Our first Christmas all together 2015

I can not explain to you how exciting this Christmas was!  How can you not relish in heaping good gifts onto those who have never experienced it before?  It was an experience that spoke volumes to me in my relationship with the Lord.  How he takes pleasure in blessing us and giving gifts to us and how excited he must be for the gifts he is storing up for us.
We tried to make Christmas simple and not too overwhelming but that hardly works when one gift was more than normal and there are 4 sets of Grandparents, friends bringing "baby" gifts and we had chosen a few things for them as well.  On top of that there were many things that they needed and so everything felt like a gift to them.  They were so excited and thankful every time they received something.  Even a new toothbrush was a reason to be thankful.  A new item of clothing was accepted with awe.  This was all so much fun but there was some serious overwhelm happening among all the joy.  Gatherings ended in tears and good days ended in blank stares and needing hours of holding and rocking.

 Before Eliana and Justus came we sent them a song to learn and we all sang it together on Christmas Eve.  They really enjoyed having that common bond because there was very little communication ability at this point.  This is a memory i will always cherish.

 Pajama samers.  Little boys don't need language to connect!

 These two were so longed for and everyone enjoyed finally having them in our midst!

 Enjoyed being held by Travis.  Eliana was not calling us Mom and Dad yet.  Justus did from the start.

Every year Mama and Papa get Lego sets for everyone and they just love it.  

Learning to build Lego may have been a tad overwhelming for them.  Next year will be a completely different story.

 Only 5 days in Canada.  I can see the overwhelmed looks now when I look back on pictures.  They did so well but it was hard.  We kept the gatherings shorter than normal but even that was a bit too much.  New born babes they were.  Precious but delicate.