Merry Christmas from the Reeds!

We have had a wonderful Christmas season together! My break from school has been so relaxing and refreshing for me. I have been able to catch up on some much needed sleep, read books, watch old Friends episodes, see friends and family, bake and cook new meals, and spend some uninterrupted, quality time with Gabe. It was been wonderful. You might think I don't want to go back to school, but I am actually excited to see all of my students! I went into my classroom the other day to grab something, and I was happy to be in there! I am able to say that I LOVE my job, but a break from the hard, time consuming work is great for me. It makes me appreciate it more.

Enjoy the picture update of our Christmas gatherings! It lets you in on our little world this Christmas season!

Instead of buying each other gifts this Christmas, Gabe and I decided to spend a day together instead. We don't really NEED anything right now, and we both love spending time together.....just the two of us! We decided to spend the day in Indianapolis last week at the Children's Museum and downtown. We LOVED the museum! I guess that tells you we are really two big kids! :)

Gabe is making a boat to float along in the river.......it didn't make it very far though.

I won in the big tic-tac-toe game!

They had an exhibit on superheroes and comic books which featured the real Batmobile!

We went to the huge Borders on Meridian Street and looked at all the books, games, and music.

Gabe took me to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory downtown Indy! I had never been there, and wow, it is a great restaurant. We got to sit in a traincar to eat our dinner! It was a wonderful Christmas date with my hubby. I love him!

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated my Grandpa Brown's birthday! Almost all of my Brown family was together and it was an evening of SO much fun! Gabe had never been with my family on Christmas Eve, and he loved it all! He said he loves having cousins......me too!

My cousin Chris and Grandpa.....I love this picture. Chris, who is probably one of the funniest people I know, just finished kissing Grandpa on the head and they were laughing about it!

Another set of cousins, Tom, Eric, and Alyssa with Grandpa. I am thankful for these beautiful people. They all have such sweet hearts.....even if Tom and Eric would roll their eyes if they knew I said that.

My brother, sister, and I with Grandpa! (I have to apologize....I didn't get a picture of my two cousins Amanda and Carrie....I didn't have my camera out fast enough!)

My grandparents are some of the most giving people I know. They go out of their way to help other people and build relationships with almost anyone they meet. We all look up to them and are thankful for all they do for our family. I love you Grandpa and Grandma!

Four out of five Brown kids with their parents!

Sister picture......Kate's short hair is SO cute!

Gabe got to read the Christmas story, The Night Before Christmas this year to our family. It has been a tradition that one of the cousins read this story every year. Since Gabe is the newest cousin, it was his year to read. I think his Santa hat was a little small.....

My dad always leads our entire family in some Christmas carols. This year he had my brother in law help him lead, and then they had Katie up there too! We sang the whole 12 Days of Christmas song with motions and everything! The Brown gang sure knows how to have fun and to really celebrate Christ's birth!

All of the Reed family came to Anderson to celebrate Christmas together! We got a great shot of us all. I really love this picture of us all.....we are so happy to be ALL together!!

What a cutie.....Ezzie!

Keziah looked like a little Santa princess in her red and white outfit. I couldn't get her to look at the camera though.

Ezra goes crazy over Uncle Gabe! He LOVES to wrestle with Gabe!

And we love to take the silly pictures together! It doesn't take much for this kid to become silly! I love him and the rest of my "new" family! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Reeds! We are both resting up today because we are taking a bunch of middle school and high school kids bowling tonight until 1 a.m. to kick off the New Year! I hope Gabe and I can make it!