a merry little christmas 2014

You may remember my lamenting in this post from last week about our first Christmas away from our families. I have a confession: All that talk was a cover. A front! A facade! The truth is that back in November, we thought making the 4 hour drive home for just Christmas Day would be exhausting, so we had decided to stick around DC. Walking into work together one morning, Christmas came up (again, which isn't an uncommon occurrence  in this Bethune household) & we agreed that living 4 hours away is a lot different than living 10 hours away, & that Christmas with our families was something we were willing to be completely exhausted for. & so, we surprised our families on Christmas. & it was delightful.

Mom & dad's lovely tree, before the kiddos all woke up/arrived.

A man & his doodle-in-law... Who creepily poses for pictures.

Awaiting the arrival of my sister & her family, the last ones to be surprised on my side

& they were surprised!

Catherine was mostly eager to show us her Etch-A-Sketch drawing.

Uncle Jared teaching Catherine how to "Push!" Tommy on his new toy... This man will be such a great papa.

Tommy, though pleased with his new toys, was much more impressed with the tree lights.

The essence of an Essmann Christmas morning

Beautiful Grandma

Catherine & her new babydoll taking a break to nap on the stairs.

Hangin' out with some red-headed babies

My niece is fascinated with my camera, so she took a few stealth photos of Poppy

Onto the Bethune home to surprise Jared's mama & see his out-of-state siblings!

Mama & Papa Bethune!

It's my NINTH year of partaking in my father-in-law's AMAZING tamales & enchiladas, 

& Christmas has been forever changed because of them.

It also just isn't a Bethune holiday celebration without Sangria Senorial.

We ventured home that evening & headed straight into work a few hours later, but our short trip was soooo worth it. It is such a treat to visit with our wonderful families, even for the shortest amount of time. Here is to next year's celebrations being just a little bit longer, & a sweet, sweet year of memories in between.

& to maybe actually taking a photo together on Christmas? That would be new.