CHRISTmas with the Barkey's

Christmas Eve began by worshipping at Orchard Ridge Church of the Nazarene.  Before the service began I took a picture of granddaughters Brianna and Brooke.

Christmas is children, and we loved hearing them ring their bells.

Pastor Steve gave his Christmas message, "Jesus, the Light of the World," and inspired us to let His light shine brightly through us.  Remember the children's chorus with the index finger pointed upward symbolizing our candle/light while we sang, "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine..." 

The service concluded with a beautiful candle lighting, illustrating that light dispels darkness.  [I lightened the photo so you could see it.]

When church was dismissed we made our way home.  It began snowing around 1:30 and made roads treacherous for travel.  Dinner was scheduled for 4:00 p.m. but it was around 5:00 before everyone started arriving.  The adult table was set and waiting.

It was little Evie's first Christmas and we all enjoyed her so much, especially Lori [her Nana].  Ellie and Landon thought she was pretty special too.  

After dinner, Papa read the Christmas story from the Book of Luke.  Ellie listened while sitting on her Daddy's lap.  [I was listening even though I was taking pictures. ;-)]

Then it was time to open presents.  Everyone wanted to open gifts individually this year [starting with the youngest first] so they could see what everyone got.  It's chaos when everyone opens at the same time.  Little Evie being the youngest went first - with the help of her Daddy, of course.

Ellie [in lower left corner] was patiently waiting her turn, following Evie.

Brooke made a lot of the Christmas gifts she gave, including the adorable hat Evie's wearing.

~ Ellie ~

~ Landon ~

~ Brooke and Izzy ~

Izzy got a...

...beginner's sewing machine and case [and other things].  The guys had to keep tabs on football scores, hence the football game on TV in the background.  The snow storm knocked out our cable connection so their watching was short-lived.

~ Brooke's turn to open gifts. ~

~ Brianna ~

Brooke made her Uncle Jeremy the Michigan State sock hat he's wearing, while Landon helped his Dad unwrap his other presents.

~ DIL Samantha and Lori waiting their turn. ~

~ Steve, Sharon, Brianna and Brooke ~

~ Jeremy, Samantha, Isabella, Landon and Ellie ~

~ Grandson Brandon and Venessa enjoyed their first Christmas together as newlyweds.  ~

The beautiful kids, grandkids, and great grandchild all began with Pa and Ma!  ;-)  I love my family, and thank the Lord for each of them every day!

After opening all the presents, it was time for the annual watching of Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation DVD.  We paused half-way through for our birthday cake for Jesus.  [Sorry, I forgot to take a picture!  ;-(]  We had fun with It's a Wonderful Life trivia game too.

We gave both of the boys moose mugs [from the Christmas Vacation movie] which came with a 'Jelly of the Month' certificate.  ;-)

The three youngest grands brought their pj's because they thought they were going to spend the night due to the snow storm.  At the last minute Jeremy decided to tackle the drive home so they'd be home for Christmas morning.  Sam said they got home at 2:30 a.m., but the kids were ready to climb right into bed.

Our daughter, Lori, stayed the night, and we enjoyed having her with us on Christmas Day.  I loved watching the Queen's Christmas message on TV, and later we watched five episodes of The Crown, season two on Netflix.  

I hope your Christmas was merry, bright, and filled with God's blessings!   

Santa was very good to me, but since this is already a very lengthy post, I'll share what I received tomorrow.