Adams Family Christmas 2013

Travis got an extra day off this year, so we decided to have an impromptu sleepover at Grandma Adams's house the night before Christmas Eve. It was nice to get an early start on our "together" time -- and we made pancakes and bacon (our traditional calorie fest). We had a great dinner with turkey, potatoes, stuffing, salads, breads, wines, and all sorts of others I am probably forgetting.  Then we opened our presents before naptime hit. Grandma loved our surprises for her this year, despite the fact that I couldn't finish a part of one in time. I found a website where you can make your own print of fabric, so I scanned in an old handwritten letter from Grandma Parchert with her instructions for how to making a turkey into a pattern to make a Thanksgiving hand towel. It took a lot of swearing and some help from my husband, but I got it done. :). Some of the girls' presents highlights were new Megabloks (which they have played with almost daily since Christmas) pots and pans for their kitchen, a baby that goes potty, and sleeping bags. It was Daddy, however, that stole the show with his excitement over his new 50" TV. I never would have been able to pull it off without help from Grandma and Papa, so I thank them profusely for giving me the gift of seeing his excitement.

The afternoon was spent relishing in our new toys and taking good quality naps. And eating. Lots of eating.And wine. Lots of wine, too. :)

Before we knew it, it was time to head to church. Evalee told us all afternoon that she didn't want to get on-stage, and if she did she was going to sing "Jingle Bells" and not "Away in the Manger", so our hopes were not high going in. With the help of Amy, super-mom/babysitter and Sunday School teacher extraordinaire, we convinced her to go to her classroom before the program. We got seats in the front row, hoping that if she was sitting in front of us she wouldn't abandon ship. We waited for the storm, watching Isabel go from preschool chair to preschool chair in front of us in excitement.

Not only did Evalee decide to go onstage, but she also decided she would, in fact, sing "Away in the Manger." Sort of. Because she would freak out and refuse to sing the minute I suggest we sing the song a time or two, she wasn't quite sure of the words anymore. But that didn't stop her from slowly inching closer and closer to the microphone, making sure her big booming voice was all the audience could hear. Our five seats were shaking as we all held in our laughter in the audience. After the first song, Amy came on stage and moved her back where she belonged, which resulted in the world's biggest pouting face throughout the entire next song. It was a memorable performance, for sure.