Its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!
I can't get over how HAPPY Penny was. She had this huge smile the whole time.
At one point, I was down at the bottom of the hill taking pictures and both Carter and Bentley were racing down the hill on their sleds. I looked away for a second and didnt realize that the boys were coming straight for me.. the next thing I new, my father in law football tackled me.. somehow picked me up and jumped over the kids sleds and we both landed on our back.. he broke my fall and basically saved us from probably having so many broken bones. I don't know how he reacted so fast but he did! CRAZY! Sweet Bentley, in the whole mess of things, got a boot to the head, but a little snuggle, some kisses and a couple of rides down the hill with mom seemed to fix it.
We're missing little Gwen in this next picture but all the kids (including Gwen) were SOOOOOO cute!!!!! Man, I love this family and these cute cousins!
After sledding, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpas house for some lunch. Mom Reed made pizza, veggies and dip, shrimp and cocktail sauce and hot apple cider. Again... kids dream lunch. We are so lucky.
Penny really impressed me today. Yesterday in school she learned (from her sweet teacher) that the spirit of Christmas is Giving, not receiving. She was so excited about this concept and wanted to feel the spirit of Christmas so badly (and also she equated the spirit of Christmas with the spirit of the Holy Ghost) that when she got home from school yesterday, she went around the house and collected one of her toys for each of her cousins. She specifically thought about them, picked out one of her toys that she thought they would like and wrapped them up. Then today, she presented each gift to her cousins individually. She explained to the family that she was being the spirit of Christmas. SHE WAS SO HAPPY! She said she felt the spirit and was so so happy. My mama heart nearly BURST into pieces. I am so proud of our little girl and her SWEET SWEET spirit. What an amazing little girl she is!
After lunch, the kids sat up to decorate their little individual gingerbread houses. I love this part but also, this part stresses me out lol. SO Many candies just going straight into the mouth and SO MUCH food dye. we have learned in the years past that food dye REALLY REALLY affects Carter and his behaviour so this was a lot but I cant say no to the activity so we just did it and dealt with it for the rest of the day. You can totally tell the dye affects focusing for Carter.. look at his gingerbread house. Regardless, we love that boy more than life itself and that includes his picaso gingerbread house!
Lastly, the kids all sat in a circle and played the saran wrap game. They LOVE this game. Its gets a little nutty and always someone has tears (this time it was penny) but always a classic and so fun.
We passed around Gwen and got as many baby cuddles as possible and played with Gus so much too...truly just had the very best day.
We are so grateful for Brian's parents. The amount of planning, time, effort, and money this takes to pull this off for 10 Grandkids is crazy. They really did think of everything. We are so lucky to be apart of a family who dedicated and devotes so much time to the kids. Thank you Mom and Dad Reed for doing this day and making it so special for the kids. We are so grateful for you!!
