Molitor Family: Christmas 2013

Christmas was very fun. It always is when we get together!

Christmas Eve brunch

Becca made these cinnamon rolls from Dan's
mother's recipe! They were a delight with our
usual scrambled eggs and sausage.

That afternoon we attended the Christmas Eve service at Straitgate, which was very special. From there, we all headed over to Bill and Amy Marshall's for our traditional celebration. There is always lots of very delicious food and Christmas desserts before we sing and sing! This year, Edie planned some really fun games to play before everyone gathered in the living room.

A Christmas trivia game being played.

Look at this concentration!! And guess who won it? Kelsea!!

Finally all were assembled for singing.

Gillian and Afton are always a delight to have around. Here
they are with David and Kelsea.

A fuzzy picture of the other Molitor boys.

Singing...from the left Edie, Koren, Bernice, Dan, and Katrina.

Gerard, Jessica, Amanda, and Dan

We used our cell phones to call our other siblings at
an appointed time, and we all sang together. It was great!!

When we came out into the night...there was TONS of snow and basically a pretty bad blizzard to drive home in. David and Kelsea decided against traveling to South Dakota that night, and headed out Christmas morning from our house instead.

Th next day was Christmas Day. It was a bright and pretty day, the snow having stopped during the night.

Grandpa and Charlotte on her first Christmas Day!

All who were here Christmas Day

Charlotte having fun with her present. The amazing thing was that it was NOT the wrapping she was after as I expected. Once she got sight of the colorful toy inside, that is what she was going for!

What to do first...

Can I bite through this?

Get this stuff out of the way!

Just about ready to play now!

John's gift to Dan. Making him a loyal Minnesotan!

A beautiful bowl from Ruth

The boys had fun giving each other sweaters and shirts.
Joseph's shirt to John.....

And John's sweater to Daniel!

Esther got so many scarves!
But she said she will use them all!

Esther posing her new finger-less gloves, and John helping her to
display one of her many scarves.

My first silicone oven mitts from David and Kelsea. This
is something I'm excited about!

New gloves for Timo

A very practical gift for Dan for work!

And delicious fudge for all the guys sent from the Huntleys. Believe me, they shared it!

A new pillow for all the unmarrieds. Something they are always
pleased to get!

Esther is especially pleased with a much-needed warm
coat from Dad and Mom!

Well.......the next day, we girls got a REAL treat! Joseph and Dan had scheduled as a gift for us on the day after Christmas our very first pedicures at a salon in downtown White Bear Lake.

Rebecca and Esther went first, while I sat in the same room just visiting.

There was a hot soak, a scrub, the pedicure and lotion rub. Definitely very relaxing! I'm sure we might have taken naps, except we had a lot to talk about! Until my turn, we talked a lot with the girls doing the work. That was fun!

Rebecca choosing a nail color to end with.

This is the color Esther chose.

Finally, it was my turn. I don't polish my nails, and I should have skipped that part since no one can even see them in the winter anyway. But the rest of it was great!

We were glad for this fun experience together. Pedicures certainly aren't something that would be on our list of something we would buy for ourselves!

The next day was a beautiful day to get out for a walk down by White Bear Lake with Paul and Esther. When we got back, we wanted to take Charlotte for her first sled ride.