Collins Family Christmas

The day after Christmas, the whole Collins clan descended upon our house for Collins Family Christmas, low country boil style!!  It was amazing!!

Mother Shuckers!!

The men around the turkey frier (aka low country boil pot).

The kids loved hanging out in Jeffro's truck bed.

Sweet sisters
We were SO glad that Nia was there to celebrate with us!!

A cute shot of G and M.

I love these two!!

Jeffro shelling out peanuts (ha!).

Sassy girls!

Allvalum cousins

Cheers to being a Collins woman!

Dig in, Baby!

After dinner, we let the kids open their presents (they all drew each other's names) and then the adults played a hilarious game of Dirty Santa.  There was quite a bit of stealing going on!!  The exciting gifts were a jar of moonshine and a bag with Tums and a bottle of Moscato (destined for Sarah).  So fun!

The Collins Zoo from above
(Thanks, Erin, for your stellar photography skills!!)

Jeffro, Nia, and Nellie spent the night
so we got to have a fun morning together, too!

The older I get, the more I realize how important family is and how blessed we are to be a part of such an incredible one.  I love you all so much!!

Christmas Day 2013

Santa came!!

For Jack

And for Anna

A tractor train named "Jack"!  How perfect??!

Anna loved digging through the stockings.

Dinosaurs!

See, she even helped Jack go through his stocking.

Anna and Ruthie ;)

Even Murphy got something in his stocking!

After a lazy morning of playing with new toys and an early nap time, we headed over to Nannie and Pops' house to meet the rest of the family for Christmas afternoon and dinner.

A Jack-sized transformer!

Now Kit and Ruthie have somewhere to sleep!

We had a great Christmas Day with Nannie and Pops!

Christmas Eve

The kids were dying to open a present on Christmas Eve morning and when I told them that they had to wait until that night, Anna piped up with, "But when we wait until night time then we don't have any time to play with our new toy and we have to go straight to bed."  Insert pouty lip. Well, she had a point.  Christmas Eve is always crazy with our church service and then dinner and then getting back to open presents from each other and put cookies out for Santa and get the kids in the bed so Santa can come.  So, I talked to Will and we agreed that they could open their big presents from us so that they would have the day to play with them.

Eagerly waiting...

Ready, set, GO!

Anna got a carrying case for her American Girl
doll that she could decorate the outside of
and Jack got a piece of his Thomas the Train set.  

Then we made a birthday cake for Jesus
to help remind us of the reason for the season!

Our cute sheep and angel before the Christmas Pageant.

The family met at Erin's for a yummy Christmas Eve dinner
and she read "The Night Before Christmas" to the kids.

Back home, we opened presents from each other.

New pieces for the snow village!

Anna telling Jack about the present she picked out for him.

Anna got her very own Little House on the Prairie books.
Now she doesn't have to read Mommy's that keep falling apart
because they're thirty-something years old!

A worker hat with a headlight!!

Daddy and his new ties!
Wow, the one Anna picked out for him is mighty special!!

My sweet babies in my lap on Christmas Eve…
what could be better??

Thank you, Lord, for the precious gift of your son.  Jesus is the true gift of Christmas.

Dinner at Judi and Bren's

Every year, Will's aunt and uncle have the family over for dinner prior to Christmas.  The kids love to go over and check out Uncle Bren's train and they always get a special present from Judi and Bren that night.  This year we also got to meet their new addition--a Westie that they rescued and named GRITS (for Girl Raised In The South).  She is so sweet!

Anna got Kit's backpack and her school desk and chair.

And Jack was super pumped about his truck and tractor!
He now has to sleep with it by his bed every night.

Posing with Uncle Bren by the train.

Thank you for a fun night Aunt Judi!!

UNC Girls Christmas Get-Together

We actually did it!!  All of my UNC girls have moved back to North Carolina and we got all of our families together for a Christmas celebration at our house.  Even though it was pouring down rain outside, it was so fun!!!!!!

All of the kiddos at dinner,
minus Eli who was having some tummy time.

Jack was all about holding Baby Eli.

The whole clan opening presents.

Sweet Ella was loving the wrapping paper!

Eli and Michelle

Emory and Tucker

Jack and his new dump truck!

Britton and his hot mess self!

Ella and Stephanie

Lawson loved getting body slammed by Mr. Lucien.

Lawson loved his shooting moose!

Of course we didn't think about getting a photo of all the girls
until after Michelle was gone.  Bummer!!

I am so lucky to have these wonderful ladies in my life.  I am proud of how we have kept in touch through all these years (and states and countries and hubbies and babies) and still find time to get together.  My life is blessed by each one of them!