We started the week with Kevin's birthday!  Jim and Naoma took Kevin and I out to lunch.  Sarah needed to work in the afternoon and Mariah had basketball practice so we decided not to do anything as a family.  Instead, Kevin and I went to the mall together and came home to a sparkling clean home and a homemade banner!  I made fried chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner and then we all joined Dad in a game of Acquire where as per usual he beat us all by about 150%.  No wonder he likes that game!  We had a fun day.

Ben made his dad a "plate suitcase."  You know you want one.

Savannah sent her dad a present, too!

He really liked it!  (That's Taiwan in the background.)

We love that guy!

The next day was Megan's birthday!  How can she be seventeen already??  Sarah made her waffles for breakfast and her friends took her out to lunch.  That afternoon she came with Kevin and I to see Mariah play in her basketball games at the high school.  For dinner, we all went over to Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's for a pizza dinner, cheese cake, and presents.  It was another fun day!

Savannah gave Megan a t-shirt, too!

We love that girl!

That night Sarah, Megan, and Mariah slept over at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  They stayed up until midnight watching Hallmark movies.  They just can't get enough!  Back at our house, the little kids decided it was a great night to sleep by the Christmas tree!  They got their night at Grandma's the next evening!

Thursday was Christmas Eve!  Sarah and Megan both needed to work Christmas Eve and Sarah even had to work until close!  Good thing they closed at 6:00!  We started our Christmas traditions right after that at Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik's house with Candlelight Dinner.  Yum!  Then the girls sang The Twelve Days of Christmas complete with actions and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  I read the nativity while they acted it out in costumes.  Then we played the bells and listened to the kids play Christmas songs on the piano.  Finally, we all got to open presents from Grandma and Grandpa.  We had a great Christmas Eve!  We had to get home quickly after that.  Ben was determined that we had to get in bed before Santa checked and we weren't there!

The next morning was Christmas Day!  Santa came and left everyone the presents they had asked for!  Happy, happy morning!  Kevin made us all French Toast breakfast and as we were finishing up, Savannah called us on Skype for our best Christmas present of the day!  Kevin had his computer hooked to the TV so everyone could see her and hear her even if they weren't the one in front of the computer.  She looked super happy and we all loved talking to her and hearing her stories and seeing her face and hearing her laugh.  It was the best moment of the day!

After that, we opened presents from family and friends.  The rest of the day was full of watching more Christmas movies, playing with new toys, taking naps, and reading books.  We also managed to have a nice ham dinner and let Dad win again at Acquire.

Saturday was more of the same except Sarah and Megan got to work and the little kids got to play with friends.  That night we all watched AntMan which Sarah got for Christmas from Megan.  Also, Mariah got a Flash t-shirt from Meg and Meg got a Flash t-shirt from her friend, so they got to be all matchy ALL day!

Also of note was that Sarah made everyone (except for Dad and Ben) a matching skirt as her Christmas presents!  She is a busy girl and barely finished but she did a great job and we all love them!  What a fun idea!

Dad and Ben wanted to have their picture taken in their new sweaters, too!

What a busy, FULL week!  Full of events and full of blessings!  What a merry, merry Christmas!