Another December Saturday

I don't know if it has something to do with JC going back to work after such an extended vacation/recovery or just loving doing things as a family this time of year, but lately Saturdays have become my favorite day to look forward to!
A peek into our Winter Weekend World...

What can grab attention like this?

and this?

Saturday morning replays of Christmas specials recorded! Mickey's Once (and Twice) Upon a Christmas, Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too, Rudolph, Frosty's Winter Wonderland, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and many other old and new favorites!
James' attention may not be completely had...especially if Daddy's shoes are within reach and a camera is around...

The other day, JC and I were talking about Christmas Morning. He said, "This year, I won't dig into the monkey bread before you get your picture of it." I laughed, then he continued, "...That was before I knew you liked to take pictures of your food."
He's right. I do.
I am not sure I can explain exactly why!
(Though, my sister, Katie can relate. Half the texts we send each other are pictures of our culinary creations.)
Here is lunch that day. I think I took this picture because seeing their food spread out on special save-for-winter Christmas plates made me feel happy and festive.

So did this pot of chili simmering for later consumption. Look at the steam!

Though the morning was a laid back one, the afternoon and evening held a fun family gathering. JC's mom and sister, Melissa, and her kids all came over. Colton, their oldest cousin, stayed at our house with JC and the boys and us girls went out for some special Christmas shopping. In the past we have done a cousin exchange for gifts. This year, we decided that, instead, the cousins would shop for gifts for those who may not be receiving many gifts this year. Our plan was to find an angel tree and let each child choose and buy for another child. After much searching, we ended up with no angel tree but instead decided to buy for and donate to Toys for Tots. Melissa's kids participate in a Young Marines program through which our donations could go. Perfect! Bethany had a fun time picking out a special toy for a little girl and acting as a proxy for her brothers and choosing a toy for a little boy. She was really excited about the whole thing. It was fun to see her glad to be giving. It was also fun to spend time with all the girls in JC's family.
After the shopping, we swung by our house for the boys and took a trip to a park nearby!

There was sliding...

and running...

and more sliding...

and football throwing.

Now that Ben is big enough to explore on his own, playgrounds are a whole new world!

Before too long, we all got hungry. Good thing there were pots of soup and chili waiting for us back at home! We chowed down, played, visited, then eventually called it a night. I didn't get too many pictures of the kids playing but here's one of Brittney and Bethany (and Scout) hanging out in Bethany's room...

I feel like Brittney and Scout are having a moment.

I hope that we can make this kind of gift shopping a tradition! We are so blessed and have so many people around us to love and plenty of toys and games to keep us busy. I look forward to the kids growing up participating in sharing all of that with others.

As long as we are on the subject of cousins, and Brittney for that matter, there was a special day this last week:

Brittney's baptism day!
JC had the privilege of baptizing her and Bethany had the privilege of attending!
(This was the beginning of our bout with croup, so unfortunately, I and the two boys were at home missing it all!)

Happy cousins on a happy day!

Bethany's Papa got a few more pictures of her and they are so cute I just have to share...

Cute girl.

Bethany was especially excited about being there for Brittney's baptism since it just so happens we've been reading in the New Testament lately about Jesus' childhood and John the Baptist. We had just read the section where Christ is baptized the day before this, so it was perfect timing! Bethany had been asking questions about baptism and it was so fun to see her understanding grow and then be able to be there when her cousin made the wonderful choice to follow Jesus' example. We are proud of Brittney and grateful for the example she set for her little cousin who looks up to her so much!
I am realizing lately how much of a blessing it is to have family nearby to celebrate with, whether it be Christmas, birthdays, or baptisms!