I get to see my nephews. They are too old and way too cool to hang with their Aunt Mo anymore. Hunter will be 18 in May. Hayden 16 this month. He just got his driver's permit. WHAT?!!??
Don't you remember them when they were sweet little things at St. Jude shooting pool with their baby brother? They would ride to and from St. Jude with me, and lived with me and Todd during all the times that Staci and Don had to be in Memphis. 
JinJin, why are you on the computer? Do you remember this? Christmas afternoon was a blur. It always is. Christmas at JinJin's is NUTS!!
We have kinda gotten in the tradition of wearing our PJs over to mom's house after everyone has done Santa at their own.
Everyone except my big, cool nephews. BOO! 
Have I introduced Jin's man, Baxter? They've been together now for months. We all like him. He travels a lot with work, so Jin tags along and is getting to do lots and lots of travelling. Here, he is showing us his newly attained AARP card!
and then it began.
We let the girls go first. Well, actually, Hunter and Hayden went first. They have to be shared on Christmas morning. They had to clear out early to go to another grandparent's house, then came back later to resume.
Can you say INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE? And remember, all the boys' are already gone.
Staci got Gabs this Rapunzel shirt. 
And then, there were princess coloring books. Do you think they are going to be fired up about Disney or what?! 
I think I showed this last year, but let's revisit. It's the traditional breakfast/ lunch/ dinner at Jin's on Christmas Day! The omelet bar!
You pick out the ingredients that light your fire.
And then you choose the meat you want as the side dish.
You crack two eggs and pour them into a ziploc bag along with all the goodies you choose.
Drop in the boiling water for 13 minutes. And voila. A strangely shaped,but totally awesome tubular omelet. 
Pretty dadgum easy to do.
Everyone likes it. Oh... Todd wouldn't wear his PJs either. BORING!
One of Gabs favorite presents was this Rapunzel hair!
She refused to take it off!
It was like spider web all over her face, but she didn't mind a bit.
She would twirl and spin and siiinnnggg.
Madi felt horrible. She slept in the back room for about 4 of the five or so hours we were there. Staci had her at the doctor the day before, and noone really knows what she had.
I gave Baxter one of our new MMPT tees. We have a new logo and I thought he'd like our mission statement on the front.
You remember it? Joyfully use your gifts to brighten the lives of others?! We're about to launch a new website (well, not launch... design!! It'll be a couple of months or so, but it is gonna be the bomb dot com!), so plan to come visit it!
I told Todd his nerd was showing when he was so fired up about the series he received from JinJin... Star Wars.... ALL of them!
It was fun to watch my little prissy call out the names on some of the tags. She is learning to read. Isn't it wild the way that suddenly happens? It kinda trips me out!
Next up, Gabbi! Miss Donna, get ready... you gotta teach my baby girl to read too!
This was a "thing" between Staci and Jake, so I thought she'd really like it.
Gabs took Ellie's headband... MOMENTARILY!
It was a really fun age for my girls to be enjoying Christmas. 
It seems that every little thing catches their eyes and lights up their souls.
Jin had an autographed photo of Pete Rose for Christmas. Another thing I will be having framed and hung in his man cave. He loved it.
And this cool print of his beloved LSU team is also signed on the back with a note from the artist. BTW... anyone in New Orleans this weekend?! We are!!
I got this kickin' hat!
And Staci bought me this cool poncho. I did mention we were in our PJs, right? And that means NO make up!!
Little Gabs loved her apron and hat.
and went right to work on her tea set as well.
Well, I had to learn it somewhere, right?! Check out these PACKED stockings!!
JinJIn does it up right. Thanks, Mom, for always making our Christmas so special. It is ALWAYS a big deal!
and that is exactly how I want my girls to grow up... with a "big deal" being made out of all the special days. 
After all, you only get one chance at this life. So, you need to "suck the marrow" out of it.
Hope your day is a good one. MO
Oh, and GoOOOOOOO, TIGERS!!!
9 comments:
I REALLY need to learn to 'suck the marrow' out of life! That is definitely one of my changes for this year!
Great to see the big boys and all of the family together!
Oh my gosh, the boys have grown up! Agreed - making days like these special for our kids, and seeing their reactions, makes my heart swell. Great memories - thanks for sharing yours.
Have an awesome time in New Orleans! Congrats on the Saints' win....maybe we'll(Packers) be meeting up with ya'll(Saints) at Mighty Lambeau in a couple weeks?!
What a wonderful celebration! Can't believe how big the boys have gotten! Wow! I always enjoy seeing how special your family time together is. The girls always look so joyful and I love all the adorable princess outfits, glitter, make-up, etc. Blessings for 2012! Looking forward to Mo'Joy this year! :)
NJ Mom of 4 boys
What a great time together! Love the omelets and now I want one! You are right they are so easy!!! Ask JinJin when she got that rug. I love it and am in the market for one! Text me the low down sister!
I hope Madi is feeling better. Jin Jin rocks!
The older Emma gets the excitement level reaches a new high and I love it! She is now 6 and half. I have the add the half in now too! I also have above my front door....I love you to the moon and back!
Can I say how thankful I am to see your Christmas posts? I am not able to get my kids as much as you do your kids, but I get them as much as I possibly can because I absolutely love it. It makes me incredibly happy to go crazy at Christmas. So many people I know have quit buying presents for their kids altogether and instead donate to charity, etc... that I have felt like some kind of selfish oaf. I have begun to feel like my desire to pull out all of the stops at Christmas is my dirty little secret. I haven't posted any pictures of my kids opening their gifts on fb,or anything because of this guilt. I love the wonder and anticipation, etc.. I just love all of it! I was making plans for next year Christmas afternoon!! LOL So very happy to see someone share my sentiment.
I got a little pep talk out of this post...I too need to start doing more of the "suck the marrow"
Sorry Todd about LSU last night!
Shannon, that's how I felt! Like it was a little pep talk.
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