Christmas with my family of 4!

This was the first year in our 9 years of marriage to have Christmas at home. Just us. I take that back. The white and icey Christmas 2 years ago, caused us to have Christmas at home. Just us. But that wasn't planned. And so I didn't embrace it like I should have. Once we realized that on Christmas Day, we had no place to be, Jeremy and I started talking and thinking. We felt like it was an opportunity to do something different. Maybe we could take the boys and go serve somewhere or visit those stuck in a hospital on the holiday. Fortunately, our hearts were in the same place and we wanted this Christmas to look differently. Goodness, the gifts can be such a distraction from the reason we celebrate. It's fun and all. But I'm always wondering how to make it more purposeful. What will my kids remember about Christmas in our home in 20+ years? That thought had been in my head alot. So as the week of Christmas approached, we had no plans. We knew that we would attend our church's Christmas service that morning, but other than that, our day was still open. Then a few days before the big day, Jeremy mentioned to me that some single guys at work, with family far away, didn't have plans for Christmas. As soon as he shared, I was so excited. We both knew what we wanted to do. I couldn't have planned it better myself. They joined us for dinner and hung out until about midnight playing games. And I can say with 100% certainty that it brought me more joy than anyone at our house. I realize that we might not be able to do something special every year, on Christmas Day. But this year, God worked it out perfectly for us and I'm still feeling blessed by their company and that they chose to join us for such a special day. Here are a few pictures of the morning with the boys.
My favorite gift. :)
And Jeremy's favorite.
The boys playing a round of Hi-Ho Cherry-O while I worked on dinner.
One more Christmas celebration to go!