These are from our Ward Party. Ryan was there also, but wasn't feeling well, so he left before they took pictures.
Ryan worked Christmas Eve day. When he got home, my parents came over and taught me how to make Granny's Chicken Noodle Soup. The directions I got over the phone went something like this:
Make a pile of flour on the table. Just the right amount. Then, crack an egg into the flour. Fill half the eggshell with water, and add it to the flour and egg. Mix until it is the right consistency. Roll until very thin, then cut thin strips and put them in the soup.
Not too complicated, but I felt a little wary of trying this on my own, so my parents agreed to come and teach me. We finished right about when Ryan got home from work. My parents went home, and we ate soup and breadsticks. It reminded me of many Christmas Eve nights spent at my mother's parent's house with all my cousins on that side.
Then we opened pajamas that I had made. They are mostly pink, with gray donkeys on them. Ryan got gray pants. Then Ryan read the Bible story while the girls acted out the story with our nativity set. Then we had family prayer, and put the girls in bed.
We had a fun Christmas morning. The girls woke up around 8:30, so we went out to the living room at about 9. (Ryan tried to delay the process of getting out of bed for as long as possible.) We had lots of fun opening presents and giving presents to each other. Ryan surprised me with a laptop, which I love. I can never surprise Ryan with presents, but he seemed to enjoy the movies and treats he got. He actually asked all my family members if they would contribute to my laptop instead of getting him presents. He also told me to use the money I would have used on him towards my present. He's so sweet.
Then we went to my parent's house from 12-2:30. We had delicious soft tacos, and exchanged family gifts. We had David's family, and he had our family. Then we got to sit around and visit while the kids played.
My parents have individual Christmas nights with each family on their own. So one night, Ryan, Katie, Elayna, and I went and had some good soup, breadsticks, salad, and dessert. Mom and Dad like to give us our family gifts then, so they can see the grandkids opening and playing with their presents, instead of the mad pandemonium that we used to have.
At about 3 pm we went over to Bowman's. We exchanged presents with each other, and enjoyed the time with their family. This is Ryan, opening one of his presents:
Irma made cute aprons for the girls. I'm not sure why we didn't get a picture of Katie also, but this is pretty cute:
The extended Bowman family came over at about 5:00, I think. We had a yummy Mexican meal, with tamales and posoli (I have no idea how to spell it, but that is kinda how it sounds). We played a white elephant game. Mickie and John each brought a story about past Christmases, then every time they said "Christmas" we would pass the present to the left or right, depending on who was telling the story. We sang some Christmas carols, then it was time for our family to go home.
The girls were pretty tired, as were Ryan and I. We love spending time with our families for Christmas! We love the visiting, and seeing each other, and sharing food, and enjoying the Christmas season with them. We are so grateful we have so much family close by that we get to see often.
This is our family picture for this year:
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