Sudlow Christmas

Our second family Christmas was with the Sudlow side on the 24th.  With having a firefighter, prison worker, nurse, and a woman about to go into labor (Emily!), scheduling can be crazy, but we once again were able to work out a day that everyone could do.  I won't mention if someone had to call in sick to work...

Mom made a really yummy brunch for everyone this year, and then we all brought several appetizers to share as the day went on.  There is never a shortage of good food!  

We also sometimes do a White Elephant exchange before the real gifts begin.  The funniest one this year was the "iPad" (googly eye on a maxi pad) that my dad won.  We started drawing names for gifts last year, which has been good, since there are now 19 people just in our immediate family (counting babies to come who were also given gifts this year)!  Emily had me, and she got me a thirty-one bag that I love!  She also got me a cute scarf and an Amazon gift card.  Josh got a Cubs hoodie and Anchorman set from Phil.  We all still get presents for mom and dad, and they get us all gifts as well.  And the kids still get gifts from everyone, but we may have to change that next year with 7 kids!  

 My brother Phil and cute niece, Hadley

 Jumping on Uncle Paul's back

Emily and I in our last belly pic together.  She was 37 weeks, and I was 23 weeks!

Girls!!!

Hannah got a toy digital camera from my parents!

Jacob got a cute Jack-in-the-Box from Paul & Alisa

I just have to say that I love Christmas with my family.  It is loud and busy and crazy and relaxed all at the same time, and there is lots of yummy food!  It always seems to end too quickly.  Especially if it's on Christmas Eve, many of us have to hurry to church in the afternoon.  Josh and I were Joseph and (pregnant) Mary this year, so we had to be at both services.  I unfortunately didn't get a picture of us but stole this one off of someone's facebook.  You can kind of see us in the background:

We had a great Christmas Eve, and I had a hard time sleeping that night, knowing what was to come in the morning....