We have had a great time with Mommy's family celebrating our third and final Christmas for this year (or the first for 2016, depending on how you look at it, since it is New Year's Day). Last night we stayed up late to ring in the New Year by watching a live stream of the fireworks in the Magic Kingdom. Then, this morning we had our gift exchange followed by a large, delicious lunch. Much visiting and family time! Here are a few pics of our gift exchange: (I spent a lot of time and love crocheting many of the gifts we gave this year, so that is what I took the most pictures of. That, and of course, our girls.)
My brother made gorgeous pens for everyone. This is Daddy opening his:
A shawl for my sister:
An asymmetrical shawl and ear warmers for my sister-in-law:
A hat and broomstick lace, infinity scarf for my mom:
A mug warmer and pot holder for my niece:
And fingerless gloves for Aleisha's birthday:
We have truly been blessed this Christmas season!
A few minutes later, in burst a very breathless Emma. "Mommy, come quick! Ella tripped and fell. She hit her head, and she can't get up!" Needless to say, we jumped up and RAN out the door. Ella was half way down the next block. Hence, the 100 yard dash. When we got there, the mother of the house where she had fallen had Ella in her lap with a wad of kleenex held up to her nose, while her husband was getting a bag of ice. Contrary to our worst fears after Emma's proclamation of "can't get up," Ella had not lost consciousness. She had been playing on a friend's scooter, when she hit a bump and went flying off, landing on her face. (Now, usually when one of our girls gets hurt while playing outside, the other will run in to get me while the injured daughter slowly makes her way home as well. Ella was hurt badly enough, she couldn't come home, which explains Emma's statement.) We sat in their driveway trying to calm Ella down and stop the bleeding for a few minutes. Then Rob (the dad of the house where she fell) gave Ella and I a ride home while Daddy walked Ella's bike home. There was a fair amount of blood and a great number of tears, understandably so. Her nose and lip are all scratched up and swollen, but no serious damage seems to have been done. (She also has scratches on her shoulder and arm, but she has yet to notice those.) Once we were all cleaned up and calmed down, we decided Chick-fil-A was in order for dinner. 
It's been a long, busy day. My brother-in-law's dad passed away a couple of days ago. My generous father-in-law flew my parents and I to the funeral in Alice, TX and back. We had the best view of the sunrise as we were flying south. I'm glad we were able to be there for Richard and his family on this sad day.
