Christmas w/ the Sonifranks

here's a look into the time that we spent w/ my hubby's side of the family

i am so blessed to have married into such a beautiful family!

they have done so much to make me feel like i belong :)

Christmas for the Sonifranks is always celebrated back at the cabin

the same cabin where Dave proposed to me :)

we spend the night

the next morning we have a yummy breakfast of sausage gravy, biscuits, and scrambled eggs. 

then it's present time…

Sandra and Al … Wesley and Angela

Angela always gets her nieces and nephews a Christmas ornament
I didn't get a picture of Brighton w/ hers last year, but i'm hoping i remember to do that from here on out.

Asher w/ his little polar bear ornament

Brighton w/ her sock monkey ornament

most of the rest of our time was spent hanging out
it was fun to introduce our little Asher to everyone!
he got lots and lots of lovin' :)

most evenings "Grandma" would light some candles for Brighton

the heat would make the little angels above them spin around

and then she would get to blow them out

she loved it :)

before Al and Sandra headed back to Michigan w/ their crew, i was able to get all the cousins together for a picture.

they wore their monkey hats from Brighton and Asher :)

Trent - Brighton - Brittney - Tyler - Asher

quite the good lookin' gang!

Christmas w/ the Clines

it's fun being married…you get to have multiple Christmases!

here's a peak into the time that we spent w/ my side of the family:

Christmas Eve is always spent at Granddaddy and Grammy's house

(my dad's side of the family)

It's always so good to be w/ all my aunts, uncles, and cousins

the girls painted Brighton's toes while we waited for final dinner preparations to be made

Asher hangs out w/ Dad and Granddaddy…

i missed getting a picture of the dinner spread this year, but it was as amazing as usual!

Grammy takes after Great Grandma Bailey for sure…always making sure that everyone has more than enough good food to fill their belly :)

after dinner is cleaned up, we sit around the family room and sing Christmas songs before we open gifts

we spent Christmas day w/ my immediate family and my dear sweet Grandmother

the day included a yummy brunch,

opening presents, 

playing rook,

and lots of loving on the kiddos.

 i had such a good time being w/ my family again!

i can hardly wait for the day when it becomes a normal part of our lives :)

too late?

is there a time limit as to how far after an event you can post about it?

hopefully not, as these photos were taken well over a month ago :)

i just finished editing all my photos from the month of december

here's a little snapshot into our christmas here in Red Lake

we celebrated on the 21st, and then left for Virginia on the 22nd

pictures by the Christmas tree:

 seconds 1-10

seconds 11 and following...typical :)

 melt my heart!

 "Christmas" morning Dave read the story of Jesus' birth from the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

I can't recommend this book enough! Every story is tied back to Jesus.

Brighton absolutely loves it!

 after story time, it was present time!

their first gift was matching sleepers :) - pretty sure this one is going to be tradition!

Brighton was thrilled to open both her gifts and Asher's

Dave got a leatherman from the kiddos :)

reading new books w/ Dad

couldn't you just eat this lil' guy?

i mean seriously!

looking back at these pictures makes my heart so happy

i have a Savior who came as a baby so i could be free

i have a husband who loves me and our kiddos so so much

and i have 2 precious children

i am blessed :)

diy gifts

this Christmas i ended up doing quite a few DIY gifts

not all by choice ;)

Dave's family decided that each couple would make a gift for the other couples

we thought about it awhile, and finally decided to make hand painted wooden signs

i'd seen quite a few that i liked on interest, and took my inspiration from there

here's what we came up w/

it was a team effort

Dave bought a piece of shelving board and cut it into 4 pieces

he then painted/stained them all according to what i described to him and showed him in pics

they turned out so good!

i was so thankful for his help on that part because i would have been at a loss

i used InDesign to design the layout/lettering for each of them

i then printed them out on the printer, taped them together, and then used carbon copy paper to trace them onto the boards. Dave also helped w/ that.

painting the letters was the tedious part. it took much much longer than i ever expected it to

but we got them all done, and i think they were well liked by those who received them :)

the other diy gift i made this year was also inspired by pinterest

this one was from me to dave 

the easiest/funnest part about this gift was coming up w/ the 52 reasons!!!!

one evening at home