Christmas Plague 2013

Now that we have a baby, time seems to pass so quickly. I barely have time to eat, potty, and shower before another month has passed and I've yet to accomplish any of the goals on my 'to do' list. But it's a new year so I've resolved to get out my list of goals from 2012 and get to work on that list rather than making a new one.  One of those goals is to try to better document what's happening in our crazy life. Christmas is a great place to start.

The original Washer 6, plus spouses and children, minus Jeremy Washer, celebrated Christmas at the new Isley house. We moved the second week of December (in freezing weather) and thought it would be a great idea to host Christmas. This deadline helped us to prioritize our unpacking and get the house some-what set up and livable. 

Christmas was so much fun this year because of the kids. They get so excited about Christmas...it makes it more magical for the rest of us. Jackson still doesn't seem to understand how to open a gift, but it didn't matter because Eva Grace was busy unwrapping ALL the gifts in an attempt to find her presents. Thankfully Santa still comes for all of us (despite our age-thanks Santa). And this year we attended the Christmas service at St. Paul's Church where the kids acted out the Nativity. Jackson and Eva Grace were both angels (ironic ;).  Christmas Eve was filled with chaos and crying (Thomas and Jackson were fighting over trucks) lots of food and fun had by all. We had a great time playing a game called Nouns in a Bowl (or something like that). David explained the rules and, in typical Washer fashion, we kinda listened/followed instructions. Nonetheless, we had a great time laughing at one another! I took some good pictures of this game, but Laura made me delete them. BOO!

The Christmas break was filled with many more magical moments, but also what I'm calling Christmas Plague 2013. Eva Grace and Laura started the epidemic that spread through the entire family. The flu did not discriminate based on age, race, sex, eye color or anything else. We all got it, including my in-laws who were only at the house for a few hours on Christmas Day. Through experiential learning, I think we've all gained a complete understanding of how the plague can wipe out an entire village. Thankfully none of us died, we just felt like we might for about nine days.

We definitely won't forget about our involuntary participation in the 2013 Christmas flu microcosm, but we also won't forget celebrating the birth of our Savior with almost(we missed you Jeremy Washer) all of our immediate family. I'm so thankful that everyone made an effort to travel all the way to dusty, West Texas for Christmas...who knows when we will all be together for Christmas again!

(Jackson fell in love with Aunt Sophie, who he calls Shoop)