Santa Came!

Waking up Christmas morning to see what Santa brought is a child's delight.  Creating Santa can be equally as fulfilling.  Now just for the waiting till morning.  First one up... Micah of course.

 The Barbie Dream House.  I can't wait to see what imaginatory play will occur here.  The Barbie car from when I was a little girl found a garage.  Add the Barbie plane Victoria received from Oma & Opa and you have one giant scene for Barbie and her friends.

 Micah's main gift from Santa was a Battlebot arena.  Everyone took turns to battle this morning.  Micah won most of the boughts though I think his bot had a slight unfair advantage. 

One other present that was under the tree from Santa to the group was a Nintendo Switch.  Interestingly the kids preferred toys that they could play with over this which is why I don't have a single picture of this present.  I know over time it will change.  But for now I will relish in the fact that my children are not drawn to electronics.  Watching their imaginations this morning with all their new toys was delightful.

It's Present Time!

After church service and eating, back to the house we went to open family presents on Christmas Eve.  We were fortunate to have Grammy join us. 

 Izzy has always wanted color in her fencing uniform.  We have been finding ways to achieve this over time.  For Christmas she received a pink lame as a combined gift from Oma, Opa, John and I.  She quickly asked when is her next fencing practice as she can't wait to show her coach, JD.

 For Bures family Secret Santa, our theme this year was gifts that begin with the letter "G".  John and Micah loved this indoor golf set-up.

 Unicorns were everyone for Victoria.

 Beyblades... he has been asking for these for months.

 For years I have wanted a dressform but never have pulled the trigger to purchase one.  Thanks to Jackie and John, I now have one that fits both myself as well as Izzy.  I can't wait to use it.

 John request a shirt for work that had his work nickname on it.  Everyone will be sure to see this.

 A warm bear-hug for Grammy.

 Shaving supplies in John's favorite scent.  Now he'll smell oh so good.

 Victoria was one happy girl... a sequence unicorn jacket and Barbie airplane.

Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve traditionally is spent attending worship service.  It's also a time to capture what our family looks like as every dresses nicely for this celebration.

 Always a favorite is singing Silent Night via candle light.  Micah and Victoria somehow convinced John and I to swap their child candle with the real things.  I'm proud that both of them were responsible with the flame. 

Afterwards we took Jackie to Aquitaine for a special Christmas Eve meal.  Izzy loved ever minute of it as she partook of escargot and Lobster Newburg.  Until another special occasion...

Being Our Own Elves

 Last year Izzy asked if we could make a variety of cookies for Christmas.  I suggested that we hand out these treats at work for those who were working on Christmas.  Plus it was a great way to keep the excess treats out of our house.  This year they asked if we could do it again.  Instead of cookies they wanted to make cake pops.  I've only made them once before and remembered there were many steps involved.  I was proud that Izzy was there the entire time helping out.  Even Micah helped in rolling the balls.

 They wanted to make all the colors of Christmas.

 We then dipped them in contrasting Christmas colors and decorated with sprinkles or drizzled candy melts over them.  Once set, we packed two per bag and then headed off to work to deliver them.

 Our first stop was to Interpreter Services.  This group of people are vital to the hospital given how many different languages are spoke by patients and their families.  Over time I have learned so much about these lady's (and others) personal lives.  One of the daughters attends UNO!  They were excited to see us walk into their office and promptly tasted our treats that we delivered.  Afterwards we headed to my department and dropped of more to a variety of ancillary staff.  All comments were similar... these were eye appealing and tasty Christmas treats.

Hartman Christmas

 Holidays make spending time with family even more special.  We headed over to John's brother's place on the 23rd to celebrate a smidge early with them.  On the menu was French dip sandwiches and an array of appetizers and treats.

Cheers!

 For out gift exchange, we all brought several $5 gifts.  Each of us in the end up with three gifts total.  How to choose one was based on winning a series of games.

 A Christmas version of hot potato.  Other games included a coin toss, Derby Day, and snake eyes.

 This one was a hit as 12 gifts could be opened during one game.  Each player chooses a gift.  Whatever number is rolled on a dice results in an action; 1 = pass gifts to the left, 2 = pass gifts to the right, 3 = exchange with a parent/child or grammy, 4 = do a little dance, 5 = open your present, 6 = open your present.  Once opened, you could decide to keep it or continue with the group with the rolling of the dice.

This was one of the coveted prizes... a cat fishing poll toy.  Once it was opened, Quinn was quick to take notice including joining in taking this picture.

This was one of the gifts provided from our house.  Izzy worked hard at winning this one and plans on taking it to school to share.  I'm sure her school will love that!

 Two of the gifts were sets of indoor snow balls which quickly turned into a spontaneous snowball fight.  A good laugh is healthy for the soul.

 Grammy wanted no part of this game.

Percy... Our Elf on the Shelf

With the turning of the calendar to December, our elf on the shelf also returns.  Sometimes he is creative and sometimes he's tired and simply finds a new place to sit and watch all the commotion.  I still smile when I see and hear the kids talking to Percy about what they want from Santa or when one of them was naughty (especially Micah) to talk to him about forgiveness.

 This was one of my favorites from this year.  I loved hearing Victoria wake up squealing that she found Percy.  I try to imagine what it would have been like to open your eyes and see him looking down at you knowing he had been there for awhile.

 A throwback to the movie E.T.

 I was just hoping the guinea pigs wouldn't nibble on Percy with this position.

 Our own personal Spidey.

 I wonder if he tastes as good as the other Hershey kisses?

 Micah liked waking up to Percy being caught by his army guys.

 This was my other favorite.  Since the elves loose their magic if they are touches, the kids had to shower with him sitting there.  Oh were they nervous!  Luckily he didn't get wet either.

We had to play limbo if we wanted to walk down this hallway.  Most of us simply walked through the dinning room to get where we needed.

A spot on the outside of the door left the kids searching for quite some time until it was time for school and they needed to grab their coats.