Merry Christmas!
Here are photos from our 2021 Christmas celebrations:
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| Decorating cookies for Santa |
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| Cookies were judged and prizes awarded in several categories. |
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| Messy icing hands after making her "most festive" cookie. |
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| This cute Santa won her student council election and is the new ORES Vice President! |
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| Spotted: a Doodle under the Christmas tree. |
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| A boy and his dog... |
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| ...or is it Santa and his reindeer? |
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| Snuggled under a blanket solving a Rubik's cube. |
We celebrated Mimi and Gawa's first Christmas in NC, and Grandpa and Beanie traveled here to spend the holiday with us. We had a yummy Christmas Eve dinner at Mimi's house and watched our livestream church service that afternoon:
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| Christmas Eve worship service: Teen Lounging Edition. |
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| Family Trivial Pursuit on Christmas Eve. |
Back at home, the kids set out cookies for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer):
We read The Night Before Christmas:
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| Listening to Daddy read. |
And (almost) everyone was nestled, all snug in their beds, waiting for Santa to come:
On Christmas morning, the kids set an alarm and waited patiently at the top of the steps until 7:00 a.m.:
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| Santa surprised Leah with Hamilton tickets! |
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| He also brought Leah her own skis, poles, and boots. |
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| Santa surprised Luke with a bass ukulele (U-Bass)! |
Next we opened stockings and had breakfast:
Then it was time for presents:
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| Lego Fender Guitar. |
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| "Bassist Dude" |
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| Mimi's also going to Hamilton! |
On Christmas weekend, the kids and I took Beanie to Korner's Folly. This historic landmark in Kernersville was built in the late 1800's and was the home of local icon/designer Jule Korner. It is an example of a classic, elegant Victorian style, but is also eclectic and unique, as it consists of 7 levels, multiple cubby holes and trap doors, and 15 fireplaces. There is a theater that encompasses the entire top floor (and is believed to be the first private little theater in America), and the home still has 90% of its original furnishings, carved woodwork, and elaborate hand laid tile.
Korner's Folly is decorated each year for the holidays, and each of the 22 rooms is filled with gorgeous, period appropriate Christmas decorations. It was absolutely beautiful, and we loved touring this local gem:
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| Sunny breakfast room with one of the first sky lights in a private home. |
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| Doorways and ceilings range from 5 1/2 feet to 25 feet in the Folly. |
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| Another tiny doorway leads to the Children's Playroom. |
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| Luke & Beanie in front of the trap door overlooking the dining room. |
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| Master bedroom. |
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| Cupid's Theater (top level of home). |
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| Victorian design in parlor. |
Another fun local adventure was Old Salem. We drove through the historic Moravian village and posed in front of the covered bridge. The Moravian Stars that hang from the inside of the bridge are a symbol of Advent and represent the Star of Bethlehem. They are a popular Christmas decoration in our area and the stars in Old Salem are stunning:
We also took Beanie for a hike at Cascades Preserve and played games:
After our NC Christmas festivities concluded, we traveled to Williamsburg to celebrate Cousins' Christmas!
We were able to have our party at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bob's clubhouse this year (after missing last year due to the pandemic), but several families were not able to attend due to COVID. We set up a Zoom so that we could see those who were quarantining at home and the kids even exchanged/opened some cousin presents while on the zoom call:
Masked indoors and COVID tested, we were able to safely and responsibly gather and are so thankful that this year, we are all vaccinated. It was fun-filled afternoon of games, Christmas Bingo, crafts, food, and presents:
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| Alexis and Leah. |
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| Luke vs. Maya: Who is the tallest cousin? |
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| Boys playing bocce ball. |
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| Name that Christmas carol/movie: Emoji Edition. |
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| Christmas Bingo. |
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| Christmas Bingo. |
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| Kid Craft Table. |
Back at Bean and Poppy's house, we exchanged gifts and had our birthday party for Baby Jesus. We also celebrated Leah's upcoming birthday, and it's one of her favorite traditions each year to kick off her birthday festivities in Williamsburg with our Winterhoff family:
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| App State Hoodie to cheer on cousin Maya! |
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| "Cousin" Hailey. |
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| Dogs opening their presents. |
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| Cousin gifts. |
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| Bean and Poppy are going to Hamilton, too! |
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| Our (almost) 11 year-old! |
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| Birthday girl opening presents. |
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| Sorting coins from Poppy's money jar. |
We also walked through Colonial Williamsburg and the kids were just as excited about visiting the "jelly bean" store as they were years ago. They may be bigger/older now, but are still so much fun and look forward to Christmas with child-like wonder and anticipation. We are blessed to have had such special family celebrations this year, and we made some wonderful memories!
