Christmases and a New Year

Oh dear. Once again it has been too long. 

So, where to begin...

The first of our Christmases was the great Wyss Christmas.  The evening before, as family was arriving,  those of us from the area gathered at the Leman's.  My parents generation went out to eat with Grandpa and Grandma, so us "kids" got the place to ourselves. 

Justus and Gideon(in only a diaper)

games. of course.

Saturday, the family descended on Goodfield fellowship hall. A change, but a good one.  It was nice enough out that the kids could play on the play ground.  The room was big enough for all of us but nice a cozy with a fire place. 

Gideon enjoyed the playground.

Jake and Rachel were the center of attention

grandma and her kids :)

Gideon enjoyed opening presents

Mid-afternoon, Nathan and I left and headed to Christmas #2, the Martins.   We made it in time for supper and stayed to play games. 

On our way home, I was informed that some of the Wyss cousins were going hot tubbing. Nathan, as awesome as he is, offered to stay home with Gideon so that I could go.  :) 

So, Kacie, Kandace, Carli, Kayla, Tate and I got to use Clayton's hot tub.  It was nice and we had fun and I stayed out later then I have in a long time. :)

Kacie stayed with us, which was nice.  We are both in transitional stages in life and it was great to talk (I'll be honest, being a stay at home mom does not come naturally to me and it's been really hard getting used to it).

Most of the family stayed around for Sunday as well. So, we got to have a full weekend.  A bit crazy, but full.

I've said it many times before, but Gideon enjoys being free.  Sometimes a diaper is as good as it gets.

diaper and shoes...strange child

He is forever creating messes. sigh. pictures are sometimes the only way I stay sane. hehe.

oh yay.

Nathan had to use his vacation days by the end of the year so he took a half day and we did a mini stay-cation of sorts. 

We took Gideon to the Peoria Play house museum.

Cow!!!!!!

He LOVED the water table. He was absolutely soaked.

They have an amazing ball area that he thoroughly enjoyed.

Balls!

There was a train area, kitchen, farm, trucks, and so so much more. He loved it. He did not want to leave.

The 23rd was Christmas #3, the small Martin Christmas.  Gideon was in a decent mood for the first half. But, he didn't really take a nap and was an abslute mess the rest of the evening. 

Isaiah and Gideon playing with Uncle Jim

Gideon doesn't like being bundled. 

hehe

Merry Christmas from us! Our Christmas card this year:

It snowed a bunch. Which was very exciting.  Gideon got to go in the snow for the first time. Sadly, he doesn't like it too much. 

but he's cute :)

so pretty.

Christmas eve, my parents had those without plans over for chili and oyster stew (ew).  I made cheese cake for dessert.  I've made "cheater" cheesecake before, but decided it was time to try something better.  It was a lot more work. But oh. my. was it good.  

yum.

Gideon and Jack :)

the crew at the farm

Jake spent the evening entertaining the boys or texting a certain someone hehehe. :)

Per our tradition, we spent the night in front of the tree.  :) Gideon thought it was so much fun. 

pjs and books. All ready for bed. 

yes that is a snow boot in front. Silly boy.

We tried to get a picture in front of the tree Christmas morning... he wasn't very cooperative.

point those toes!

:)

We didn't have any plans Christmas day. So we did our own little Christmas. 

We opened presents, relaxed, made snow ice cream, and had a semi fancy meal.

it was actually pretty good.

:) candles makes everything more festive

playing with one of his gifts.

Tuesday, Nathan went back to work and I got things together at home.

Wednesday, we spent the day at Christmas #4, the Brakers. 

Christmas dinner was a duck and a goose, both raised by the Brakers. :)

We tried to take a cousin picture:

hehe

the best one...

 The next day we had Christmas #5, the small Wyss. 

We went over early afternoon to hang out. 

Grandpa took Gideon to see the cows.

he got to play the piano with Grandma.

And then things went down hill. Gideon was so cranky.  He finally took a short nap halfway through supper. But, woke up even more of a crank.  He pretty much screamed all through presents. He and Cadence do not share grandma or her phone, which added to the chaos.  And, at one point he had blood dripping from his mouth and we could figure out where it was coming from or how it happened. sigh. 

I was pretty emotionally drained a cranky. 

note the cute couple in the background ;)

a box turned in to a sliding board. 

Emmy got a unicorn ice cream maker

a rare moment of relatively calm play

and that was that.

Our 6th Christmas was canceled.  It was kind of sad to end Christmas on a cranky and sour note. But, the next morning Gideon and I unpacked our presents from the basket. He was in a good mood and was actually excited about each one.  He didn't know what to do or play with first :) It was a bit of redemption. 

 I tried again to get Gideon to play in the snow.  He wasn't having it. 

nope.

It got cold. 

hot coco in front of the tree.

We gave Gideon another hair cut.  It required a lot of prep to keep him still.

cow videos do the trick.

New Years Eve, Nathan and I went over to Bob and Jenny's after church to play games.  Church was canceled in the evening due to cold and weather. So,  we went home and went to bed. Pathetic, I know. 

hehe these two

he wanted to run.

And, so we enter the new year.  2018. Craziness.


We had a quiet week for the most part. We recuperated and regrouped. 

And we took the tree down. :( sad day.  Gideon misses it. 

 On the 5th, I had my high school friends and their spouses over for supper.  It's been too long.  Sadly they all couldn't make it, but we had a blast anyway.  :)

Gideon helped me get ready earlier in the day by cleaning out my cupboards. 

Katy, me, Katie, and Emily.

Haley and Joy couldn't come :(

 Gideon thoroughly enjoyed having kids there. Though he wasn't so sure about the competition for some of his toys. 

Gideon fell in love with little Seattle. :)

 If we say "baby" Gideon now looks to the door. He misses his little friend. 

Sunday, the freezing cold weather finally broke.  So, I invited myself to Ron and Kary's to ice skate. The ice was perfect. I love ice skating. 

 Lori brought her kids and Kayla joined us too. 

good times.

Gideon. Oh, Gideon. This child is something.  When he does something wrong, he says "No, no!" with a big smile on his face. And, beware, lest you giggle. He will think it's hilarious and continue doing his misdeed with even more glee. And, yet the "no, no!" will get louder. sigh. 

uh oh.

he strikes again.

Good thing he's so cute. :)

Whew.  It all felt like a blur.  I did get in to the Christmas spirit more than I usually do. Which was good. I felt like, despite Gideon's crankiness, I was able to enjoy the family time and ponder the meaning of Christmas.  

God is good. What an amazing plan of salvation He put in to motion.  What an amazing gift He has given.  I love that Christmas comes so close to the New Year.  There's no better way to start fresh. 

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." ~ John 1:29

In Christ
~Michelle