Raising Reinhart's: CHRISTmas time!

That special time of year has come and gone. We all put so much time and thought into the holiday season and it's gone in a blink of an eye. Spending time with family and friends is the most important part of the season.

We kicked off the holiday weekend with the Reinhart Christmas at our house! Nana and Papaw, Aunt Bridget, Uncle Josh, Uncle Scott, Whitney, Quinten, and Livi came to help celebrate with us! We had a full house and loved it!

Later that evening, the Bruce family came over to enjoy some Christmas cheer. The kiddos exchanged their gifts with each other and enjoyed running around and playing while the adults were able to kick back, relax and enjoy some adult beverages! ;)

These four kids are not just cousins, but they're all best buds. I don't know about Betsy and Charlie, but if a couple weeks go by and Laney and Max haven't seen Charlo and Bets, they're asking where they are and what they're doing. And honestly, it's not just the kids Laney and Max look forward to seeing....they love their Tiff and John too!

Sunday, December 23 we were able to spend the evening with Pa and Nana Laura for Christmas. It was nice this year to actually celebrate with them BEFORE Christmas and not 2 weeks into January! I am hoping we can continue that every year! We went to their house this year and had a great time visiting, opening gifts, and running around with the kids!

Laney and Max were such good kids this year that Louie (our elf) got them a gift on Christmas Eve morning. Christmas Eve is his last night with us every year. We always miss him when he goes back to the North Pole! The kids' gifts were Elf on the Shelf pjs and a Scooby Doo Christmas DVD. I am hoping this is a tradition that Louie will leave PJs and a Christmas DVD every year on Christmas Eve morning....we will see!

The tradition continued at Aunt Bea's house on Christmas Eve. We all gathered there to spend time together as a family. We ate, opened gifts, and enjoyed each other's company. This is one of my favorite days of the year. We missed not having Matt, Malinda, Lauren, Luke, and Emma with us. Although they weren't physically with us, they were in our hearts.

Grandma Dee got an iPad this year and was very surprised! She's already set up her Facebook account and is looking forward to connecting with family and friends!

The kids were all smiles on Christmas Eve. The day was perfect!

Then came evening time to head to our next family tradition....go to our candlelight service at church. Again, it is my favorite church service. The sanctuary is so pretty all decorated for the season.

The congregation is all happy and smiling. And the music is so beautiful as we sing "Silent Night" and the lights all turn off. The beauty of our church is lit up by candles. I love it.

We ended the evening at Grandma Reinhart's house celebrating with Benji's family. The kids loved seeing their cousins. They got their last wind in before we headed home to sprinkle some reindeer food on the yard and set cookies out for Santa and elf donuts out for Louie and his friends.

Christmas morning....wow is all I can say. These kids were loving everything about the morning!

Grammy and Pappy came over, as usual, to watch the kids open their gifts. We had a delicious breakfast made my yours truly and some delicious strawberry mimosas. Thank you Pinterest!