Ahhh Christmas

Warning: This is a marathon post! Christmas was (as always) very busy for us. However, this year it was wonderful because we did not travel to more than one place in a single day and so we could relax and enjoy the celebrations. Our parties began on the Saturday before Christmas at Aunt Vicki and Uncle Mark's house for the Bergman (Wes' mom's side) get-together. This was the beginning of me feeling like crap (strep throat.....BOO!!!!!!) and so I debated whether or not I should attend. I decided to make the 2 hour trip and I'm glad I did. We had a great time, but by the end of the night I was feeling even worse. The girls looked adorable in their dresses that I got at BabyGap last year and they had a great time playing with their cousins. They also really loved dancing next to the singing Santa. They received jammies,clothes, a lady-bug tent (funny story about this gift in a future post), Sing-a-ma-jigs, a singing duck and cow, and Your-Baby-Can-Speak Spanish (ha ha). We left around 8:45 and got home around 10:45. I went straight to bed. (The ice cream scoops that the girls are holding in a lot of the pictures were one of their birthday gifts from the Garmans and they have just recently fallen in love with them. They carry them all over the house and take them everywhere. LOL)

That night I woke up with a 103 degree fever and the most horrendous sore throat. I had a pounding headache and felt miserable. I got up and went to the ER because I really didn't want to miss the Konesky Christmas (that day!) or school the next day. I found out I had strep and was given an antibiotic. I went home for more sleeping, but did not feel any better. I decided not to take my germs to my family and so Wes took the girls without me. It was horrible to just sit on the couch by myself when I knew all of my family was together. The camera didn't make it to the gathering, so sadly I have no pics of this. The girls got a puzzle and a savings bond and Wes and I received a very generous gift of money from my wonderful grandparents.

I did go to work on Monday, but that was probably a huge mistake. I felt miserable and the day went all wrong. I decided to stay home on Tuesday and recoup. I didn't want my students to get sick (although they gave it to ME!!!) before Christmas and I wanted to be healthy for our own Christmas. It was just what I needed and I returned for our last day before break. I had tons of fun Christmas-y things planned for the kids and we had a blast. My kiddos spoiled me with tons of awesome gifts!! Our holiday party was so much fun thanks to the amazing parents in my class. I don't know if I should be posting pics of my students on here so I won't include them although I have tons of cute pics! Here I am playing a fun game that one of the mom's came up with. You had to rest a cookie on your forehead and scrunch your face until the cookie slid down your face and try to catch it in your mouth. I don't want to brag but I got it on the first try! :) I also included pictures of the adorable gifts we made for the kids to give to their families. They are bricks painted and decorated to look like snowmen that can be used as a decoration or a door stopper. I absolutely love how they turned out! .

I had a half day, teacher work day on Thursday and then we headed back down to Loramie for Christmas with Wes' dad, step-mom, and sisters. His sister Kacie came in from Chicago, Kayla came home from Cincinnati and brought her boyfriend, Ryan and his sister, Morgan introduced us to her new boyfriend, Gage. We were going to miss the extended Rethman and Theis Christmases so his grandparents stopped over to give gifts and see us. We had a fantastic evening eating yummy food and playing games. The girls got Cabbage Patch Dolls!!!!! (named Ana Hayden and Natasha Toni - love the names LOL), a sit and spin, a ladybug tent, ladybug pillow pets, clothes, a puzzle, and their first dollhouse from Grandma and Grandpa. Aunt Kayla got the girls Cincinnati Reds jerseys! Aunt Morgan got them an adorable vest and shirt outfit. Great Grandma and Grandpa Theis got the girls a bathtub toy and a pack and play for their baby dolls! Great Grandma and Grandpa Rethman added to the girls' bank accounts, which we love! Wes and I were spoiled, as well. We were given money to put towards our new furniture. I also got perfume, yoga pants, boots, slippers and a Kohl's gift card. Wes got some gadgets for his PlayStation Move, gift cards for Applebees and Olive Garden and a nice running shirt. We received money from his grandparents. After all of the gift opening we went downstairs and played games until late in the night. It was a perfect evening!

Friday morning (Christmas Eve) we headed back home. Wes' mom, step-dad and sister, Kacie were joining us for the night. We had asked if they would mind coming to us so it could be less hectic and they happily agreed. It was sooooo nice to be in our own home. We made a bunch of appetizers and a yummy dinner. We opened presents and just enjoyed being lazy. Randomly, Aunt Kacie's outfit matched the girls so we attempted to get a cute pic! The girls got clothes, Pottery Barn anywhere chairs (one was from Aunt Kacie and one from YaYa and YoYo), bedding for their big girl room, art supplies, coloring books, mix and match cupcakes, Melissa and Doug chef dress up clothes, puzzles, silverware and dishes and a fun Eric Carle game. Wes and I got money for our furniture. I got lotion, body spray and this amazing smelling hair stuff to make it shiny! Wes got a game for his PlayStation. We give each set of grandparents their gifts but they also get a calendar of pics of the girls. We did this last year and it was hit so it is now a tradition! We again stayed up REALLY late and just enjoyed the company.

In the morning, we opened presents from Santa and Mommy and Daddy. Sadly, the girls were a bit over the whole present thing! Mya just wanted to cuddle with Daddy and Stella opened some crayons and coloring books and that was where her interest was. They got jammies, clothes, rain boots, dolls, tub crayons, a doctor play set, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a kitchen, and a 101 piece food set. Their stockings had crayons, coloring books and more toddler silverware. Santa was very good to them! After presents we had a yummy breakfast of cinnamon rolls, sausage links (Stella devours these!!!), bananas and yogurt! YaYa, YoYo and Aunt Kacie left as we laid the girls down for a nap before heading to Nana and Papa's house.

When we got to Nana and Papa's house we had another yummy brunch. My mom always makes a delicious meal of eggs, french toast casserole, a sausage biscuit braid, and fruit all served on pretty Christmas dishes! We spent most of the day just hanging out and waiting for Ashley and the kids to come over. Thankfully, the girls aren't to the point where they have to open gifts immediately because that would have made for a long day. Instead, they played with some toys and took another nap. While the girls napped Amanda, mom and I hung my mom's Uppercase Living decal and the boys played darts. We opened gifts at around 4:30 and then had a delicious lasagna meal. The girls got beyond adorable tutus, beads and tiaras, the quilts for their big girl room, clothes, sunglasses and a hair bow. They also got money that we put in their savings account. Wes and I had asked all of our parents for money for our furniture so we got that a few months ago. I also got a sweater and pants and Wes got a controller for his PlayStation. My parents also surprised all of us with another incredibly generous gift of money with a simple note attached "We hope this makes life a little easier for you." It definitely does. Thank you so much, Mom and Dad! Aunt Amanda got the girls an adorable shirt and gave us a cute collage of pics of the girls and offered a free night of babysitting so that we can go out and enjoy each other! The Riedemans renewed our zoo membership and got the girls an Amazon gift card for books. We stayed the night there so that we could join in the fun of the "name game" that lasted until very late again. You attach a post-it note to each person's head that they can't see with a name of a famous or commonly known person's name and then you ask yes or no questions trying to determine what name is on your head. Ridiculous amounts of fun.

And one more the morning after Christmas day....

It was a great holiday season for us and we enjoyed spending so much time with the ones we love the most! We know just how blessed we are to have the amazing people that we call family in our lives. We wouldn't be who we are today without each one of them and we are thankful for all that they bring to our lives.