christmas together. Doug's brother even surprised us and flew in from Seattle the day before for Christmas. We did a $10 gift card exchange again this year and it's always a wild game! This year was special because Doug's cousin Dustin and his wife Goldie had a baby girl -Charlotte- in August of this year, we had another baby in the house besides our own kids! Doug's mom always makes a fabulous dinner and fabulous cookies and desserts, too! Samantha & Alden got Light Swords from Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa McKnight! They were VERY dangerous! :) It's always fun to catch up with all the cousins who scattered throughout the United States. Doug has cousins in Omaha; Lincoln; Columbia, MO; Columbus, OH; Houston, TX; and the Weekly's are in Kansas City and also in Columbus, MS.

Our Tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree. Since many of you did not get to see our Tree this holiday season I(Doug) thought I would bring some highlights to you! Our tree has all the breakable ornaments above the kids hands so it seems a little crowed at that level. Michelle and I have a star on top that we picked out at "O' Tannenbaum" in the old market the first year we were married.

Michelle and I honeymooned at Disney world!

We went back to Disney in '08 but this time with two kids.

The back of a Disney ornament from the last trip. one of many hidden Mickey's on our tree.

My parents got me this for my trip to the Holiday Bowl in '98.

This is a Pluto Michelle got on our Honeymoon. Michelle has many Pluto's on our tree.

This is a turtle that our Japanese exchange students got me when I was in high school, because they said I moved like one.

Sam's First day of school!

We like the picture on the ornament thing.

Pluto!

Little People nativity the kids Love this one.

A chocolate playing a trumpet. Why wouldn't I have this one?

Some spice from San Antonio from the Alamo Bowl.

Mickey and Minnie