Christmas 2014!

We had a great Christmas this year, and we loved being able to spend it at home, yet close enough to family and friends that we could see everyone within a few days of Christmas.

On Christmas Eve I took the girls to church with my Dad and Beth, which was great (albeit a bit long for toddlers....an hour and a half!), and then we came home, put out the "reindeer food" and cookies and milk for Santa, and got the girls to bed.  Mike and I then watched It's a Wonderful Life as we got ready for the big day.  Perfect :)

Ready for church:

It was unseasonably warm on Christmas Eve, but it was rainy and gross outside.

Christmas Eve at Pop and Grandma Beth's:

Back at home and getting ready for Santa!

Writing him a quick note

Cookies are ready :)

On reindeer watch with Daddy

Christmas Eve past and present

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care

We're ready!

Christmas morning!

Snow Glow Elsa was the hot gift for Addy ;)

Emma's favorite gift?  Chapsticks :)

Time to bake that last batch of cookies :)

Daddy's hard at work in the kitchen 

Christmas round two!  The family has arrived!

Just hanging with Grandma

Daisy's on the ready

Dinner is served!

The aftermath

The most awesome gift from my sister: a real, genuine, high quality wedding album!

Christmas, round three!

Love these four!

And last, but not least, Christmas round four!

I think it's safe to say that this holiday was pretty magical for the girls... for all of us really.  We truly had such a wonderful time with our families, and nothing beats the Christmas spirit!  

Addendum: 

It is now January 27th.  I sat down to write Addy's birthday post this morning and realized that I never finished my Christmas post!  That's because I have been trying (without any success) to put some of the pictures that Tina took on here.  Tina got some great pictures on Christmas, which of course I cannot seem to open or download on my computer, so we had to make do with the ones I took ;)  Here's one last picture, taken with the self timer on Christmas morning:

 Merry Christmas! (Albeit a little late)

Love,

The Hetricks

December Self Portrait

This year Mike and I hosted our very first holiday for the family and it was a huge success!  That we are able to do that now is one of the many advantages of living near family.  We made the whole meal, starting a few days ahead of time and we really enjoyed the entire process.  It was so much fun having family at our house for Christmas and I hope it's a tradition we can continue for years to come.

Here I am in my traditional Christmas jammies, baking that last batch of cookies on Christmas morning :)

 Now that the girls are getting a bit older, Mike and I decided that we aren't going to travel on Christmas day anymore.  There's something about being a kid and waking up in your own house on Christmas morning, running downstairs and seeing that Santa came!  We want to create that magic for our kids.  Mike mentioned that this year he really felt like we started a tradition.  In years past we were so far away from family that we usually made the trek up North for Christmas, or one or the other of us was working (one of the downfalls of being in the medical profession).  Christmas was different every year.

This year was exactly like I imagined it would someday be.  Christmas Eve church service, followed by getting everything ready for Santa.  Waking up in the morning and seeing the girls faces light up when they came downstairs.  Putting on some Christmas tunes that stayed on all day long.  Opening gifts (and fighting over gifts).  Making a big breakfast.  Preparing to have the family over.  And then the family came and we all relaxed, had fun, opened more gifts, and just enjoyed each others company for the rest of the day and into the evening.  A truly wonderful Christmas.

Times like these make me really reflect on the decision that we made to come back to PA, and how it was definitely the right move for our family.  We are all happy, healthy, and blessed.  Here's to another great year ahead!