Christmas, Part 4

On Saturday, we went to Raleigh with my parents for the Bridgers family Christmas (this is my mom's side of the family).  I think there were 22 of us who got together at my cousin's house for a delicious meal and spending time together.  I left my camera in Jacksonville, so I just used my phone all day to take pictures.
Emma Grace got to play with her cousins, Bryant, Malone, and Abby.  She LOVES her cousins and will probably be talking about them for days to come.  She keeps saying they are coming to her house tomorrow (I hope not, since we're not even home yet).
Bryant and Malone have a Wii.  Playing video games is like Jereme's love language, so he was totally in his element.

I snapped this picture before we ate.  That's my dad, Dee Dee's cousin, Billy, and my cousin's husband, Neil.  I don't know for sure what they were talking about, but given the participants, I can about guarantee it was related to politics.  Especially the two on the left.  They are like a walking Fox News report.  But I love them for it.

Everyone brought food and it was SO GOOD.  The kind where you don't even feel bad about getting seconds.  Or thirds.



After our meal, we just sat around and enjoyed the company.  You might remember that we adopted a local family this year instead of exchanging gifts.  We voted to do it again next year, too!

We also celebrated the 75th birthday of Uncle Gary, Dee Dee's younger brother.

We made a book for him with 75 stories/memories.  Mary Katherine read through some of them and they were so funny.  I got into my very first accident with Uncle Gary during an unfortunate incident involving a power outage, icy roads, a pick-up truck, and brunswick stew.  I'll spare you the details of what happens when you flip a truck carrying containers of brunswick stew.  Eww.

Here are the sweet cousins: Abby, Malone and Bryant on the back row, and Emma Grace and Caroline on the front.

We got everyone together to take a family picture, and I just had to snap a picture of our redneck tripod.  That would be a dinner tray, a stool, and cardboard bricks from the boys' playroom.  All holding up an expensive camera.
Here's our "we're just another normal family" pose:

And this one is more like our reality: there are a few nuts in the bunch.

Christmas, Part 3

The day after Christmas was part 3 of our extended family celebrations.  Jereme's mom hosted some of her family and we all got together for food and presents for the kids.

Here are all the cousins, Makayla holding Chase, Mackenzie, Emma Grace, and Caroline.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve, we went to church, had dinner, then tucked the girls in for bed so that Santa could get to work.

The next morning when the girls woke up, we read the Christmas story and talked about why we were exchanging gifts and what we were celebrating.

All of the grandparents and Dee Dee were together to watch the girls open their gifts.  We don't really make a big deal about Santa (it's easy when they're young and don't care), but loosely speaking, the stockings are from Santa and everything else is from us.  I go by the rule of four to keep Christmas manageable: one thing they want, one thing they need, one thing to wear, and one thing to read.  The stockings just had some small toys and goodies.

Emma Grace got a princess bike.  She was very excited, especially since she had already seen it and I lied to her and told her it was for Sarah (see earlier post on Sarah).

Caroline got a train that she can ride and also has an activity thing on the side.

Their somethings to wear were matching Lilly skirts for next year.

Mercy.  This picture.  It's kinda just to say I was there.  Mama looks tired.

Ugh.  I bought an online deal for this Carolina store and thought I could use the coupon on their website.  Turns out, no.  So I had to go to Chapel Hill, to Franklin Street, to use the coupon and buy him his requested Carolina mess.  At least it made him happy.

Here is Jereme opening a box with a toy plane in it.  Right about now, he's wondering why he's getting a toy plane and probably trying to figure out his appropriate reaction.  He was a good sport about it.  The real gift is that he has his very own private flying lesson.  He's already talking about getting his license.  What have I done?

 My sweet Christmas girls.

Next up was Christmas with Jereme's parents.  My parents left and we opened gifts with Nana and Papa.

THEN, we went to Mom and Dad's for a late breakfast with them and Dee Dee.  Did another round of gifts...more spoiling.  Seriously, I don't know how we'll get it all loaded in the car to take back to Greensboro.

My sweet family.

I'm just now seeing how many pictures I DIDN'T take.  None of Nana, Papa, or Dee Dee.  Here's to next year...

Merry Christmas from the Stouts!

Christmas, Part 2

After leaving Virginia, we made a pit stop on Sunday at my uncle's house (on my Dad's side) for My Big Fat Greek Christmas.  Jereme took a few pictures on his phone (again, I left my camera in the car!).  It was so good to see my Chlomoudis family.  My uncle kept us full and hydrated (he's a great cook and really good host!) the entire time we were there.

Christmas, Part 1

Part one of Christmas started on Saturday, the 22nd, in Virginia to see Jereme's Dad's family.  I left my camera in the car and didn't take any pictures.  But there were a slew of Stouts, lots of food, and a great time!

Our new car (more on that to come!) has a DVD player (we previously used the iPad, but this comes out of the ceiling and that means C can watch, too!).  We had been building up our trip to Virginia as the first time we would use the DVD player.  A certain 3-year-old was super excited.  (Also?  We got 2 wireless headsets, so we don't have to listen to Veggie Tales for 3 hours!  Another note: Caroline didn't wear the headset, but she still enjoyed watching the movie in silence.)

Following our visit with the family, we checked into our hotel.  We went downstairs to get a bite for dinner at the hotel restaurant and the girls held hands as they walked through the lobby.  I love them (and their matching Christmas dresses) too much.

Nothing says America like having a TV in your booth.  Dinner was much quieter that night.

Emma Grace's School Christmas Program

Emma Grace's school had their Christmas program and party yesterday on her last day of school.  Jereme wasn't able to go, but Caroline and I had a great time watching her preform.

Her school has programs for 2 years old through pre-kindergarten, so it was a mixed group with different levels of preforming, but they all did a great job and I was so proud that Emma Grace sang nearly every song since she's been shy in the past.

Here is my big girl walking in with her class.

Some of the older kids played the part of animals, and the pre-K class played Mary, Joseph, etc.  The older kids did so good playing their parts!

Emma Grace is on the middle row, second from the right.

The program went through the very first Christmas and told the story of the birth of Jesus.  There was a lot of singing, too!

The preschool director is in the red scarf in the back.  She is awesome and greets the children at the front door every single day.  She narrated the story.

Following the program, there was a cookie/dessert reception for all of the kids and parents.  There is some amazingly talented Mom in that school who always makes these awesome cupcakes (you might remember a turkey cupcake at the Thanksgiving program), and Emma Grace never fails to get one!

While Emma Grace was devouring her cupcake, Miss Caroline got her hands on a Capri Sun.  I just threw my hands up and took a picture instead of taking it away.  It's Christmas, after all.

Emma Grace, Mommy was so proud of your performance today!  You did a great job!