Christmas

Since I am ready to create another blog book including the past 2 years worth of posts I am finally finishing out the last post I have for 2011.  Last year at Christmas I swore I wasn't going to spend another Christmas in our apartment.  I told Dave that we were either going to be living in a new house or we would go somewhere else.  Well, since we didn't have a new house finished yet and the trip to the Holzer side of the family is quite daunting, especially in the winter, we headed to Perry to spend Christmas with my parents and my brother, Darin.


We did decorate our tree here at the apartment and were able to enjoy it through the month of December.

I love the expressions in this picture.  This was taken in the early afternoon on Christmas Eve.  Grandma let them open the Angry Birds board game to help pass the time.  It can get pretty tedious just staring at all those presents!


As the evening approached we got to participate in a few long standing Oberholtzer traditions.  First we played some Christmas carols on the chimes. We sounded pretty good for each have a few chimes to watch for and play for each song!

Then, an even longer standing tradition, Dad reading the Christmas Story from the giant white bible.  I am so glad I took this picture because I have very vivid memories of many Christmases from my childhood seeing this scene.  I am so grateful for this tradition and this soft spoken, loving man.  I love you, Dad!  I am also grateful my children got to take part in this tradition.  My mom even pulled out the old nativity scene for the kids to move into place as their part of the story was read.

Here the kids are sporting their new pajamas, another tradition from my childhood that Dave has taken on the responsibility of.  Even I get new pajamas each year on Christmas Eve from him.


Dave and Zander checking out stockings on Christmas Morning.


My mom and dad and Darin flew to Arizona to spend time with my sister, Melanie, and her family on Christmas Day so our little family had a quiet evening at my parents' house before going back to Price the following day.  This picture cracked me up because the kids are sitting among dozens of Christmas presents and in their hands Haylie has Dave's Droid phone and Zander has my iPod Touch.  Apparently we could have saved some time and money and bought them a $.99 app for Christmas!