Christmas Day

Christmas this year felt very different but it was still a nice day.  Every year in my memory, we have spent Christmas with my Grandpa and Nana and it was hard not having them with us this year.  Grandpa passed away last January and Nana was still battling health challenges and was in the hospital this year for the holidays.  Multiple people went over to the hospital to visit Nana during the day but it was hard not having her at the house to play games and celebrate the holiday with us.  This year also brought back a lot of memories of last year and spending our last Christmas with Grandpa.

Although it was hard not having them physically with us at the house this year, it made me grateful for all the years that I did get to celebrate with them and the wonderful family that I have through them.  I am so grateful for my grandparents and how they instilled in me the importance of families because it makes hard times easier when you have family surrounding you.

Even though there were some emotional trials this Christmas, we still had a great day and it was so fun to see Alden open all of his presents and get super excited!  It was also really fun to see Anders having fun playing with random things like an orange, container of puffs, a box, paper and more.  We really did enjoy our Christmas and I was even more aware this year, of what we were truly celebrating; Christ's birth.  His birth on this earth led to him living and dying here for us so that we can make it to heaven and be with our families forever.  I am so grateful that all those years ago, in Bethlehem, Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph so that he could live his life here on earth and prepare the way for us to go to heaven.

Now, here are some pictures of our fun Christmas day with my family.

Alden had a lot of fun helping other people with their presents and helping Anders find things to play with.

My brother, Erik, was super excited that he got socks for Christmas!

Anders had fun watching everyone and playing with whatever he could find.

Alden enjoyed opening his presents and seeing what everyone got him!  He was also really excited that a lot of his presents were wrapped in green wrapping paper with snoopy on it!

My parents opening their presents.

Anders had fun playing with the orange from the bottom of his stocking while Alden opened his presents.

I am glad that I got to have my aunt, uncle and cousin with us for Christmas too!

Alden loved all the presents and it was nice when he would give hugs to say "thank you."

Alden was trying to have Anders help open the gift to both of them from Grandma and Grandpa.  It was really cute!

Alden and Daddy opening their combined gift from Mommy.  (It was Loony Tunes DVDs)

One of my favorite parts of Christmas, the tree!

We had a very nice Christmas dinner with lots of really yummy food!  Anders had fun trying whatever we let him.

Alden was not very interested in the food but he loved having family around to have fun with.

I had to try out me new camera after our dinner, and who better for my practice subject than my adorable baby? =)

Anders loved crawling around and exploring while we were at my parents' house.