We had the Larsen Christmas party tonight. It was a wonderful night as always. John and Shauna go to so much work to make it a fun and special night for everyone. This is probably my very favorite night we have with Brian's family all year long. The kids anticipate it for weeks, everyone is so happy and excited to be with eachother and the cousins sit and play with their new toys in their new jammies for hours. It's pure chaos, but we wouldn't have it any other way.
One of these years I need to get a picture of the way we (as in the adults) get to open our present from John and Shauna. Every year, John goes to the bank and gets a hundred bucks for each couple (this year two hundred! Wow.. thank you so much!!) in the smallest bills he can get. He then proceeds to roll each bill up in a tiny roll, hook them to ribbons, shove them in a cardboard tube and put poppers inside one end of the tube. One the count of 3, each couple pulls the string as confetti and popping sounds fill the air as we retrieve our cash. It's a fun tradition and I think John enjoys it as much as we do. He is such a kid at heart. He loves giving gifts... he lights up everytime. I know he and Shauna put alot of thought into every gift they give and I'm so grateful for them.
The night was wonderful. Family, Gifts, New Jammies, Laughter and of course.... Santa Claus!
I came home tonight and started thinking about how blessed I am to have the two families that I have. Not only do I have a wonderful family that I grew up with, but I have this amazing family I married into. Each family (my own and Brian's) enriches my life in different ways. Larsen's love to have fun and remind me in the importance of tradition as they have special things each year that we do together as a family. They teach me love and simplicity as they don't really need anything fancy or great... their family is all they need to be happy. They teach me to be happy and excited to see those you care about and to always show them that love (yes....I'm talking about the big smiles and hugs we get every time we see them. We all know I'm not a hugger, but I'm getting better!) As I came home from this Christmas party, I couldn't help get a little teary as I thought about how grateful I am for Brian's family. They are wonderful people. I am grateful to have them be apart of my life. It was such a great night! Thank you for a super fun Christmas celebration.
Check out this crazy crew!
I LOVE this picture. The kids were lost in the story Santa was telling them about always believing in the magic of Christmas. This is what it's all about.
